A National treasure, known all around the world
Nothing
says Italy like its food, and nothing says Italian food like pasta.
Wherever Italians immigrated they have brought their pasta along, so
much so today it can be considered a staple of international cuisine.
Unlike other ubiquitous Italian products like pizza and tomato sauce,
which have a fairly recent history, pasta may have a much older
pedigree, going back hundreds -if not thousands- of years.
Unravelling the long and often complex history of this dish we have
to look at its origins and some of the myths surrounding it.
Many
schoolchildren were taught that the Venetian merchant Marco Polo
brought back pasta from his journeys to China. Some may have also
learnt that Polo's was not a discovery, but rather a rediscovery of
product once popular in Italy among the Etruscans and the Romans.
Well, Marco Polo might have done amazing things on his journeys, but
bringing pasta to Italy was not one of them: noodles were already
there in Polo's time.
There
is indeed evidence of an Etrusco-Roman noodle made from the same
durum wheat used to produce modern pasta: it was called "lagane"
(origin of the modern word for lasagna). However this type of food,
first mentioned in the 1st century AD, was not boiled, as it is
usually done today, but ovenbaked. Ancient lagane had some
similarities with modern pasta, but cannot be considered quite the
same. The country will have to wait a few centuries for its most
popular dish to make a further culinary leap forward.
Like
so much of southern Italian life, the Arabic invasions of the 8th
century heavily influenced regional cuisine. Today, the presence of
Arabic people in the south of the peninsula during the Middle Ages is
considered the most likely reason behind the diffusion of pasta.
The
modern word "macaroni" derives from the Sicilian term for
kneading dough with energy, as early pasta making was often a
laborious, day-long process. How these early dishes were served is
not truly known, but many Sicilian pasta recipes still include
typically middle eastern ingredients, such as raisins and cinnamon,
which may be witness to original, medieval recipes.
This
early pasta was an ideal staple for Sicily and it easily spread to
the mainland since durum wheat thrives in Italy's climate. Italy is
still a major producer of this hard wheat, used to make the
all-important semolina flour.
By
the 1300's dried pasta was very popular for its nutrition and long
shelf life, making it ideal for long ship voyages. Pasta made it
around the globe during the voyages of discovery a century later. By
that time different shapes of pasta have appeared and new technology
made pasta easier to make. With these innovations pasta truly became
a part of Italian life. However the next big advancement in the
history of pasta would not come until the 19th century when pasta met
tomatoes.
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. Therefore it was not until
1839 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 pasta is made everywhere the product from Italy keeps to
time-tested production methods that create a superior pasta.
There
are roughly 350 different shapes and varieties of dried pasta in
Italy, even more counting regional differences. Shapes range from
simple tubes to bow ties (farfalle, which actually means
"butterfly"), to unique shapes like tennis rackets
(racchette). Many, but not all of these types are usually available
wherever pasta is made. By Italian law dried pasta must be made with
100% durum semolina flour and water, a practice that all but the
worst quality pasta makers worldwide have since adhered to. 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 radiatore) 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 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 pastas 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.
Essentially
all pasta starts out as fresh pasta but some is made to be eaten
"soft". Fresh pasta can be made with slightly different
ingredients than the dried variety. Many northern regions of Italy
use all-purpose flour and eggs while southern Italy usually makes
theirs from semolina and water but it depends upon the recipe.
Serving pasta that is made fresh that day shows a great deal of care
in preparation and a high level of pride in the household's culinary
skills. However fresh pasta is not inherently better than dried
pasta, it is just different and is used in different situations. Some
types of pasta are served only fresh, others only dried and some
others can have fresh and dried versions. It is in this case that it
can be argued that fresh is better than dried pasta. Fresh pasta has
been made in households throughout Italy for generations but the
region of Emilia-Romagna has the reputation of making the best. Here
fresh pasta is often served with cream sauces or a simple sauce of
butter and sage while light tomato sauces are reserved for the summer
months. Following the simple but important rule of using fresh local
ingredients, the Piedmontese serve their fresh pasta with a butter
sauce covered with slices of decadent local black truffles. Wherever
you are in Italy, being served fresh homemade pasta is a real treat
as you can be assured that the pasta was made that day and will have
a taste that will make you rethink notions of what good pasta is.
When
buying either fresh or dried pasta, look for a well made brand that
uses the best ingredients such as only semolina flour for dried
pasta. The pasta should have a rough surface and not too smooth, as
smooth pasta will not hold onto sauce. The noodles should be compact
and heavy for their size in order to stay together when cooking.
Remember to stay away from mass-produced cheap pasta, you will just
be disappointed come dinnertime. For fresh pasta look for the
expiration date on the package and take a good look at the pasta. If
it looks cheap then it probably is, if the pasta feels heavy in the
package and has a nice color and texture it is worth buying. Many
Italian bakeries and grocerias also make fresh pasta that will be
better than anything you could find at a supermarket and you may even
get a family sauce recipe as well. However remember not to overcook
your pasta, the worlds greatest sauce cannot save mushy pasta.
It
cannot be stressed enough; cook pasta until it is al dente, firm to
the teeth yet tender. Many Americans cook pasta until it is too soft,
a minute or two less of cooking time will give you authentic Italian
pasta. Fresh pasta will take even less time to be cooked to
perfection. Another key to perfect pasta is to use a large cooking
pot and plenty of water; this will stop the pasta from sticking and
will also ensure every inch of pasta will be cooked though. Don't
forget to add plenty of salt to the cooking water before adding the
pasta, good pasta is almost never has salt in it so this is the only
time it can be seasoned. Some people add a little olive oil to the
cooking water to stop the pasta from sticking and while that works
for larger pasta like lasagna it is not necessary if you use a large
pot, plenty of water and remember to stir the pasta. When draining
the pasta remember to save about a cup of the water in the pot, this
starchy water will add a little body to whatever sauce you choose.
Never, ever rinse off the pasta after cooking unless you're making
pasta salad. Washing off all that starch and salt will kill any
flavor your pasta once had.
When
it comes to sauce it is really up to personal preference unless you
are trying to follow a traditional recipe. A good rule is to remember
simple pasta works best with simple sauces while complex shaped
pastas are ideal for thicker sauces. There is no shortage of great
pasta and sauce combinations and each is worth trying. However it is
important that you use high quality pasta cooked properly to ensure
authentic flavor.
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