You're Not Eating Authentic Neapolitan Pizza Without These Specific Ingredients

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It is well known that Italians are passionate about their food. And why wouldn't they be? Italian dishes often land on "best comfort food" lists, which makes sense for a country where starch and cheese reign supreme. In Italian cuisine, what's as important as flavor is where and how the ingredients are sourced, also known as provenance. A specific example of this is the Neapolitan pizza, a dish so beloved that an official association in Italy, called Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (True Neapolitan Pizza Association, or AVPN), has published its own International Regulations of the True Neapolitan Pizza. From these regulations come three distinct ingredients: "00" wheat flour for the dough, Italian-grown tomatoes for the sauce, and select Italian cheeses. With all three elements in hand, you are one step closer to recreating a Neapolitan pizza at home. 

You may have seen the initials "DOP" mentioned when discussing "authentic" ingredients. DOP stands for "Denominazione d' Origine Protetta" (Protected Designation of Origin), and it is a mark of quality control carried out by bodies under the European Commission. Why does this matter? While AVPN's rules mention Italian-grown tomatoes and Italian cheeses, you can come even closer to real Neapolitan pizza by using officially verified ingredients. These ingredients almost guarantee that the pizza will have a tender, slightly chewy crust, with a naturally sweet tomato sauce and mildly tangy cheese as the building blocks of its flavor.

The "00" designation of flour refers to how finely it is ground. In Italy, this type of wheat flour is the chosen variety for pizza dough and pasta. The high-protein and low-gluten content of 00 flour allows it to hold up to the kneading necessary to form the dough (much like bread dough), but because it is made from soft durum wheat, it keeps the dough tender and not rubbery.

The truth about San Marzano tomatoes is that they're the preferred tomato for making Neapolitan pizzas. They are generally fleshier and sweeter than other varieties (thanks to their low acidity), while containing fewer seeds. It may be difficult to get your hands on fresh, DOP-certified San Marzano tomatoes at home, but it's easy to order canned peeled San Marzano tomatoes, ensuring the flavor of Italy is properly represented on your pizza.

The last important piece of the Neapolitan pizza trifecta is the correct cheese. Mozzarella is the most famous example, though AVPN also mentions ricotta and "grated hard cheese" in its international regulations. An authentic Margherita pizza calls for mozzarella from the milk of water buffalo. One of the untold truths of mozzarella cheese is how many different kinds there are. If you look at the mozzarella labels at your local grocery store, you'll see that most are made from cow's milk. According to Wisconsin Cheese, "Water buffalo milk has twice the fat (about 21%) of cow's milk, but less than half the cholesterol." Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP (buffalo mozzarella) is springy and elastic in texture with a mild yet rich taste. Its subtle complexity is a perfect complement to Neapolitan pizza's bright tomato sauce and exquisite crust.