What is New York Style Pizza? Compared to Regular Pizza
What is New York Style pizza? You must have heard about the different pizza variations and may be wondering what they are. Well, you are in luck. As you read through, I will tell you what you need to know about New York-style pizza.
What Is New York Style Pizza?
If you’ve ever gone to New York City, you’ve undoubtedly found time to get a piece of pizza. New York City has hundreds of slice places, pizzerias, and pizza restaurants that provide the city’s famed and distinctive pizza.
The New York-style slice evolved from Neapolitan-style pizza when Italian immigrants brought pizza to New York City and America in the early 1900s. New York-style pizza has huge, wide slices with a thin crust that is bendable but crunchy.
It is often topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese, with any other toppings added on top of the cheese. Pizza without additional toppings is known as “plain,” “regular,” or “cheese.”
The pizza is often sold by the slice or as a whole pie, which is rather large (18 inches) and split into eight slices. Customers frequently buy a slice to eat on the fly, folding it in half vertically.
New York-style pizza was previously cooked in a coal-fired oven, and while a few restaurants still use it, the majority now use a conventional gas oven.
History
New York-style pizza originated in 1905, when Gennaro Lombardi opened America’s first pizzeria, Lombardi’s, in Manhattan’s Little Italy area, serving enormous, wide pies. Antonio Totonno Pero, an employee, made the pizzas, which were offered for 5¢ each slice.
In 1924, he left the shop to start Totonno’s Pizzeria in Coney Island. Lombardi’s and Totonno’s employed coal-fired ovens, as did Patsy’s in Harlem, which opened in 1933, and all three restaurants are still in business today.
Di Fara Pizza, founded in 1964 and maintained by Domenico DeMarco since then, delivers what many consider to be the best pizza in New York City, a hybrid of New York and Neapolitan flavors.
Dozens of pizzerias in New York City go by the name Ray’s Pizza or its numerous variants (“Famous Ray’s Pizza,” “Ray’s Original Pizza,” and “World-Famous Original Ray’s Pizza”) and are mostly privately owned, though a few have multiple locations.
Ralph Cuomo built the first Ray’s Pizza in Little Italy in 1959, and it closed in October 2011.
Ingredients
New York-style pizza contains more ingredients than typical Neapolitan pizza. To make the dough, high-gluten bread flour, yeast, and water are typically mixed with sugar and olive oil before being hand-tossed.
Some claim that the crust’s distinct flavor and texture are due to minerals found only in New York City’s tap water.
The severely seasoned cooked tomato sauce is often made with olive oil, canned tomatoes, garlic, sugar, salt, and herbs such as oregano, basil, and crushed red pepper, as opposed to the simple Neapolitan sauce, which is made with uncooked crushed tomatoes and salt.
The cheese is always shredded low-moisture mozzarella, not fresh slices like Neapolitan-style pizza.
As previously said, New York-style pizzas can include a variety of vegetables, meats such as pepperoni and sausage, and different types of cheese on top of the mozzarella.
Garlic powder, crushed red pepper, dried oregano, and grated Parmesan cheese are common toppings for a slice of pizza after it has been baked.
The Crust
This is perhaps the most significant distinction between the two types. Traditional pizza, often known as Neapolitan pizza, has a big, pillow-like crust.
The crust is chewy and evenly distributed. The fire-baked pizza dough has black charred areas and a distinct flavor. The highly refined wheat flour used in the dough contributes significantly to its flavor.
New York-style pies are easily distinguished by their extra-large and thin crust. The crust is not as chewy as in typical pies. Because the base is less complex than that of typical pizzas, it provides an ideal backdrop for piling on layers of toppings and cheese.
How it is Eaten
It is reasonable to say that people have varied ways of eating pizza. However, how different pizza styles are consumed can set them apart from one another.
The classic pie was meant to be eaten as a single dish with a fork and knife. People sat down to enjoy their dinner.
However, the New York-style pie is unique. It was intended to provide a quick and inexpensive supper to the New York City working class at the time. These people didn’t have the time or money to eat an entire pie.
New York-style crusts are substantially larger than typical pies.
They are meant to be shared. An individual can eat a single slice while on the run. The thin crust can be folded into a sandwich that can be eaten without making a mess. They are ideal for eating on the go or with family.
The Size
As previously stated, the New York-style pizza dough is large. It is, in fact, much larger than the standard pie. Traditional pies were designed to be a single serving for an individual. The usual traditional pie is about 12 inches in diameter.
New York pies were intended to be inexpensive. Sharing the pizza allowed individuals with little funds to purchase a slice and enjoy it. These pies are normally about 18 inches in size.
The Cheese
While toppings vary depending on the individual’s preferences, there are certain ways to apply them to the pie. Traditional variations frequently include generous amounts of mozzarella cheese scattered throughout.
Fresh mozzarella is frequently used. This is in sharp contrast to New York styles, which use shredded low-moisture mozzarella.
Fresh mozzarella is rarely used on New York-style pizza because it is cooked for longer than traditional versions.
Shredded cheese is often liberally put on the pie. This results in the cheesy pie that so many people enjoy. However, because the cheese was low in moisture, the pie did not turn out soggy. It is nevertheless solid and foldable, allowing for less mess when eating.
The Sauce
Another notable distinction between the techniques is the sauces used on the crust. The traditional pie preserves the original pizza sauce.
This recipe merely calls for tomatoes and salt. The basic sauce serves as a foundation for the tastes of the toppings and dough.
In contrast, the sauces used for New York-style pies have a distinct flavor. They contain chopped garlic, sugar, and maybe herbs such as oregano. Some cooks experiment with different additives, such as red pepper flakes, to make their sauce unique.
Still can’t decide whether traditional or New York-style pies are superior? If you want the best pizza in Seattle, go to Big Mario’s Pizza or order delivery.
Try the traditional pie as it was created in Italy, as well as the iconic New York Style pizza, and decide for yourself. You’ll definitely keep coming back for more.
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