Different types of pasta are very different from each other in size and appearance, so you should understand their varieties.

Pasta appeared a long time ago. So long ago that it is no longer possible to establish the exact year of their birth. It is only known that the ancient Egyptians stocked up something like noodles to eat on the way to the kingdom of the dead. Well, the path is probably not a short one, and savvy Africans guessed that pasta did not deteriorate, much earlier than modern travelers. According to another version, the product most resembling modern pasta appeared in the East, in Japan and China. Still, on the New Year's table in Japan, they put a long, long-lasting noodle so that the life of the participants of the holiday is as long as possible.

According to some historians, the emergence of pasta in Europe, we are obliged to the Italian traveler Marco Polo, who brought this valuable product from China. However, many experts do not agree with this theory and believe that Europeans thought of making pasta completely independently. But be that as it may, all the same, Italy is considered the "center of pasta life". There, pasta is one of the most beloved national dishes. And the appearance of most varieties of pasta, as well as the invention of a number of sauces for them, we owe it to the Italians.

What are they good for?

  ● For the mood. There are a lot of B vitamins in pasta, which help to cope with stress and headaches. And the amino acid tryptophan contained in spaghetti improves sleep and relieves some forms of depression.

  ● For skin. Vitamin E prevents the appearance of wrinkles and other signs of aging.

  ● For the heart and blood vessels. Complex carbohydrates, which are exceptionally rich in pasta, are known to help lower blood cholesterol, which means that many cardiovascular diseases, atherosclerosis, and senile memory loss do not threaten pasta lovers.

  ● For digestion. In spaghetti from wholemeal flour there is a large amount of fiber, which means that they are useful for those who have problems with the intestines.

Feel the difference!

Different types of pasta are very different from each other in size and appearance, so you should understand the varieties, because sometimes on bundles they write "native" Italian names for pasta instead of the usual notation: "horns", "bows", "shells"

Horns and spirals:

● Rotini. Very short spirals, look like small springs. You can eat hot or cold with very thick sauces or add to pasta salads.

  ● Fusilli. Longer than rotini, and also twisted. They are served with almost all sauces, added to soups.

Hollow Pasta:

  ● Ditalini. Small, very short tubes, in Italian their name means “thimble”. Use in soups or pasta salads.

  ● Cannelloni. Large, long tubes. They are usually stuffed with meat fillings and baked in sauce.

  ● Pechutelle. Long, thin hollow tubes. They can replace spaghetti, they are often used for cooking meat dishes, added to vegetable stew.

Long pasta:

  ● Capellini. Long and very thin. They are sometimes also called "angel hair." They are only used hot, with light sauces, broths or simply mixed with olive oil and boiled vegetables.

  ● Fetuccini. Long, flat and wide pasta. Serve both hot and cold, with thick sauces.

  ● Spaghetti. Their name translates as "small ropes." They are known to be eaten hot with all kinds of sauces. Sometimes used for cooking casseroles.

  ● Lasagna. Long and very wide pasta. They are stacked in layers, smearing each layer with a thick tomato or cream sauce, and baked.

Under the sauce

It is impossible to cook pasta without sauce. Italians make it out of everything that turns up on hand. Minced meat, bacon, vegetables, seafood, cream and olive oil are used. In general, there is enough room for imagination. The only rule that must be observed is that the longer and thinner the pasta, the thinner the sauce should be.

Among the sauces there are also celebrities:

  ● Bolognese - minced meat and tomato sauce.

  ● Carbonara - it includes cream, bacon and white wine.

  ● Frutto di mare - seafood sauce.

  ● Diabolo - with hot pepper.

  ● Salsa di tomato - tomato sauce, which is cooked on very low heat with the addition of basil and marjoram.

As for cheese, they can flavor any pasta dishes, feed of those that include seafood. The cheese you sprinkle with hot spaghetti must be hard. The classic version is parmesan.

How to eat them

With short horns and spirals, everything is clear - they are eaten with a fork or spoon. But with long spaghetti, everything is much more complicated. The "bunch" of spaghetti is separated from the total mass, grab between the teeth of the fork and screw on it. Cutting spaghetti with a knife is not allowed - firstly, it is considered bad form, and secondly, when you cut long pasta, drops of sauce can sprinkle you and your neighbors on the table.

Which to choose

It is believed that the best pasta is the one made from durum wheat. They get fatter less, they do not boil and do not stick together during the cooking process. They can be identified by the corresponding inscription on the package. However, sometimes “hard” pasta is labeled differently. Perhaps you will see the mark “group A”, “1st grade” or “durum” - these inscriptions also indicate that you have a high-quality product made from durum wheat. After you read the label, evaluate the look of the pasta. If they have a rough surface, traces of unprotected in the dough are noticeable, white or unnaturally yellow color, crumbs and flour in a pack - you do not need such spaghetti. Good pasta should be smooth, creamy, with tiny black dots (the remains of the shells of cereals).

Facts only

1480 kg weighed the largest bowl of pasta. This record was set in San Francisco. The height of the bowl was 91 centimeters and the width was 3.05 meters.

4000 years old oldest noodle pot. It was discovered in the summer of 2005 during excavations of the ancient settlement of Lajian on the banks of the Yellow River in China.

1000: 100: 10 - the classic ratio when cooking pasta: 1 liter of water, 100 g of pasta and 10 g of salt.

If all the pasta eaten by the Italians during the year were spaghetti, its total length would be 600,000,000 km. This is enough to wrap around the Earth 15,000 times, and the water in which this paste was cooked would be enough for 130 Olympic swimming pools!

200 kilocalories, 40 g of carbohydrates, less than 1 g of fat and only 1 g of salt contains a glass of spaghetti.

Interesting

Macaroni brought to prison. Dutch driver Martin Weens, who was driving a truck while eating pasta, was sentenced to 8 weeks in prison for dangerous driving. A Dutch police patrol shot a camera from a helicopter, as Veens, while driving a machine, held a pasta pan with his left hand and a fork with his right hand. At the same time, the driver kept the steering wheel of a 40-ton truck only with his knees.

At the trial, the Dutchman pleaded guilty, adding that his method of controlling the machine was dangerous, although he noted that he ate on the go only when he felt that it was safe. Weens claims to have heated pasta at a gas station shortly before it was stopped by the police. The court sentenced Weyns to 8 weeks in prison for such driving, and also deprived the Dutchman of a driver's license for a year, deciding after this time to pass the truck driving test again.

pasta packaging raw materials labeling

Macaroni (maccheroni) - products from durum wheat flour, sometimes with the addition of eggs, in the form of tubes. Cord-shaped products are called "spaghetti" or "vermicelli" - depending on their length, that is, translated from Italian - "rope" or "worms". In Italy, only the thinnest tubes are called pasta. The tubes are thicker referred to as mezzacy, and the thickest pasta is called cita.

Russian pasta is known not so long ago - just a little more than 200 years. It is known that Peter I for the construction of ships recruited masters abroad. One of them, named Fernando, arrived from Italy. The Italian, a pasta lover himself, handed over the secret of their preparation to the Russian businessman for whom he worked. The latter appreciated the benefits of the new product (pasta was five to six times more expensive than the best flour) and set up their home production. The owner, of course, put the money in his pocket, and gave the Italians only the glory of "pasta." But Fernando took revenge on the owner and sold the secret to more generous entrepreneurs.

1797 is considered the year of the origin of the macaroni industry in Russia, when the first macaroni factory in Odessa was opened.

Here pasta was made from the best varieties of wheat flour, a large proportion of manual labor was laid in the technology. In 1913, there were already 39 pasta enterprises in Russia, producing about 30 thousand tons of products per year. The process has been greatly improved. Wholemeal was poured into the teas of the kneading machines, poured with water and mixed. The obtained lumpy dough on testokaty was turned into a bound mass, which was rolled into a tape on rolling. In the manufacture of pasta or vermicelli, the tape was rolled up into a roll weighing 30-50 kilograms, laid in a press cylinder. Noodles were usually obtained by cutting the ribbon on special machines - noodle cutters. Strands of products were cut with a knife, hung on poles or laid out on frames and dried in chamber dryers with steam or heat heating. In the southern cities, the so-called Neapolitan drying method was used: for the day the pasta was taken out into the air, and for the night it was put into the basement. During the day, the products dried out, and at night they were dampened. With such a long (about a week) drying method, the products acquired strength, a special taste and aroma.

And today, the pasta industry continues to grow at an accelerated pace.

Significant qualitative changes have occurred in the current time in the region. Most of the domestic manufacturers have acquired first time, use the most advanced technical technologies and have the ability to develop high-quality products that meet the requirements of international standards.

The origins of pasta are lost in the darkness of millennia.

The first mention of pasta (or pasta) was found in Etruscan burials dating back to the 4th century. BC. The bas-reliefs depict kitchen utensils for cooking pasta.

In the 1st century AD chef Apicius mentions in his cookbook a dish reminiscent of modern lasagna.

Around the year 1000 A.D. the cook of the powerful Patriarch of the Aquilean Martino Corno wrote the book “De arte Coquinaria per vermicelli e macaroni siciliani” (“The Art of Making Sicilian Macaroni and Vermicelli”).

Pasta was well known in the Arab countries, where it is still called "mccaroni". From these countries, pasta spread to Greece and Sicily (in those days the former Arab colony).

Palermo can be considered the first official capital of pasta. It was here that for the first time historical sources were found which spoke of the manufacture of dry pasta on an industrial scale. In 1150, the Arab geographer Al-Idrisi writes in his report that in Trabia, about 30 km. from Palermo, "they make flour pasta in abundance in the form of cords in abundance, and then they transport it everywhere, to Calabria and to many Muslim and Christian countries, even on ships."

The first “official” mention of the paste is found in the notarial deed of the inventory of property for the will: “basket full of pasta”. The document dates from 1279. A 1366 document testifies to the production of dried pasta in Liguria. In the 15-16 centuries, the production of noodles became very common, and in 1574 the Noodle Producers Guild was founded in Genoa.

In the 17th century, a small technological revolution took place in Naples - the invention of the mechanical press. The use of a mechanical press made it possible to significantly reduce the cost of the production process and greatly reduce the price of paste. Since then, pasta has become a truly folk meal. The proximity of Naples to the sea (as in the case of Liguria and Sicily) made it possible to dry pasta. Dried pasta could be stored for a long time.

Until the 18th century, pasta dough was kneaded in the shops with feet. In 1740, a well-known engineer Cesare Spadachchini, commissioned by the King of Naples Fernando II, introduced a new technology, which consisted of adding boiling water to freshly ground flour and replacing the foot mix with specially designed machines with bronze parts.

In the 19th century, pasta production reached an industrial scale worthy of its century. The introduction of machines and mechanisms in the production of pasta entails the development of the pasta market, increased competition among manufacturers and increased export of pasta overseas. The sifting process of flour reaches a qualitatively new level; a hydraulic press and steam mills are introduced.

The 19th century also brought with it the opportunity to drill holes of almost any shape in the bronze disk-matrix of pasta presses. The assortment of pasta producers has totaled up to 150-200 items.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the process of artificial drying and air conditioning makes the paste production process accessible to all regions of Italy.

Durum wheat Taganrog, imported from Russia, was considered the best for the production of pasta. The Russian port of Taganrog shipped thousands of tons of durum wheat, so beloved by pasta producers. At that time, Italian pasta factories simply could not do without wheat from Russia. An old brochure for a Ligurian pasta factory, half of which was exported to the State of New York, proudly describes Taganrog Pasta. Unfortunately, the import of the Taganrog flour was interrupted after the 1917 revolution. And Italian producers had to find a replacement for Taganrog wheat. But so far, Taganrog durum wheat is considered unsurpassed in its qualities for the production of pasta.

Photos: www.flickr.com
Text: www.1-mk.ru

Macaroni - tubular products made from durum wheat flour, fully dried dough. Other similar products, such as spaghetti or noodles, are produced in the same way. Now absolutely everyone knows about these widespread ingredients. And what happened in antiquity, before various culinary masterpieces and intricate dishes appeared? Who actually invented pasta and in which country?

The very first mention of pasta

The history of the pasta is really incredibly confusing. The same can be said of the country in which pasta was invented. Some sources claim that they appeared in ancient Greece and were once created by God himself, although this, of course, is a legend.

The creation of pasta dates back to a very long time. They appeared even earlier than Chinese noodles, for about five hundred years. It was believed that pasta was created in Etruscan time, but the evidence for this is not strong enough. Archaeologists have found a needle similar to a sewing needle. Soon they decided that this tool was used to wrap the dough from which the pasta itself is made.

There is a popular opinion that pasta was popular in the 4th century BC among the Egyptians. During excavations in the tombs, drawings were found that depicted something similar to cooking a kind of noodle. The Egyptians also often took noodles with them to the world of the dead.

But the very first written mention of pasta appeared in the culinary book of Apicus, a famous Roman chef in the 1st century. The first recipes for lasagna were presented in this book. Apicus in his work writes about the preparation of a dish of minced meat, which is laid out in the layers of this dish. Lasagna pasta was common in ancient Greece and in ancient Rome. A vermicelli appeared in medieval Italy a little later.

Story

It is not known who invented pasta, and the name of the one who first proposed them. But they have a rich and interesting story.

In the X century, Italian chef Martin Korno wrote a book called "Culinary Art of Sicilian Pasta." Products from the dough prepared in this way are called pasta in Italian, but in those years the word pasta was the name of the whole food.

A 1244 document identified products that were banned. This list included the so-called pasta lissa - soft wheat pasta. By the 12th century, even lawmakers were monitoring the quality of the product - this proves the importance of these products in people's lives.

Stripes from a peculiar dried text often appeared until the 13th century. Their pasta often appeared on the tables of Sicily. Dishes from sun-dried dough were cooked using various delicious additives.

It is believed that pasta first appeared in China, and only in 1292, Marco Polo, an Italian traveler, brought them to Italy. But when he discovered pasta in China, he only meant that the Chinese were creating the same pasta as in Italy.

In China, medical records about the emperor’s medicines written by Xiao Gong were found. In them he wrote various recipes and recommendations for their use. In one of the entries, you could find tips on eating hot buckwheat noodles. It was believed that it eliminates harmful energy and various diseases. And from excess weight and to preserve the youthfulness of the body, the doctor advised eating rice and

And in 2005, archaeologists discovered ancient utensils along the Yellow River. On one of the dishes they found a very old noodle, the age of which was counted at four thousand years. This once again proves that in ancient times, Asian countries also used pasta, otherwise - Who invented them? So, the first such pasta began to be eaten right here in China. Although, of course, this does not exclude the fact that various pasta was also used in ancient Italy.

Italy and China

So who invented pasta and where? There is no doubt that Italy and China have long been familiar with these products. What is more surprising is that the rest of the countries did not even know about such products. The simplest cakes were popular all over the world. However, lasagna is considered almost the ancestor of all pasta and is the same cake. This clarifies the situation a bit. It turns out that noodles and pasta are only logical derivatives of lasagna. However, this is not an indisputable fact. Therefore, there is no exact answer to the question of which country the pasta was invented in.

Ravioli, tortellini and dumplings

In the middle of the XIII century, a kind of pasta with a filling called ravioli and tortellini appeared in Italian cuisine. The filler they have is completely different, but mostly it is meat, cheese or spinach. Soon, derivatives of Italian pasta with filling appeared around the world, otherwise - dumplings familiar to us, Russians. Wonderful tones later began to be produced in China, mo-mo in Tibet, and kreplah among the Jews. No wonder it is believed that many forms of pasta come from the Middle East.

Who invented instant pasta?

Nowadays, noodles that can be cooked in just five minutes are widely known all over the world. All that is needed: pour out the entire contents of the bag and fill it with water. Quite often, other dishes are made with such noodles. As you know, the semi-finished product was invented by Momofuku Ando. Now you know the name of the one who invented instant pasta. Today they are indispensable for too busy people with limited time.

Who invented navy pasta?

Navy pasta served mainly as food for sailors and various travelers in the Middle Ages. Now it is considered a classic Soviet recipe. It became especially widely known after the end of World War II and is boiled pasta mixed with fried minced meat or stew.

• Around the world, there are about 600 different types of pasta.
• In Italy, pasta is called nothing but pasta. Although before this word here they called all food in principle.
• And in 1819, the very first mechanism for drying pasta and spaghetti was created - of course, in Italy.
• In the same country there is an amazing genre of cinema called the spaghetti western. He was born in the 20th century and was especially popular in the 60s and 70s. For all this time, about 600 films were shot, and the shooting took place mainly in the southern deserts of Spain - it was there that it was possible to achieve the similarity of the views of the American wild West.
• Rossini, a well-known Italian composer, claimed to have cried just two times in his entire life. The first time he did this, he heard the amazing Paganini game. And the second time he was grieving over a self-cooked pasta dish, which he inadvertently dropped.
• In Holland, a driver who ate driving pasta was sentenced to eight weeks in prison.
• To prepare the now popular products, Italians use only durum wheat, and in China they use rice flour.

Macaroni and their national characteristics in different countries

We still do not know who invented pasta and where, and the name of the one who did it. But all over the world there are various products and dishes that are prepared from them.

Of course, pasta is mainly associated with Italy: after all, many believe that spaghetti were invented. But few people know that around the world there are also their own, traditional pasta.

European cuisine is characterized by various products mainly from durum wheat. The variety and size of pasta is striking in its diversity: here they are made completely different.

In Italy, pasta is known for its rich history: quite often pasta and spaghetti are almost a symbol of Italian cuisine. There are several categories: small pasta for soup, pasta for baking, such as lasagna, and pasta with some filling inside (ravioli, which we talked about earlier).

In Russia, we are used to seeing pasta of various shapes, which are mainly prepared as a side dish for the main course. Macaroni is divided into different categories, depending on the quality of the raw materials used for the production of pasta. We produce vermicelli, horns and various curly pasta.

In Central Asia, there is a popular and integral dish of Central Asian cuisine called lagman. The basis of this dish is long pasta, which bears an interesting name - chuzma.

Oriental cuisine is often associated with rice - because there rice is the main and most popular cereal. Consequently, pasta here is not made at all from wheat flour, but from rice. These products take much longer to cook and look very different from what we are used to: they are white or transparent and thinner. An example of such pasta is Chinese noodles or funchose.

In Japan, these products are also prepared from very unusual raw materials - bean starch. Such products in the Land of the Rising Sun are usually called saifun. An interesting national dish in Tunisia is nuasyr noodles made from semolina flour. Typically, it is served with lamb or chicken.

Pasta names all over the world

In Italy, pasta is called spaghetti - spaghetti. The word is formed from the plain spago, which translates as "thread."

After China and Italy, Abarians and Indians began to use pasta. The former called them rishta, and the latter - sevika. Both words in Russian are also translated as "thread."

Despite the fact that pasta was quite diverse, in Italy they came up with one common name, which we are already accustomed to - macaroni.

Who has never eaten pasta? Perhaps such a person can not be found anywhere. Indeed, under the same name "pasta" a huge assortment of dough products is collected - these are ordinary vermicelli and horns, and long spaghetti, and sheets of pasta for lasagna, etc. With this product, there are already a huge number of recipes that can be quickly and easily prepared. But few people know how and when pasta appeared, as well as where they come from. In fact, the history of the origin of pasta is fascinating not only thanks to interesting facts, but also to the myths and legends that surround them ..

The history of the origin of pasta - where did the pasta come from

Most, of course, will say that pasta is a traditional dish of Italian cuisine, and they will be right in some way ... Indeed, it was Italian merchants who spread pasta throughout Europe, during long voyages many thousands of kilometers from their homeland, filling the holds of their ships with pasta.

It was the natives of Genoa who brought pasta to Russia for the first time, and this happened during the time of Peter the Great. A well-known reformer and admirer of everything European often invited foreign masters, one of whom was an Italian shipbuilder and brought as a present to the tsar’s court a number of pasta. I liked the dish, quickly took root among the people. But the industrial production of pasta in our country began with a factory in the city of Odessa. It is noteworthy that it was not Russian or Italians who discovered it, but the French.

It is believed that pasta is a dish of Greek origin, because literally "pasta" from ancient Greek is translated as "meal from flour." But, besides this fact, the existence of pasta in ancient Greece is practically not confirmed by anything.

In the Roman Empire, during the reign of the emperor Tiberius, around 600 AD, the first cookbooks appeared. And there were recipes for pasta dishes, only slightly different from modern ones! However, this is already our era. And the history of pasta is much more ancient.

During the excavation of ancient pyramids in Egypt, a large number of images of people engaged in the preparation of noodles were found. Moreover, the technology was not very different from the current one - they rolled out the dough, cut it into pieces and dried it. Whether pasta was imported from the outside or invented on the spot - science is still unknown.

But still, the most ancient mentions of pasta belong to the Chinese. During excavations of ancient cities dating back to about 4000 BC, the remains of dishes with petrified noodles were found! Also in China, a huge number of references to pasta in folklore - fairy tales, myths, legends. Belongings and popular superstitions are connected with pasta. It turns out that China is the birthplace of everyone's favorite dough products, and not Italy at all.

Today, there are a lot of facts about pasta. For you, we have prepared the most interesting.

• In Italy, pasta is called "pasta";
• Around the world, there are about 600 types of pasta;
• Italians use durum wheat to make pasta;
• In 1819, the first machine for drying spaghetti was invented in Italy;
• Composer Rossini once wrote that he cried in his life only 2 times. The first time I heard Paganini play, and the second time I dropped a pasta dish that he made on his own;
• The Dutch driver was sentenced to 8 weeks in prison for eating pasta while driving;
• In Italy, there is such a film genre as spaghetti western. About 600 films were shot in this genre in the 60s.

Pasta Sauces

Now we eat pasta with meat, vegetables, milk, various seasonings, etc. But by tradition, pasta is usually eaten with sauce. And for this you need to cook them yourself with fresh products.

• Bolognese: minced meat, tomatoes, red wine and herbs;
• Barbonara: bacon, cream and Parmesan cheese;
• Norm: pork fat, onions and tomatoes;
• Napoletana: tomatoes, fresh vegetables and herbs.

Although each country has its own pasta ... It combines their excellent taste, ease of preparation and popularity, the peak of which fell on the twentieth century. With the development of the industrial world, factories and factories began to produce much more pasta, and they actually flooded the world. Such is the history of pasta.