How does pasta get its name

While pasta is traditionally Italian, it actually has a very ancient history that makes it almost impossible to know who came up with the dish first. The history of pasta is difficult to trace for several reasons. This makes it hard to differentiate pasta from other ancient dishes made from the same ingredients.

When we talk about pasta, we must first define the term. The word pasta is generally used to describe traditional Italian noodles, which differentiates it from other types of noodles around the world.

Pasta is made from unleavened dough consisting of ground durum wheat and water or eggs. The use of durum wheat sets pasta apart from other forms of noodles. The durum wheat dough is pressed into sheets, cut into a variety of shapes, and cooked before serving. While we do think of pasta as a culturally Italian food, it is likely the descendent of ancient Asian noodles.

A common belief about pasta is that it was brought to Italy from China by Marco Polo during the 13th century. The Chinese used this plant to create a meal similar to barley flour. This, combined with the fact that pasta was already gaining popularity in other areas of Italy during the 13th century, makes it very unlikely that Marco Polo was the first to introduce pasta to Italy.

Archaeologists believe that central Asia is most likely the first area to have produced noodles thousands of years ago. Please be respectful of copyright.

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Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings. If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again. Skip to content. All rights reserved. Conchiglie also come in different colors, like black squid ink , or green spinach. Cavatelli is frequently paired with broccoli rabe, or just garlic and broccoli — or you can add ricotta to the dough.

The hollow center is perfect for catching sauce. Typically, ditalini are as tall as they are wide, and they are used commonly throughout Sicily. Frequently, pasta e fagioli , a type of soup made with pasta and beans, is prepared with ditalini.

Penne can be spotted due to its diagonal holds at each end. Penne is also recommended for heavier sauces and dishes, including the famous penne alla vodka. Trenne is similar to penne , except it is more triangular. Ziti means bride and groom , which makes sense as ziti is served at Sicilian wedding feasts.

In America, ziti is part of the beloved dish baked ziti. Rigatoni is also cut straight, unlike the diagonal of penne. Rigatoni's ridges make it easier for sauces and cheese to cling on compared to smoother pastas, like ziti. The name comes from the Latin verb " torquere ," which means "to twist. Other varieties include corallini, grattini, tempestine, and others. Pastina is normally a component of Italian soups. Orzo can be made into a pilaf, baked, served alone, or as part of a soup like minestrone, or salad.

A common dish cooked with orecchiette is orecchiette alle cime di rapa , which is just the pasta and broccoli rabe aka rapini. Some cookbooks suggest that orecchiete is perfect for vegetable sauces, while others pair them with pork or capers. A similarly shaped pasta is cencioni , which is a bit bigger and flatter — it resembles a petal. Lasagna is made by layering lasagne noodles and different foods, like spinach, beef, tomato sauce, onions, cheese — really anything you can think of.

Lasagne is also one of the oldest pastas in the world , and it can be traced back to the ancient Greeks. It also normally has wavy ridges at its ends, unlike lasagne. According to the New York Times , fazzoletti can be served "with nothing more than butter and Parmesan, or a drizzle of garlic-infused olive oil.

Casarecce means "homemade" in Italian. Garganelli get their name from the word esophagus in Italian, "garganel" — their tube-like shape is similar. Fileja looks like an elongated screw, and is "the best Southern Italian pasta for heavy or spicy sauces," according to the Pasta Project.

It's one of the few types of pasta that's traditionally made without eggs. Cannelloni and manicotti have a slight difference — cannelloni is smooth, while manicotti has ridges. According to Pasta Fits , it "pairs nicely with chunky, cream- or oil-based sauces. Barilla calls rotelle the "perfect choice for pasta salad," and also suggests pairing rotelle with "light tomato sauces with or without finely diced vegetables , dairy-based sauces, or oil-based sauces.

There is a flower-shaped alternative called fiori which — of course — means flower. Due to its namesake, it's sometimes dyed black with squid ink , and is frequently served with seafood. Agricola del Sole writes that it "pairs nicely with any sauce, both red and white. According to Food Republic , lorighittas are "named after the Sardinian word for the iron rings used to hitch horses. World globe An icon of the world globe, indicating different international options.

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Gabbi Shaw. National Pasta Day — a day to celebrate one of the most beloved foods ever — is on October There are over 50 distinct types of pasta, even more when you add in all the size variants. We've created a list of the 54 major types of pasta, and some suggestions on what to pair them with.