Delicious Italian Pasta

Pasta is a foodstuff that is prepared from dough using ingredients like flour, eggs or water. This dough is shaped and it is then stored. These pastas are found in various shapes including spaghetti, macaroni and lasagna. The pastas are boiled before eating.  The pasta could be called as a dish in which pasta products are found along with various sauces and seasonings. The Italian word pasta means dough or a small cake. However, today English word paste is also used for the Italian pasta.

History of Pasta

To begin with the long unraveled history of pasta, one can look back at the origin and some myths surrounding it worldwide. It was known to the children that Venetian merchant; Marco Polo brought pasta to Italy after his journey to China. However, another story says that the pasta was a rediscovery of Polo that was once in Italy in Etruscan also in the Roman times. Marco Polo did many fantastic things throughout his journey and bringing pasta to Italy was one of them. The Arabs invasions of the 18^th century extremely influenced the Italian pasta. The dried noodle like product was introduced that is known as the dried pasta. Sicilian term for making this pasta is popularly known as macaroni today. Pasta became popular in 1300’s for its long shelf life and nutrition. Thus, it became an ideal food for long ship voyages.  The next advancement in the history of pasta was observed in the 19^th century and then, it was combined with tomatoes.

Ingredients of Pasta

In order to make the pasta dough, various ingredients could be used. The ingredients can simple dough and water mixture or a mixture of eggs, cheese and spices. Italian dry pasta is generally made from durum wheat semolina flour. The flour has a little tinge of yellow color. Traditionally, Italian pasta is cooked al dente, soft. However, elsewhere, other than Italy, the dry pasta is usually made up of some other types of flour like farina. This yields the softer product thus cannot be cooked al dente. Certain types of pastas are made up from some other grains using various methods. Pasta variety like Pizzoccheri is prepared from buckwheat flour. The fresh pastas generally include eggs. Gnocchi type of pasta is famous worldwide. They are different as they come in a combination with milled potatoes. Making pastas is very simple. It could be made by hand but tools or machines are preferred to hand made. The most common pasta sauces in Northern Italy include Ragu Alla Bolognese and pesto, tomato sauce, carbonara and amatriciana in Central Italy, and spicy tomato garlic and onion based sauces in Southern Italy.   The pastas could also have accompaniments of cheese and butter.

Pasta Today

It is estimated that every person in Italy eats about sixty pounds on an average. The extreme love for pasta in Italy outstrips large durum wheat production. Today, pasta has become popular around the globe. It is found in either dried form or fresh form.