Pizza Cone | The New Age Pizza

Walk away – Ice Cream Shaped Pizzas in Delhi for a ‘Quick Bite’.

We all know Pizza comes from Italy. However, Pizza’s forefather was, perhaps, the hugely popular flat bread, Focaccia. One of my all time favourite breads, I can have countless bites of a Focaccia and call it a meal unto itself. Many people like making Paninis with Ciabbatas, but, I like to use Focaccia. Just add few more condiments/ingredients and bam, it tastes heavenly.

So, I wasn’t surprised when I read that in 18^th century Naples, tomatoes were added to this bread to make Pizza. In fact, legend goes that Margherita Pizza was made with flatbread, to which Mozzarella cheese, Basil and tomatoes were added, as toppings to represent the colours of Italian Flag. It was created by Raffaele Esposito to honour the Queen Consort of Italy, Margherita of Savoy. Supposedly, the Pizza was named after her.

Read: Get your own Pizza Cone Machine, check this link.

Well, who knows if the legend can be believed?

But, its funny how one dish has travelled to so many places and has taken so many shapes that it has moved past its true identity. I’ve come to believe, a discussion about authenticity of a Pizza can be quite futile. As, the tradition of using several toppings with flatbreads was practiced in various ancient cultures. 

In Greece, during ancient times, people were already topping their breads with garlic, cheese, herbs and olive oil. In Persia, people were topping their leavened flatbread with olive oil and dates. And I do feel, a Persian Naan is extremely similar to the crust of a Pizza. The whole of Middle East eats Manakish, which is arguably, their version of Pizza.  I might dare say, that even our very own Parathas have a lot in common with Pizza.

While, there are versions of Pizza all over the Mediterranean and the Middle East, however, in Italy, the essentials of a Pizza are leavened dough and in most cases tomato sauce and cheese as well. Having been to Rome and after eating some of it at a local Pizzeria, I can say that it’s more of street dish or more like fast food for the Italians, as it was considered a poor man’s food. And unlike us Indians, they would never sell it even at their Ristorante, let aside fancy restaurants.

However, there were no such rules when pizza travelled outside of Italy.

Pizza might have been invented in Italy, but it was America which popularised it and made sure it travelled the world. Americans didn’t care if they were serving pizzas in pizzerias, restaurants or even bars. They opened pizza chains and there was no looking back. As per the popular notion, Americans were eating Pizzas for dinner or even during lunch with no definite rules. Even if they wanted to put pineapple on a pizza, they did. 

And in modern day today, there are various versions of Pizza, which have become equally popular. While Calzone, Stromboli and Panzerotti are variants of Pizzas in Italy, but large number of Indians got acquainted with Calzone through Dominos and Stromboli through Sbarro. Interestingly, both are American chains. In fact having different kind of crusts, such as deep dish etc was also invented when Americanisation of the Pizza happened.

And now we even have Pizza Cones! They look like ice-creams, but are just savoury cones filled with cheese, tomatoes, herbs and other pizza toppings. I always feel, if one wants to figure out food trends that work best with fast food, one needs to visit a Mall. Not only did I find a Pizza Cone kiosk but also so many little kids gorging on bites of Pizza Cones. And guess what, Pizza Cones were actually invented in Milan by Chef Rossano Boscolo in the year 2004. He called them Kono Pizza. But a decade later, it was an American Restaurant Franchiser, Carlo Ruggiero, who opened a chain of Kono Pizza in The United States of America (USA) and popularized it for rest of the world to follow.

When I travelled to Rome, I realised that Italians take their food very seriously. They like to sit and enjoy a meal over some good music, hearty conversations and with a glass of wine in tow. So, I am not quite sure how people in Milan reacted to Kono Pizza, considering it beats the whole purpose of a leisurely happy meal. According to me, such a model would’ve obviously worked better for a fast city, where most of the food was consumed for survival and not pleasure.

Well, no wonder, in the US, these Kono Pizzas were an instant hit. They became available with Pepperoni, Prosciutto with Mozzarella, Chicken and Parmesan, Bacon and Ham, Tukery and Vegetables and even the classic Margherita. They were portable, thus, one could eat them while on their way to work. The sheer convenience of consuming this delicious piece of food, while on the move was fascinating and practical at the same time.

In India’s context, the sheer novelty factor works in favour of any such food innovation. I have noticed that people are fairly open to trying different foods, especially, when the concept is innovative. Kids, especially, become the driving force for their parents to indulge in food items, such as Pizza Cones. I mean, if I was a kid and someone told me that there is a Pizza in the market that looks like an ice-cream, I would make sure to get a bite of it.

Such food items become hugely popular in our country. Hence we’re quick to develop the required machinery for it. Recently, I came to know that there are pizza cone machines that are manufactured in India by Hindchef Private Limited.

These machines are designed keeping in mind that the end product is of highest quality. The Pizza cones that come out of these machines have the same hand-tossed pizza’s consistency. One can control the temperature to ensure a crispy and chewy pizza cone. In an hour’s time, these machines can produce 200 Pizza Cones. These stainless steel machines come with wheels and are easy to port from one place to another.

So next time, when you buy Pizza Cones, remember we have some highly skilled bakers who’re operating our homegrown machinery and dolling out foreign food, like our very own.

NOTE: These Pizza Cone machines are specially designed for baking and selling Pizza Cones at an Industrial Level.

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