The History of the Chicago-Style Pizza
- Pizza originally came to the United States through Italian immigrants. In Italy, pizza was a small, roughly 6-inch in diameter, baked bread with a small amount of oil and garlic. Pizza was considered a snack or side dish. Italian immigrants in the United States began to add cheese and sausage to their pizzas. This type of pizza was popular among Italian immigrants in New York, and around 1905 restaurant owners began to add pizza with cheese and sausage to their menus.
- Pizza began to get popular outside the Italian community during World War II. In 1943, Ike Sewell and Rudy Malnati developed a recipe for pizza with thick bread and more toppings than the pizza style America had seen come out of New York. Sewell was a restaurateur from Texas who moved to Chicago to open a Mexican restaurant. The Mexican restaurant failed, which prompted Ike to team up with Italian chef Malnati to open an Italian restaurant. The pair opened up Pizzeria Uno in Chicago, and named their style of pizza, "Chicago-style pizza."
- Chicago-style pizza is distinctive because the crust is much thicker and the toppings are more generous than the original style of pizza from Italy. Chicago-style pizza was less expensive to make or buy than a regular meal, and it served multiple people such as a family or group of friends.
The crust on Chicago style pizza is thick and hearty, unlike its New York and Italian counterparts that are thin and fine. The dough or crust is made like traditional bread with added oil and cornmeal. The oil and cornmeal make the dough thicker and heartier. The dough is spread into a pan with the sides turned up in the same manner as pie crust. The dough is baked halfway before the sauce, cheese and toppings are added on top. The pie-style shape of the dough allows the baker to make thick layers of cheese, meat and sauce, unlike the thinner versions that were made in New York and Italy.
The order of the toppings for Chicago style pizza is different than the order of toppings for other pizza styles. Chicago style pizza starts with the cheese, then the meat and the sauce is added on top. New York style pizza starts with the sauce and then adds cheese and meat. Tomato sauce is an option for Italian style pizza, it is not a standard ingredient.
Chicago style pizza is eaten with a fork and a knife unlike Italian and New York styles pizzas which are normally eaten by hand. - Pizzeria Uno opened its doors and introduced Chicago-style pizza during World War II which was a financially hard time. Americans were still recovering from the Great Depression and welcomed ways to save money. Chicago-style pizza was a low-cost way for a family or group of people to eat out at a restaurant. Chicago-style pizza also provided a hearty meal, so diners felt they had eaten a good meal.
In the 1950s many restaurants began to serve Chicago-style pizza. Celebrities such as Frank Sinatra and Joe DiMaggio began to notice and love pizza. This helped Chicago-style pizza gain popularity outside Chicago. Pizza restaurants began to open throughout Chicago. - Chicago-style pizza comes in many modern-day forms. Commercial frozen food companies sell Chicago-style pizzas in the frozen food aisles of many grocery stores. Pizza-delivery chains have added Chicago-style to their menus. Some restaurants have named their versions of Chicago style pizza "deep dish pizza," while others have maintained the original name.