{"id":123759,"date":"2026-03-10T08:16:03","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:16:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/pizza-before-tomatoes-ancient-romes-version-of-americas-favorite-food-looked-nothing-like-todays-123759"},"modified":"2026-03-10T08:16:03","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:16:03","slug":"pizza-before-tomatoes-ancient-romes-version-of-americas-favorite-food-looked-nothing-like-todays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/pizza-before-tomatoes-ancient-romes-version-of-americas-favorite-food-looked-nothing-like-todays-123759","title":{"rendered":"Pizza before tomatoes? Ancient Rome’s version of America’s favorite food looked nothing like today’s"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A restaurant is selling an ancient Rome-inspired pizza<\/a> \u2014 and it may not taste anything like modern diners expect.<\/p>\n

Neverland Pizzeria in Budapest, Hungary, is selling a limited-edition pie featuring ingredients that would have been available in ancient Rome.<\/p>\n

That means no tomatoes \u2014 a New World crop \u2014 and no mozzarella.<\/p>\n

ARCHAEOLOGISTS REVEAL NUTRITIOUS FOOD REMAINS DISCOVERED IN ANCIENT VILLA QUARTERS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Instead, the pie features epityrum, an olive paste, and garum, a fermented fish sauce popular in ancient Rome.<\/p>\n

Its base is made of ancient grains, including einkorn and spelt<\/a>, and the dough contains fermented spinach juice to help it rise.<\/p>\n

The pie also features confit duck leg, toasted pine nuts<\/a> and ricotta, plus a grape reduction.<\/p>\n

Neverland Pizzeria founder Josep Zara said he was inspired by a fresco unearthed in Pompeii in 2023 that appeared to show a focaccia-like flatbread with spices, pomegranate seeds<\/a> and dates.<\/p>\n

“We sat down to imagine what we might be able to make using these ingredients, and without using things like tomatoes and mozzarella,” Zara told The Associated Press.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“We had to exclude all ingredients that originated from America.”<\/p>\n

ARCHAEOLOGISTS UNEARTH ANCIENT BREAD THAT SURVIVED UNDERGROUND FOR 5,000 YEARS<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Head chef Gergely B\u00e1rdossy said the limited ingredient list forced the team to rely heavily on experimentation.<\/p>\n

“The fact that there wasn’t infrastructure like a water system<\/a> at the time of the Romans made things difficult for us, since more than 80% of pizza dough is water,” B\u00e1rdossy told the AP.<\/p>\n

\u00a0“We had to come up with something that would have worked before running water.”<\/p>\n

To modern diners, the dish resembles a small flatbread made of wheat, honey and olive oil, said Lisa Roberts, a New York-based culinary archaeologist<\/a> who specializes in the Mediterranean.<\/p>\n

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“The garnishes might include<\/a> a cheese pesto, made with olive oil and herbs, and locally grown fruits, including pomegranate seeds, dates, pears and plums,” she told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n

“If I saw this pizza today in New York or L.A., for example, I would think it was a modern chef’s new take on pizza \u2014 like a breakfast<\/a> or brunch pizza.”<\/p>\n

Romans were known for their love of garum<\/a> “on everything,” Roberts said, and she compared the fermented condiment to fish sauce or miso.<\/p>\n

“Ancient writers prized it both as an ingredient and as medicine,” she said.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“In Italy and Spain, modern versions are made with anchovies. For Americans, Thai fish sauce<\/a> would be the closest in flavor profile\u00a0but less salty.”<\/p>\n

If the salty-savory-sweet combination sounds unfamiliar, Roberts noted it already has its place in American food culture.<\/a><\/p>\n

She cited prosciutto-wrapped melon,<\/a> pineapple on pizza and maple-glazed bacon as popular examples.<\/p>\n

“I make a salad dressing<\/a> with miso, honey, olive oil and lemon, and it’s delicious drizzled over vanilla ice cream,” she said.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE STORIES<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The dish is best seen as a “distant ancestor” of pizza, which was created over a millennium later, Roberts said.<\/p>\n

“This dish belongs to a tradition called xenia, in which food images<\/a> were offered as hospitality gifts in the ancient world,” she said.<\/p>\n

“In Virgil’s Aeneid, Aeneas and his companions use flat wheat cakes as edible ‘tables,’ placing fruit and other foods on top of them. After finishing the meal,<\/a> they eat the bread itself, showing that bread could serve both as a plate and part of the meal.”<\/p>\n

As for the pizza’s popularity, B\u00e1rdossy said that it appeals to a “narrow niche” of people.<\/p>\n

“Most people want more conventional pizza<\/a>, so it’s not for everyday eating,” he told the AP.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It’s something special.”<\/p>\n

The Associated Press contributed reporting.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source – https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/food-drink\/pizza-before-tomatoes-ancient-romes-version-americas-favorite-food-looked-nothing-like-todays <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A restaurant is selling an ancient Rome-inspired pizza \u2014 and it may not taste anything like modern diners expect. Neverland Pizzeria in Budapest, Hungary, is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_2902945987_2902945987":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[16563],"tags":[],"stock_ticker":[],"class_list":["post-123759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-market-news","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPizza before tomatoes? 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