Pasta is an unleavened dough made of wheat or buckwheat flour and water, and sometimes eggs. Pasta comes in a variety of different shapes that serve for both decoration and to act as a carrier for the different types of sauce. Pasta also includes varieties, such as ravioli and tortellini, that are filled with other ingredients, such as ground meat or cheese. Pasta is eaten as a main meal, starter, soup or dessert.

Pasta is typical of different cultures and countries, but the most famous varieties and recipes come from Italy. There are hundreds of different shapes of pasta with at least locally recognised names. Examples include spaghetti (thin strings), maccheroni (tubes or cylinders), fusilli (swirls), and lasagne (sheets). Gnocchi and spätzle are sometimes considered pasta; they are both traditional in parts of Italy.

Pasta is categorized in two basic styles: dried and fresh. Dried pasta made without eggs can be stored for up to two years under ideal conditions, while fresh pasta will keep for a few days under refrigeration. Pasta is generally cooked by boiling.

Etymology

Ingredients

Under Italian law, dry pasta (pasta asciutta) can only be made from durum wheat flour or durum wheat semolina. Durum flour and durum semolina have a yellow tinge in color. Italian pasta is traditionally cooked al dente (Italian: "firm to the bite", meaning not too soft). Outside Italy, dry pasta is frequently made from other types of flour (such as wheat flour), but this yields a softer product that cannot be cooked al dente the same way. There are many types of wheat flour with varying gluten and protein depending on variety of grain used.

Particular varieties of pasta may also use other grains and milling methods to make the flour, as specified by Italian law. Some pasta varieties, such as pizzoccheri, are made from buckwheat flour.

Fresh pasta may include eggs (pasta all'uovo 'egg pasta'), and does not use durum wheat semolina.

Whole wheat pasta, which generally contains more fibre and more nutrients than refined pasta, has become increasingly popular. Whole wheat pasta designed to appeal to people familiar with refined grain pastas may have a mixture of whole grain and refined grain ingredients.

History

Pasta is believed to have originated in China: the oldest known pasta or noodle-like food were found in China at the Qijia culture Lajia site in Qinghai province. The noodles, dated to 2000 BC, appear to have been made from foxtail millet and broomcorn millet.

In the 1st century BC writings of Horace, lagana were fine sheets of dough which were fried and were an everyday food. Writing in the 2nd century Athenaeus of Naucratis provides a recipe for lagana which he attributes to the 1st century Chrysippus of Tyana: sheets of dough made of wheat flour and the juice of crushed lettuce, then flavored with spices and deep-fried in oil. An early 5th century cookbook describes a dish called lagana that consisted of layers of dough with meat stuffing, a possible ancestor of modern-day lasagna. However, the method of cooking these sheets of dough does not correspond to our modern definition of either a fresh or dry pasta product.

Historians have noted several lexical milestones relevant to pasta, none which change these basic characteristics. For example, the works of the 2nd century AD Greek physician Galen mention itrion, homogeneous compounds made up of flour and water. The Jerusalem Talmud records that itrium, a kind of boiled dough, was common in Israel from the 3rd to 5th centuries AD, A dictionary compiled by the 9th century Arab physician and lexicographer Isho bar Ali defines itriyya, the Arabic cognate, as string-like shapes made of semolina and dried before cooking. The geographical text of Muhammad al-Idrisi, compiled for the Norman King of Sicily Roger II in 1154 mentions itriyya manufactured and exported from Norman Sicily:

Itriyya gives rise to trie in Italian, signifying long strips such as tagliatelle and trenette. One form of itriyya with a long history is laganum (plural lagana), which in Latin refers to a thin sheet of dough, and gives rise to Italian lasagna.

According to historians like Charles Perry, the Arabs adapted noodles for long journeys in the 5th century, the first written record of dry pasta. Durum wheat pasta was introduced by Libyian Arabs during their conquest of Sicily in the late 7th century

In North Africa, a food similar to pasta, known as couscous, has been eaten for centuries. However, it lacks the distinguishing malleable nature of pasta, couscous being more akin to droplets of dough. At first, dry pasta was a luxury item in Italy because of high labor costs, durum wheat semolina had to be kneaded for a long time. Only after the industrial revolution in Naples, when a mechanical die process allowed for large scale production of dry pasta, did it become affordable and popular among the common people.

There is a legend of Marco Polo importing pasta from China which originated with the Macaroni Journal, published by an association of food industries with the goal of promoting the use of pasta in the United States. Marco Polo describes a food similar to "lagana" in his Travels, but he uses a term with which he was already familiar. Some historians believe that in 1295 Marco Polo brought rice flour pasta, the type used to make Chinese dumplings. Now known as dumpling style or soft pasta, which manifested into ravioli, gnocchi and other similar preparations.

The first concrete information concerning pasta products in Italy dates from the 13th or 14th century.

Varieties

Accompaniments

Pasta is generally served with some type of sauce; the sauce and the type of pasta are usually matched based on consistency and ease of eating. Common pasta sauces in Northern Italy include pesto and ragù alla bolognese, which usually incorporates meat and a smaller amount of tomatoes in the sauce. In Central Italy, there are simple sauces such as tomato sauce, amatriciana and carbonara. Hot peppers are used in arrabbiata sauce.

Simple tomato sauces are also present in Southern Italian cuisine, where they originated. In Southern Italy more complex variations include garlic and olive oil, with the pasta often paired with fresh vegetables or seafood. A lighter, more quickly prepared version of the same dish is called pomodoro. Varieties include puttanesca, pasta alla norma (tomatoes, eggplant and fresh or baked cheese), pasta con le sarde (fresh sardines, pine nuts, fennel and olive oil), spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino (literally with garlic, [olive] oil and hot chili peppers).

Fettuccine alfredo with cream, cheese and butter, and spaghetti with tomato sauce (with or without meat) are popular Italian-style dishes in the United States.

International adaptations

In Cha chaan teng (茶餐廳), macaroni is cooked in water and served in broth with ham or frankfurter sausages, peas, black mushrooms, and optionally eggs, reminiscent of noodle soup dishes. This is often a course for breakfast or light lunch fare. These affordable dining shops evolved from American food rations after World War II due to lack of supplies, and they continue to be popular for people with modest means so any comparison to Italy or Hong Kong's more authentic Italian eateries is irrelevant.

Two common spaghetti dishes served in Japan are the Bolognese (ミートソース) and the Napolitan (ナポリタン). In India, macaroni has been adopted and cooked in an Indianized way. Boiled macaroni is sautéed along with cumin, turmeric, finely chopped green chillies, onions & cabbage. In Greece hilopittes is considered one of the finest types of dried egg pasta. It is cooked either in tomato sauce or with various kinds of casserole meat. It is usually served with Greek cheese of any type.

Pasta is also widespread in Argentina and Brazil, especially in the areas with strong Italian roots, like Buenos Aires and São Paulo. The local names for the pasta are varieties of the Italian names, such as ñoquis/nhoque for gnocchi, ravioles/ravióli for ravioli, or tallarines/talharim for tagliatelle. In Sweden, spaghetti is traditionally served with köttfärssås (Bolognese sauce), which is minced meat in a thick tomato soup. In the Philippines, spaghetti is often served with a distinct, slightly sweet yet flavorful meat sauce, frequently containing diced hot dogs. In Malta baked pasta is commonly served.

See also

References

External links

Category:Greek loanwords Category:Italian loanwords Category:Mediterranean cuisine * Category:Staple foods