Facts About Pasta

History of Pasta
Pasta has been an Italian tradition for hundreds of years. To passionate Italians, pasta is poetry. They're so devoted to their national dish, there's even a pasta museum in Pontedassio, Italy, filled with antique pasta-making implements and dried specimens of pasta dating back 100 years.
The Italian, Marco Polo, has been given credit for introducing pasta to Italy. However, there's evidence that the ancient Etruscans in Italy were eating pasta at least 1600 years before Marco Polo was born.
Furthermore, the Chinese are known to have been eating a "noodle-like food" as early as 3000 BC. It is also believed that the Ancient Greeks, Romans and even Arabs had discovered the simple delights of pasta long before Marco Polo was around. In fact, Greek mythology suggests that the Greek God 'Vulcan' invented a device that made "strings of dough".

Whatever its origin, there is no doubt that even if pasta wasn't invented in Italy, it was certainly the Italians who perfected the art of pasta making.

Dried pasta became popular through the 14th and 15th Centuries, as it could be easily stored on ships setting out to explore the New World. Various types of pasta, including long hollow tubes, are mentioned in the 15th Century records of Italian and Dominican monasteries. By the 17th Century, pasta had become part of the daily diet throughout Italy because it was economical, readily available and versatile.

Thomas Jefferson has been credited with bringing the first "macaroni" maker to America in 1789, but full advent of electricity in the 1900's made life a lot easier for the pasta industry. Machines took over the labour intensive chores like mixing the dough and cutting the shapes.

History of Pasta Shapes & Sauces
Many pasta sauces have a long and interesting history. Legend has it that the traditional cream and cheese sauce, Alfredo, takes its name from its creator, a Rome restaurateur called Alfredo. Carbonara sauce was believed to be devised during WW2, when American soldiers in Italy asked for bacon and eggs for breakfast. The Italians compromised by creating a bacon, egg and cream pasta sauce. And everyone's favourite, Bolognese, originated from the region of Bologna in Italy.

The meaning of 'al dente'
'Al dente' is used to describe when pasta is cooked to perfection. 'Al dente' in Italian literally means "to the tooth". Pasta that is al dente should not be overly firm, nor should it be overly soft. This is often difficult to measure in minutes, as factors such as the temperature of the water, the size of the pot etc will affect the length of time that is required to cook the pasta. San Remo therefore recommends that the product is tested prior to deciding if it is ready.