The Neapolitan Pizza

Currently the president of Neuro Drinks, Scott LaPorta uses his extensive CPG experience and collaborative leadership skills to develop and execute this beverage company's growth initiatives. In addition to his professional endeavors, Scott LaPorta enjoys cooking Italian cuisine. 

When one thinks of their favorite Italian dish, pizza often tops the list. The pizza of Italy however, looks much different than what most Americans have delivered to their homes for birthday parties and family gatherings. True Italian pizza originated in Naples, Italy, a coastal town with a large number of working poor. These citizens, in need of an inexpensive dish that could be eaten quickly, developed what eventually became known as Neapolitan pizza.

The pizzas originally consisted of flatbreads that were topped with tomatoes, cheese, olive, oil, anchovies, and garlic. The recipe changed little over the years, but the dish became more and more popular with visitors to the area. Wealthy visitors even started seeking out the poorer parts of town in order to sample Neapolitan pizza. One notable visitor was Queen Margherita who was especially taken with the dish that eventually became known as the Margherita pizza. With its tomatoes, fresh basil, and fresh mozzarella, the pizza reflected the colors of Italy’s flag.

When trying to discern if a pizza is cooked in true Neapolitan style, a discerning diner will notice fresh ingredients and a thin crust with a small amount of charring around the top edges. True Neapolitan pizzas are usually about ten to 12 inches in diameter and are cooked at extremely high temperatures in a stone oven over a wood fire for about 90 seconds. 

Today, the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana certifies pizzerias that serve true, authentic Neapolitan pizzas. In order to be certified, the establishment must pass a stringent set of criteria.

Three Crucial Biographies of United States Presidents

As the former president of Bolthouse Farms, Scott Laporta led a fresh vegetable and premium refrigerated beverage and salad dressing business with annual sales of more than $800 million. Outside of Scott Laporta’s professional life, he enjoys reading and is particularly fond of presidential biographies. 

Over the decades, biographies detailing the lives of former presidents have become standard fare for history and politics buffs alike, but here are three crucial offerings every American should consider reading. 

1. Thomas Jefferson & Sally Hemings: An American Controversy - This biographical argument, penned by Annette Gordon-Reed, persuasively plead the case for the third president fathering multiple children with one of his slaves, Sally Hemings. The book threw historians and Jefferson scholars for a loop, and its assertions were later backed up by DNA evidence, confirming that Hemings’ descendants were, in fact, fathered by Thomas Jefferson. 

2. Lincoln - There are so many Lincoln biographies written to this day that awards exist specifically to honor authors who write about this pivotal president. Harvard historian David Herbert Donald’s “Lincoln” sets itself apart from the pack by aiming to demythologize the 16th president, examining his stumbles and failures as much as his notable successes. 

3. The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt - The first of Edmund Morris’ three-part biography of Theodore Roosevelt is considered by the New York Times to be “one of the best biographies of the 20th century.” In its official review of the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, the reviewer praises it as a “sweeping narrative” and “shrewd examination” of the 26th president. The book’s influence was so great that President Reagan asked Edmund Morris to write his own biography.