Origins of Pasta

Pasta is a kind of noodle and staple food of the traditional Italian cuisine. The Italian people are persuaded that Pasta was invented in China and Marco Polo transmitted the idea to Italy in the 13th century. Interestingly, Pasta could be made from flour mixed with water or eggs, as they are the major sources of liquid into the mixture. Pasta is classified into two wide categories:

Dried Pasta (Pasta Secca): This kind of Pasta is processed through machines known as “Extrusion process”.

Fresh Pasta (Pasta Fresca): As for this category of Pasta, the preparation was done by hand with a bit assistance of some machines, but the whole process has been replaced by large scale machines.

Basically, too many names and forms characterize the Pasta. Some forms of Pasta include long and short shapes, tubes, flat shapes, sheets, miniature soup shapes filled or stuffed and specialty or decorative shapes. Considering the names, they are determined by the shapes of the Pasta such as:

• Spaghetti - "Cord"
• Linguini - "Little tongues"
• Vermicelli - "Little worms"
• Conchiglie - "Shells"
• Rigatoni - "Short, wide fluted tubes"
• Lasagna - "Broad sheets, ruffled, ribbons of Pasta"
• Ravioli - "Little turnips"
• Rotini - "Spirals of twists"
• Capellini - "Fine hairs"
• Fettuccini - "Small ribbons"
• Fusili - "Little spindles"
• Penne - "Quills"
• Tortellini - "Little cakes"
• Canelloni - "Tube"

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