Pizza-pedia
Today, I am taking a critical look at the Wikipedia entry about pizza. No, I am not joking. Before you roll your eyes at fact that a Harvard graduate student is writing about pizza for a class assignment, you should know that my love of pizza goes well beyond typical conversations and samplings. In truth, the art of pizza-making has been an obsession of mine over the last two years. I am somewhat ashamed to admit that I have gone to great lengths to learn about the food’s history, science, preparation, and cultural variations and influences. I repeat: I am not joking. As an avid baker of Italian breads and home cheese maker, I find few things more satisfying than spending several days preparing for a shared dinner of homemade pizza and wine with friends (my pizza dough recipe calls for five days of fermentation before use). Unfortunately, the frozen-food and pizza delivery industry have painted pizza as a quick, unhealthy snack covered in grease and cheap ingredients. The art of the pizzaioli (“pizza maker”) has largely been lost in the eyes of the general public. Real pizza, simply put, is well-crafted Italian bread with sparse, hand-picked, fresh toppings.
Wikipedia’s article on pizza is part of a series on the beloved food, which I did not realize upon first reading. For instance, the “History” section in the main article is a mere seven sentences and is fairly disjointed. I found this shocking. Granted, my knowledge of the subject is embarrassingly above-average, but, given pizza’s global popularity and rich history, I was expecting a more complete overview. Then, to my delight, I discovered the power of the Wikipedia hyperlink. Hidden within the sparse “History” section was a link to an entire article about the history of pizza. There, I found the history of Neapolitan pizza, which is the grandfather to most forms of modern day pizza and the Holy Grail among pizza enthusiasts. Originally eaten by Neapolitan peasants, it is up to the skilled hand of the pizzaioli to bring out the complexity of the simple dough (which is composed of delicate, rare caputo 00 flour and other very basic, specific ingredients) through the kneading and fermentation processes as well as the exceedingly high cooking temperatures (upwards of 1000°F).
Understanding the development of Neapolitan pizza is essential for understanding the dish in its modern form. The main pizza article briefly mentions Neapolitan-style pies, which is greatly expanded upon in the History of Pizza link. My question is: why not combine them into a single article? (As a side note, I was amazed that there were no Wikipedia articles specifically dedicated to Neapolitan-style pizza.)
Although I was surprised by some of the factoids I stumbled upon while reading the Wikipedia article on pizza, I was surprised at some of the inaccuracies and missing information. It mentions the Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) status that was bestowed by the European Union to safeguard the integrity of the Neapolitan pizza as a trademark of Neapolitan cuisine. In the same way that fine wines are verified by region and purity, the TSG ensures that all true Neapolitan pizzas must adhere to stringent preparation guidelines. The article mentions two accepted types of Neapolitan pizza (pizza Marinara and pizza Margherita), but indicates a third type called “pizza Margherita extra,” which is blatantly incorrect. Furthermore, the Wikipedia entry specifies that Neapolitan pizzaiolis use “strong flour with high protein content,” which is completely inaccurate. In fact, pizzaiolis specifically use low protein flour (required by TSG for authenticity), which is a defining characteristic of the Neapolitan style.
I could go on and on about the inaccuracies (white pizza by definition never contains pesto or sour cream, Sicilian pizza should not have the ingredients baked directly into the crust, etc.), but my space here is limited.
The readability of the article was fairly poor. Although the internal links, such as the “History of Pizza” link I mentioned previously, were helpful, the main pizza article was a hodgepodge of disjointed facts with little flow for the reader. At one point, the article fragments into short descriptions of a handful of modern pizza variations throughout the world. While this is interesting information, it seems inappropriate that this section encompasses 50 percent of the article. This is especially alarming (“alarming,” to pizza enthusiasts like myself, at least) given that limited factual portion of the article is already riddled with oversights, as I mentioned previously.
Lastly, the sources of the Wikipedia page are also somewhat lacking. When describing the history of pizza, the article cites a publication from American Heritage by Hanna Miller. Unfortunately, the links no longer work. Many of the other sources have to do with government documents, and restaurant information. There are currently several books written about the history and baking of pizza including Everybody Loves Pizza: The Deep Dish on America’s Favorite Food and American Pie, by world renowned baker Peter Reinhart. Unfortunately, I suppose such sources were not cited due to the fact that they are not available online.
Wikipedia is changing the way humans collect and process knowledge. Although my investigation into the website’s portrayal of pizza may seem trivial, it points to potential problems in the way the information is formed. Of course, the beauty of the system is that I can now edit this page and impart my words of wisdom to countless, budding pizza enthusiasts. Without many watchful eyes, important information may slip through the cracks if Wikipedia.
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