Pasta

Pasta is a type of food made from the flour of various grains, water, and sometimes eggs, which is mixed, kneaded and formed into various shapes, and boiled prior to consumption. While the name comes from Italy, pasta is very popular all over the world. The English word pasta generally refers to noodles and other food products made from a flour and water paste, often including egg and salt. Less frequently, the term maccheroni (macaroni in English) is used for the same products, especially when in combination with cheese.

Pasta can also denote dishes in which pasta products are the primary ingredient, served with sauce or seasonings. The word comes from Italian pasta which shares its origins with "paste", meaning "dough", "pasta", or "pastry" as in "small cake". As recently as 1918 the English word "paste" was used instead of or alongside the Italian pasta.[1] Today the word "pasta" is reserved for Italian-style noodles in English-speaking countries, while the word "noodle" has a more general meaning.

Dried Italian-style pasta is made from durum wheat semolina, which gives it a light yellow colour and a slightly chewy texture when properly prepared. Certain American pastas are produced from a mixture of Farina and Semolina. Such pastas often have an inferior texture and flavor and are only usable in a casserole or other dish where texture is less important. Asian-style noodles as well as most fresh noodles are made from regular (non-durum) wheat flour. Some pasta varieties, such as Pizzoccheri, are made from buckwheat flour.

Gnocchi are often listed among pasta dishes, although they are quite different in ingredients (mainly milled potatoes) and mode of preparation.

Pasta is made either by extrusion, where the ingredients are forced through holes in a plate known as a die, or by lamination, in which dough is kneaded, folded, rolled to thickness, then cut by slitters. Fresh pasta cooks quickly and has a delicate taste, but spoils quickly due to its high water content. Dry pasta generally contains about 10% moisture, which makes it shelf stable for about three years.

Packed refrigerated or frozen pasta can be found virtually everywhere in the world. More varieties tend to be available where expatriate Italian communities have taken root. Italian companies such as Arienti & Cattaneo Ima, Ostoni, and Zamboni manufacture "fresh" packed pasta for export, which has a shelf life of around 7 weeks.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined that consuming five servings of fortified grain foods - a serving might be 1/2 cup of cooked pasta* or a slice of bread, for example -- could add another 220 micrograms or more of folate per day, to help women meet their recommended folate levels.

History

File:PortoVenere Pasta.jpg

Penne rigate pasta, strung together, at a store in Porto Venere, Italy.

Pasta was developed independently in a number of places around the globe (though some anthropologists dispute this). In each of these places, locally available grain was the primary starch source in the diet. Grains had, before the invention of pasta, been consumed as a gruel or grain paste, or rendered into flour and eaten as bread. Pasta noodles were likely developed as an alternative to gruel or bread. Pasta noodles can be created even where there is no oven, or not enough fuel to support an oven. In contrast, bread requires a great investment in time and effort to create. In terms of outcome for the effort, pasta is therefore significantly simpler than bread, as any place that something can be kept dry, one can have pasta noodles.

The earliest known records of noodles in Europe are found on Etruscan tomb decorations from around 400 BC. Recently noodles dating back to about 2000 BC have been found near Lajia at the Huang He in Western China. The site was devastated by an earthquake followed by a flood. The yellow noodles survived in an upside down clay pot underneath a thick layer of loess. Archeologist Houyuan Lu discovered the noodles and was able to take some photos. Analysis showed that the noodles with a length of approximately half a meter and a diameter of three millimeters were produced from millet.

Chinese noodles before the age of industrialized food production were always used fresh, and they are comprised of one giant noodle mass through the cooking process because it is considered bad luck in China to cut noodles before serving them to eat.

Thomas Jefferson is credited with bringing the first macaroni machine to America in 1789 when he returned home after serving as ambassador to France. The first commercial pasta manufacturer in America was Antoine Zerega, a Frenchman of Italian descent who began making pasta in Brooklyn, NY in 1848.

Accompaniments

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Pasta served with tomato sauce.

Common pasta sauces in northern Italy include pesto (a raw amalgam of pounded basil, pine nuts, and garlic with grated Parmigiano Reggiano and Pecorino Sardo cheeses and olive oil) and bolognese (a rich and slowly simmered sauce based on finely chopped beef or veal); in central Italy, simple tomato sauce and amatriciana (a red tomato/wine based sauce, usually including onion and bacon strips); in Southern Italy, spicy tomato, garlic, and olive oil based sauces, often paired with fresh vegetables or seafood. Varieties include puttanesca (tomatoes, olives and capers), spaghetti alla norma (tomatoes and eggplant), pasta con le sarde (fresh sardines, pine nuts, fennel and olive oil).

Pasta sauces rarely eaten in Italy but popular abroad include alfredo (a white cream sauce), and meatballs and tomato sauce (an 'italianesque' dish developed in the US).

Pasta varieties

Pasta comes in many different shapes and sizes. There are simple string-shaped pasta like spaghetti and vermicelli, ribbon-shaped ones like fettucine and linguine, short tubes like elbow macaroni and penne, large sheets like lasagna, tiny grains like couscous and orzo, and hollow pasta stuffed with filling, like ravioli, manicotti, and tortellini. See List of pasta for more.

See also

• Chinese noodles
• Japanese noodles
• Boiled pasta
• Italian cuisine
• Pizza
• Cooking

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