Listing the different styles of pizza around the world would be a pretty time-consuming task; there are few foods which come in so many guises, or which have inspired as many interpretations. Since the word was first documented in 997 AD, what we know as pizza has evolved enormously – today, it's everywhere, found frozen in supermarkets, wood-fired to order, served by the slice as street food, delivered to our homes and whipped up in our kitchens. Countries have created their own takes (think Turkish pide flatbreads, and German tarte flambée), and cities have become known for their own distinctive styles.

It might be down to their cultural significance, or perhaps finding the perfect ratio of crispy crust to molten cheese, but over time a handful of pizzas have risen above their peers and established themselves as a classic. That's what we've focused on here – from the traditional Neapolitan to Sicilian to American styles like Detroit and Chicago, we've looked at the main styles of pizza we know and love today. We've explored how they're authentically enjoyed and what sets them apart when it comes to the all-important crusts and toppings. We know we're only scratching the surface (there's a rundown to Italy's different pizza crusts here), but we hope it's a useful starting point when it comes to separating your slices. 

Most Italian cooking is all about celebrating beautiful ingredients in an unfussy way, a mindset which is epitomised by the country's most famous pizza, the Neapolitan. Hailing from Naples, widely considered to be the birthplace of pizza as we know it today, it's topped with a crushed tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, basil and olive oil (to qualify as an authentic Neapolitan pizza, it must meet strict rules around its dough, toppings and how it's cooked). Its defining characteristics include a thin crust, which becomes airy, fluffy and charred around the edge as it's cooked in a wood-burning oven. It's smaller in size than we might expect, usually around the ten to twelve-inch mark, and has more sauce than cheese, meaning it can be tricky to pick up by the slice – in Naples it's often eaten with a knife and fork or folded up. There are different theories as to how many official variations exist, though it's usually agreed that Margherita (topped with tomato, mozzarella, basil and olive oil) and marinara (tomato, oregano, garlic and olive oil) are included. 

Sicilian-style pizza – or sfincione – is distinguished by its thick, rectangular crust, which is fluffy and light in texture, not dissimilar to a focaccia. The cheese – usually caciocavallo or pecorino romano – usually sits underneath a layer of savoury tomato sauce made with anchovies, onion and breadcrumbs, though different variations can be found across the world (including our take, with pine nuts and watercress pesto). In Sicily, it's a cherished dish which has links to Christmas, when families come together to make it. 

Though they share their rectangular shape, Detroit and Sicilian pizzas have little in common. A hallmark of the Detroit style is its Wisconsin brick cheese, cubes of which are used to cover the dough from edge to edge, before toppings (small cup pepperoni is particularly popular) are put on top and dollops or stripes of tomato sauce are used to finish the pizza (some recipes call for pepperoni on top of the sauce instead). The distinctive red stripes are known as tire tracks, and give the pizzas their nickname of red tops. Detroit pizzas are typically a little thicker than their Sicilian peers, and are baked in the blue steel pans that were once used to hold spare parts in Detroit's motor factories – the pans' high edges give the pizzas satisfyingly crispy edges. 

When we think of Chicago-style pizzas, the image that no doubt springs to mind is of a towering, deep dish pie – there is a thin and crispy-style which also hails from the city, but it's considerably less famous. The deep dish style was born at a Chicago restaurant in 1943 and has since become one of the most recognisable kinds, with a crust which is at least an inch deep. Dough is pressed into a circular pan, then filled with cheese and fillings (often pepperoni or sausage) and blanketed with a generous layer of tomato sauce and baked. Stuffed Chicago pizzas, meanwhile, have an extra layer of dough on top of the fillings and another layer of sauce – and usually more cheese than their deep dish cousins. Given their size, both are tucked into with a knife and fork.

Pizza fritta – fried pizza – originates from Naples and comes in two forms; a stuffed version which isn't dissimilar to calzone, and pizza montanara, which hails from the mountains around the city. In the latter, chefs drop a disc of pizza dough into hot oil, then top it with marinara and cheese before baking it again. Today, it's part of Italy's street food culture and can be spotted on some menus outside the country.  

New York's take on pizza has evolved since the early 1900s into a key part of the city's food scene. Now, grabbing a dollar slice on a paper plate is part and parcel of a trip to the Big Apple. The style is defined by a large crust (usually around eighteen to twenty-four inches, cut into eight slices), which is slightly thicker, denser and chewier than that of a Neapolitan pizza. It's crispy at the edges but soft and thin enough to be folded in half to eat. It's typically sold in wide slices, and is traditionally topped with tomato sauce and shredded mozzarella, rather than fresh, creating its distinctive mottled finish.

Sometimes mistaken for Sicilian pizza, the Roman pizza al taglio (meaning by the cut in Italian) can be found in giant rectangular slabs cut into squares to eat on the go. Though it's originally a Roman street food, it can be found across Italy today. It has a crispy and sturdy dough which is often piled high with different toppings, from the classics like mozzarella, pepperoni and peppers and onions to more adventurous options. It's generally sold by the weight.

It's believed calzone was born in Naples as a pizza that could be eaten on the go. It was made with both classic fillings like tomatoes and mozzarella, but also contained more adventurous ingredients that wouldn't typically find a spot on a Neapolitan pizza. Authentic calzone have a half-moon shape, like a pizza crust folded in half, though other versions around the world are much larger. Calzones vary from region to region in Italy; in Puglia, for example, they are fried, while in Sicily the dough is filled with onions and potatoes. 

Curious to know which pizza toppings chefs opt for? We found out here.