 La Pasta
Myths and Practicalities
by Roberta Corradin
Pasta is, after all, part of the Italian culture, a veritable national
legend with a history as long as spaghetti!
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The Myth
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| If you survived being told the truth about Santa Claus (we can
hopefully assume that by this time we've all come this far...) you're ready for a little
more truth al dente: something along the lines of a pasta dictionary. Hey, pasta is NOT all the same: each
type has it's own particulars and distinct preferences as to what sauce is used. Now, as
to debunking myths... |
 Fettuccine
Alfredo does not exist in Italy. You'll find it on the menus of some Florentine
restaurants whose waiters grown weary of insistant American tourists, have rather
unwillingly put it on the menu.
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Spoons
for the spaghetti? No, indeed. Whatever the type of pasta, you only need a fork! It is
against all the rules to go helping yourself along with a spoon, this being reserved for
the pasta bits in soups and minestrones.
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Cooking.
Each 100 grams of pasta should be cooked in 4 cups of water. Italians add 1 tsp. of large
grain salt to the water once it's boiling, before adding the pasta. Cooking time is
calculated once the water boils again after having added the pasta. To stop cooking, add
one cup of cold water to the pasta water and drain it immediately. Never let it wait once
drained, or you'll find yourself with a mass of pasta-paste! Have your dressing ready for
the pasta as soon as it's been drained.
Yet another new EC ruling has officially authorized the production of pasta products
with grano tenero (soft white wheat). In Italy we officially insist on pasta made
exclusively of grano duro (duram wheat), which is the only one that guarantees the al
dente cooking.
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History
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| Who said history's boring?! At Rome's Museo
della pasta, located in a magically silent piazza just steps away from the Trevi
Fountain (as in "Three Coins in a Fountain") and the Palazzo del Quirinale, you
can learn truly interesting things about the ancient methods of pasta making and
preparation. In fact, did you know that... |
The
maccheroni of Naples were originally a Sicilian specialty? Yes, indeed, that
Neapolitan treat was introduced to Naples from Sicily in the 12th century. They weren't
short as they are today, but as long as spaghetti and as big around as a finger with a
hole through the middle. These ziti, as they were called, were broken into pieces over the
cooking pot.
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In
ancient times,fusilli looked a little different than they do now. The oringinal
Neapolitan fusilli (sometimes produced today in the ancient form) were actually vermicelli
wound as if around a little finger.
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In
several regions of of central Italy, you'll see spaghetti alla chitarra on the menu.
These are a squared egg-noodle spaghetti produced by pressing the fresh pasta dough
through a device called a "chitarra", which consists of a rectangular loom
strung with a grid of steel wires, hence the name "guitar". At one time, there
wasn't a family around which didn't have one!
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