marble?

[artigiano]

Just a question why the pizza makers of old times went with a marble counter top surface when granite is much harder and wear resistant?  There must be a reason.. just haven't found it.  The VPN calls on a marble surface.. just want someone to justify the reason, or else granite might be the better choice?

[Brien]

Granite is porous, (most) marble isn't.

[artigiano]

but granite can easily be sealed..therefore offering a solution and the stone is harder, just want to know why it is a tradition in italy.. is it because marble is more readily available?  When I get curious abotu soimething I am really curious.

[jerry bark]

this could be a geology issue,

IIRC marble is common in italy, granite is not. marble is metamorphosed limestone and italy was at the bottom of an inland sea in the cenozoic so limestone would have been common. in more recent times italy is perched above a subduction zone, meaning the medeterranian ocean floor is going under the european continental crust, which provide ample opportunity for metamorphosis.

well you DID ask,

of course i MAY be wrong

cheers
jerry

[goosen1]

I wouldn't use a sealer on anything that I would be putting any food on.. Even if you use bleach or other cleaning liquids after you let the sealer set.

Just my opinion.

Goose

[Davydd]

Both granite and marble should be sealed. The sealers used for kitchen counters are totally non-toxic. Marble is more susceptible scratching, staining and dissolution from citric foods. Marble generally is not recommended for kitchen counter tops. If used in Italy it is because marble is the most common stone in Italy. I don't know of any advantages over granite unless one just simply wanted to emulate the Italians for aesthetic reasons.

[artigiano]

Makes sense.. may be the fact that marble is much more readily available in Italy.. or was for that matter and has carried forward as tradition.  Granite is what I tend to see much more of here and I thought I read some where that one of the guidelines for an authentic Neapolitan pizza was to make the pizzas on a marble slab.  Just always wondered why they wanted marble for the slab, thanks.