The word pasta is generally used to describe traditional Italian noodles, which differentiates it from other types of noodles around the world. Pasta is made from unleavened dough consisting of ground durum wheat and water or eggs.
The use of durum wheat sets pasta apart from other forms of noodles. The durum wheat dough is pressed into sheets, cut into a variety of shapes, and cooked before serving. While we do think of pasta as a culturally Italian food, it is likely the descendent of ancient Asian noodles.
A common belief about pasta is that it was brought to Italy from China by Marco Polo during the 13th century. The Chinese used this plant to create a meal similar to barley flour. This, combined with the fact that pasta was already gaining popularity in other areas of Italy during the 13th century, makes it very unlikely that Marco Polo was the first to introduce pasta to Italy. Archaeologists believe that central Asia is most likely the first area to have produced noodles thousands of years ago.
From Asia, it traveled westward. Once it reached the Mediterranean the process was refined, and durum wheat became the ingredient of choice for pasta flour because of its high gluten content and long shelf life. When durum wheat pasta is dried, it lasts indefinitely, making it a very convenient food to store. The warm Mediterranean climate of Italy is suited to growing fresh vegetables and herbs, which meant that Italians could get creative with a delicious variety of pasta sauces.
Although tomatoes were brought back to Europe shortly after their discovery in the New World, it took a long time for the plant to be considered edible. In fact, tomatoes are a member of the nightshade family, and rumors of tomatoes being poisonous continued in parts of Europe and its colonies until the mid 19th century check the history of tomato here.
Therefore it was not until that the first pasta recipe with tomatoes was documented. However, shortly thereafter tomatoes took hold, especially in the south of Italy.
The rest of course is delicious history. It is estimated that Italians eat over sixty pounds of pasta per person, per year easily beating Americans, who eat about twenty pounds per person. This love of pasta in Italy far outstrips the large durum wheat production of the country; therefore Italy must import most of the wheat it uses for pasta. Today pasta is everywhere and can be found in dried pasta secca and fresh pasta fresca varieties depending on what the recipes call for.
The main problem with pasta today is the use of mass production to fill a huge worldwide demand. And while the pasta is made everywhere, the product from Italy keeps to time-tested production methods that create a superior pasta. There are roughly different shapes and varieties of dried pasta in Italy, even more counting regional differences.
Many, but not all of these types, are usually available wherever pasta is made. However, there are two factors in dried pasta from Italy that make it typically better than most other products: extrusion and drying methods. Dried pasta, especially the more complex shapes such as radiators are designed for grabbing and holding onto sauces.
Dried tube pasta ziti or penne often has ridges or slight abrasions on the surface to hold onto the pasta sauce as well. These ridges and bumps are created during the extrusion process when the pasta is forced from a copper mold and cut to the desired length before drying. These molds, while expensive and prone to wear, are favored for making the best-dried pasta.
However, most producers worldwide use steel molds that produce pasta that is too smooth to hold onto sauce. Fortunately, more pasta makers outside of Italy are starting to use the older style copper molds.
After the pasta is cut it must be dried using a process of specific temperature and time. This is another area where mass-produced pasta falls short of good Italian pasta made the correct way. The mass-produced kinds of pasta are dried at very high temperatures for a shorter time than quality pasta. Traditional pasta is allowed to dry slower, up to 50 hours at a much lower temperature.
It is after the pasta is fully dried that it is packaged. The result is a product with a much better mouth-feel, quicker cooking time, and superior sauce-holding noodles.
This pasta dish consists of an incredibly flavorful sauce that is a blend of extra virgin olive oil, capers, and anchovies. Bring a large pot of water to a full boil. Liberally add salt to the water and cook the pasta according to directions. When the spaghetti is al dente, remove from the stove, saving a bit of the starchy water for later.
Then drain the pasta. While the pasta is still cooking, prepare the sauce by placing the olive oil into a large saucepan over medium heat. Then, add the olives and capers and give it a stir. Now, add the tomatoes and turn the heat down to a simmer. Toss the pasta and sauce together. If it appears too dry, add a bit of the reserved cooking water, since the starch in that water will not make the sauce too thin.
Garnish with the extra parsley, and freshly grated parmesan, and serve. Noodles existed in China and Asia long before pasta appeared in the Mediterranean world, and the legend goes that Marco Polo brought pasta to Italy from China in the 13th century.
A recent book by Silvano Serventi and Francoise Sabban has set the record straight in authoritative and fascinating detail. China was indeed the first country to develop the art of noodle making, but there were pastas in the Mediterranean world long before Marco Polo.
There were even noodles called rishta in the Middle East, a food of Persian origin. Furthermore, it is suggested that rishta became popular in Sicily, due to the high number of Arab traders on the island. It is believed that rishta came to Italy via the Silk Road, the well-worn trading path from Asia to Europe.
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