Pizza puff facts for kids
A pizza puff is a yummy snack that's like a mini pizza folded up and then cooked until it's crispy! It's a dough pocket filled with tasty cheese, tomato sauce, and other pizza toppings like sausage or pepperoni. These delicious treats are originally from Chicago, USA, and you can find them in many casual restaurants there.
Pizza puffs are a bit like other foods such as panzerotti from Italy. They are also similar to calzones. The main difference is that calzones are usually baked in an oven, while pizza puffs are deep-fried, which makes them extra crispy! Calzones also don't always have pizza sauce inside.
Different Kinds of Pizza Puffs
Some Italian restaurants and diners make their own pizza puffs from scratch. This means they make the dough themselves! These homemade pizza puffs often have a thicker pizza dough wrapper. They can also be a bit bigger than the ones you buy pre-made.
Store-Bought Pizza Puffs
Many hot dog stands in the Chicago area serve pizza puffs that are made in large amounts by companies. They buy these frozen pizza puffs and then deep-fry them before serving. The dough wrapper of these pizza puffs often feels like a soft flour tortilla.
The Iltaco Story
One well-known company that makes these pizza puffs is Iltaco. Iltaco started way back in 1927. Its original name was the Illinois Tamale Company, which is where "Il-Ta-Co" comes from! Some people think that Iltaco was the first company to invent the pizza puff. You can even find Iltaco pizza puffs in the frozen food section of some grocery stores in the Chicago area.
Other Companies
Another company that made many pizza puffs was Arco Frozen Foods. They started selling their own retail pizza puff around 1968.
