PIZZA--America's Favorite Meal??

In celebration of October and National Pizza month, here are some fun facts about one of America's favorite meals!!  Also, one of my favorite home-made pizza recipes, and don't worry yet, it is really simple!  You can buy pre-made crust, biscuit doughs, or make your own--add your favorite BBQ sauce (I prefer Sweet Baby Ray's) and then saute onions and bell peppers and chicken breast or add shredded chicken, whichever you have on hand.  Add to crust and top with lots of mozzarella then bake for required time for crust (on my home-made dough, it is usually 20-25 minutes) And dinner is ready! YUM!!  Or you could swap the BBQ sauce for a bottle of Alfredo, add to it the chicken and diced green onion, plus a sprinkle of parmesan with the mozzarella, and you have another awesome pizza that breaks the pepperoni mold!

Anyway, here are some great fun facts to learn more about your pizza as you eat it!!  All come from the site below.

http://www.homemade-pizza-made-easy.com/pizza-facts.html

Pizza Facts:
The people of America eat around 350 slices of pizza each second, or 100 acres per day.

Each year, pizza is a $30 billion industry.

In the U.S., there are about 61,269 pizza parlors.

Everyone in the United States eats about 23 lbs., or 46 slices, every year.

Each year in the United States, 3 billion pizzas are sold.

In America, the most popular ethnic food is Italian.

Children ages 3-11 prefer pizza over all other foods for lunch and dinner, according to a recent Gallup Poll.

36 percent of all pizza orders want their pizza topping pepperoni.

We consume around 251,770,000 pounds of pepperonis every year.

A few popular pizzas toppings are: Mushrooms, Extra cheese, Sausage, Green Pepper, and Onion.

In the list of most popular pizza toppings in America, the last one is anchovies.

New gourmet pizza toppings have rapidly became popular. Some of those toppings include: Chicken, Oysters, Crayfish, Dandelions, Sprouts, Eggplant, Cajun Shrimp, Artichoke Hearts, Venison, Duck, Canadian-Style Bacon and Tuna.

Practically every kind of pizza topping has been tried by pizza chefs, some of those toppings being peanut butter and jelly, bacon and eggs, and mashed potatoes.

Americans prefer meat toppings to veggie toppings by a ratio of 62 to 100. Women order twice as much vegetable toppings than men.

Some popular pizza toppings in Japan are squid and Mayo Jaga (mayonaise, potato and bacon).

In India they like pickled ginger, minced mutton and tofu. The people of Brazil prefer green peas for their topping. Russians serve pizza covered in mockba (a mix of sardines, tuna, mackeral, salmon and onions.)

Source: http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112790/facts.htm
General Sales and Consumption Statistics: Pizza Facts
There are approximately 61,269 pizzerias in the United States. (Source: American Business Lists, Omaha, Nebraska)

Men wearing muscle shirts when answering the door order pepperoni three times more than any other kind of pizza. (San Jose Mercury News, Food Section, 1/11/95 )

Italian food ranks as the most popular ethnic food in America. (National Restaurant Association)

There are over 9,000 pizzeria's in New York alone. (The Tony Modica Pizza Dance Foundation)

94% of the population of the U.S. eats pizza. (Source: Parade Magazine)

Approximately 3 BILLION pizzas are sold in the U.S. each year...pizza fact.

Americans eat approximately 100 acres of pizza EACH DAY, or about 350 slices per second.

October is National Pizza Month. It was first so designated in 1987.

Pizzerias represent 17% of all restaurants. (Source: Food Industry News)

93% of Americans eat AT LEAST one pizza per month. (Source: Bolla Wines)

Each man, woman and child in America eats and average of 46 slices, (23 pounds), of pizza per year. (Source: Packaged Facts, New York)

Saturday night is the biggest night of the week for eating pizza.

Three of the top 10 weeks of pizza consumption occur in January. Another pizza fact: More pizza is consumed during Super Bowl week than any other week of the year. (Source: Kraft Foods, Northfield, Ill.)

U.S. Toppings: Pizza Facts
Pepperoni is America's favorite topping, (36% of all pizza orders). We eat approximately 251,770,000 pounds of Pepperoni per year. Other popular pizza toppings are, mushrooms, extra cheese, sausage, green pepper and onions.

Gourmet toppings are gaining ground in some areas of the country such as chicken, oysters, crayfish, dandelions, sprouts, eggplant, Cajun shrimp, artichoke hearts and tuna. More recent trends include game meats such as venison, duck and Canadian bacon.

Pizza makers have tried virtually every type of topping on pizza including peanut butter & jelly, bacon & eggs, and mashed potatoes.

Mozzarella cheese represents 30% of total cheese output. Production of Italian cheeses such as mozzarella, provolone, ricotta, parmesan and romano by U.S. cheese makers more than doubled between 1980 and 1992, (from 688.6 MILLION pounds per year to nearly 2 BILLION pounds per year. (Source: Cheese Market News)

Cheesy pizza fact: Manufacturers' sales of pizza cheese should top $32 BILLION by 2004. U.S. per capita consumption of mozzarella cheese was 7.93 pounds in 1994 and is predicted to reach 12.51 pounds by 2004. (Source: Business Trend Analysts, BTA)

62% of Americans prefer meat toppings on their pizza, while 38% prefer vegetarian toppings. (Source: Bolla Wines)

Barbeque pizza emerged as one of the more popular pizza variations in a 1994 study by the National Restaurant Association. Nearly 33% of menus offered some form of this dish. Other popular variations were Mexican pizza, five-cheese combos, cheeseless pies and traditional Italian pizzas such as Margherita, Florentine and New Potato Pizzas. (Source: NRA)

Anchovies are Americans' least favorite topping.

World-Wide Toppings: Pizza Facts
Some of the more popular international toppings are pickled ginger, minced mutton and tofu in India; squid and Mayo Jaga (mayonnaise, potato and bacon) in Japan; and green peas in Brazil. In Russia, they serve pizza covered with mockba; a combination of sardines, tuna, mackerel, salmon and onions. In France, a popular combo is called the Flambee with bacon, onion, and fresh cream. (Source: Domino's)

Around the world, toppings vary greatly, reflecting regional tastes and preferences. In Japan, for instance, eel and squid are favorites. In Pakistan, curry is a big seller. In Russia, red herring is the topping of choice. Australians enjoy shrimp and pineapple as well as barbeque toppings on their pies. Costa Ricans favor coconut. (Source: Numero Uno Pizzeria)

Vegetables for pizza toppings in Iceland are grown in greenhouses because of the lava terrain there. (Source: Domino's)

In the Netherlands, the "Double Dutch" is a favorite pizza recipe: double cheese, double onions, and double beef. (Source: Domino's)

In Saudi Arabia, all meat toppings must be 100% beef. Pork products are not consumed in the country. (Source: Domino's.)

Source: http://www.virgiliospizzeria.com/funfacts.htm