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gourmand’s worst nightmare: overly chewy crusts topped with bland sauce, rubbery cheese and meat specks tougher than jerky. Then came Kraft Foods’ first pie sold under the DiGiorno brand name, and the industry was reborn.” Unnecessary slander of frozen pizza’s dignity aside, Koerner was right: DiGiorno changed the frozen pizza game. And the specific innovation that DiGiorno brought to the table? A rising crust — just like in a real pizzeria. Of course, they also benefited from a pretty catchy tagline. “It’s not delivery. It’s DiGiorno.” has been seared into the consciousness of several TV-watching generations, piquing curiosity as to whether or not this frozen pie is really just like your favorite takeout joint — and boosting sales along the way. The rising crust company has held steady as the top frozen pizza brand in the country for the past five years, with over 1.01 billion sales in 2017. While heavy hitters like Totino’s, Red Baron and DiGiorno may continue to be among the brands most often tossed into a shopping cart, a stroll through the frozen food section will quickly reveal that, these days, there’s a little bit of something for everyone — even the frozen pizza skeptic. There are frozen pizzas with cauliflower crusts, and there are gluten-free pies. You can opt for Atkins-diet-approved frozen pizzas or organic pizzas of all stripes, and even pick up frozen versions of pizzas from national restaurant chains like California Pizza Kitchen. You can go old-school with some Bagel Bites, or try not to singe your mouth (nearly an impossible feat!) on a pizza-stuffed Hot Pocket. Even Oprah has her own line of frozen pizzas! But no matter what version pairs up best with your mood the next time you have the desire to gobble up a slice, have a little bit of reverence for your freezer aisle pie: That pizza carries plenty of history in its frosty, cheesy bits. Remove the pizza from the oven and enjoy: From cauliflower crust to Bagel Bites and everything in between

PIZZA ROLLS Luigino “Jeno” Francesco Paulucci invented Jeno’s Pizza Rolls, a combination pizza and egg roll, in 1968.The name was later changed to Totino’s after Paulucci sold the company to Pillsbury in 1985.The food pioneer also created the Chun King brand of frozen foods, as well as the Michelina’s line of frozen meals, named after his Italian mother. 48 JANUARY•FEBRUARY 2020

BAGEL BITES “Pizza in the morning, pizza in the evening, pizza at suppertime...”These frozen, microwavable pizza snacks — miniature bagels topped with cheese, diced pepperoni and other pizza toppings — were invented in 1985 by Bob Mosher and Stanley Garczynski in Fort Meyers, Florida.

HOT POCKETS Hot Pockets were invented by Paul and David Merage in 1983 with pepperoni, sausage, ham and cheese, and Sloppy Joe versions. It’s the little cardboard sleeve called a “susceptor” that makes this calzone-like sandwich crisp in the microwave oven.

FRENCH BREAD PIZZA French Bread Pizza was the brainchild of Bob Petrillose, founder of the famous Hot Truck that parked on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Petrillose, who later licensed the idea to Stouffer’s, christened his combination of pizza sauce, cheese and toppings on French bread the “Poor Man’s Pizza,” or “PMP.”