Vita Gazette

News from Italy

Today, October 25th, is World Pasta Day

Today, we celebrate World Pasta Day, which is not only an excellence and symbol of Italian cuisine but also a cornerstone of the identity and culture of all Italians.

“Maccherone, you provoked me, and I will destroy you..I will make you bigger”. It is a quote so famous that it almost needs no introduction. It was 1954, and an extraordinary Alberto Sordi bit into a forkful of pasta in the renowned film “An American in Rome”. She, pasta, that dish that never fails on Italian tables, is the true protagonist today. It is always a triumph of taste with meat sauce, with vegetables, with the more traditional tomato and basil, wholemeal or not.

Every year, millions of tons of pasta are produced, which, an icon of Made in Italy gastronomic culture, has crossed borders and continues to conquer palates, crossing into overseas countries. Total consumption is close to 14 million tons, but everywhere, if you eat pasta, you think of Italy.  We are the largest consumers of it, with over 23 kilos per capita per year. Still, there are those who, more than anyone else, produce it in our pasta factories or prepare it in the kitchens of restaurants on five continents, making it known to the rest of the world. In 2023, 56 % of the national production of Italian pasta was destined abroad. We are talking about 2.2 million tonnes, in practice, 75 million portions of Italian pasta, which last year were offered in homes and restaurants in almost 200 countries.

The stronghold of pasta remains Italy, where it is consumed very heavily per year and new recipes continuously flourish, enhancing its flavour.

But it is above all in Italy that foreigners love to eat it, and it is no coincidence. The Economist crowned her in 2019 as “the most influential in the world.” In 2022, 10 pasta recipes appeared in CNN’s Top 30 “Italian Dishes that Everyone Should Try at least once in their Life.” Also, according to TasteAtlas, an online experiential travel guide for traditional food, Italian cuisine is the best in the world.

To celebrate it, World Pasta Day is celebrated on 25 October, announced by the Italian Food Union and the IPO (International Pasta Organisation).

The thousand-year history of pasta

The ancestors of pasta date back to the ancient Etruscans, the first dry pasta manufacturing processes were witnessed starting in the 9th century in Sicily and then spreading to areas with a dry and windy climate such as Gragnano, Torre Annunziata, and various areas of Puglia. The winning combination with tomato sauce is exquisitely Neapolitan and dates back to the end of the eighteenth century.

 The legend that Marco Polo imported Spaghetti from China worldwide is entirely unfounded. 

Pasta: what it is made of

The methods of producing pasta have changed over time, but the product has always remained the same.

The pasta is made of a mixture of durum wheat semolina and water. While fresh pasta is also prepared with soft wheat flour, in Italy, only durum wheat semolina is used for dry pasta, as established by law.

Durum wheat and soft wheat are two varieties of the most widespread cereal in the world. In Italy, both are grown:

  • the first is more widespread in the southern regions and in particular in Puglia;
  • the second in Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia Romagna.

The heat semolina contains a particular gluten, which allows dry pasta to keep cooking and remain al dente.

 Pasta: all shapes

It’s easy to say pasta. But what kind? There are many varieties.

Italy produces 300 types of pasta, which testifies to the richness of our tradition. 

As the shape changes, the substance also changes: Spaghetti, penne, or rigatoni differ greatly in flavour and consistency. Each one is particular and combined with specific ingredients.

Surfaces can be:

  • smooth
  • rough and porous
  • striped.

Short pastas are divided into:

  • minute or pasta dishes for soups (quadrucci, starlets and ditalini)
  • medium (shells and orecchiette)
  • long (rigatoni and fusilli)
  • stuffed (ravioli and agnolotti)

The long ones, however, are divided into pastes:

  • large thickness (lasagne, queens and pappardelle)
  • reduced thickness (capellini, tagliolini and fettuccine)
  • with rectangular or lens section (trenette and linguine)
  • round section (Spaghetti and vermicelli)
  • with perforated section (Bucatini).

 

Pasta: recognizing true quality?

Two indicators of pasta’s goodness are its ability to remain al dente and its bright golden-yellow colour after cooking. It is also important to remember that pasta is among the few industrial foods that do not have preservatives because drying guarantees its natural preservation. Spaghetti, penne rigate, fusilli, rigatoni, etc., are, therefore, to be considered foods allied to health.

 Pasta: the secret of its success

But what is the secret of its success in Italy and worldwide? Simplicity and taste perfectly summarize the essence of pasta. It is a versatile food that adapts to an infinite number of condiments, and, above all, everyone likes it, both adults and children.

Plus, it’s easy to cook and store. Finally, the variety of formats always makes it different. You never get tired of it because every pasta dish is different, with a unique flavour, ready to conquer us as if it were the first time every time.

The Top 10 pasta dishes most ordered by foreigners when they come on holiday in Italy reconfirm the dishes that have historically been the protagonists of tradition as cornerstones, in which the typical dishes of the South prevail. With values ​​on a scale between 0 and 10, on the podium are Spaghetti alla Carbonara (7.8), Lasagne alla Bolognese (7), and Pasta with tomato sauce (6.9) placed in the top places. The ranking continues with Spaghetti with clams (almost tied with pasta with tomato sauce 6.8), Bucatini all amatriciana (6.7), Spaghetti with cheese and pepper (5.3), Tortellini in broth (4.3), Pasta alla norma (3.8), Trofie with pesto (3.4), Orecchiette with turnip tops (2.9).

 

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