Unraveling pasta mysteries

Ever wonder why it’s fettuccini Alfredo and not macaroni Alfredo? Or why tubular shaped pasta is called “rigatoni” by some people and “big ribs” by others? In honor of National Pasta Month, we offer the following facts about the dinner table staple:

¢ The origin of fettuccini, which is possibly the oldest variety of pasta, dates back to Persia in the year 4 BC.

¢ Linguini, which means “little tongues,” was originally used as a soup noodle, often with broth from wild boars, in 13th century Europe.

¢ There is a unique relationship between pasta shapes and sauces. Many pastas and noodles have ridges to hold the sauce. For example, fettuccini is traditionally an artisan pasta with a coarse surface that allowed for the perfect amount of Alfredo sauce to be picked up per bite.

¢ Some pasta – such as angel hair, known as fideo in the South and Southwest – can be used in desserts, such as an Italian chocolate torte.

¢ There are more than 600 pasta shapes produced worldwide.

¢ Tubular shaped pasta is called “rigatoni” by some people and “big ribs” by others, most likely because the word rigatoni actually means “big lined ones,” which was eventually translated loosely to “big ribs” by some chefs.

¢ It takes about 20 minutes to turn flour into a pasta shape, but it takes up to 12 hours to dry the pasta shape so it is stable for packaging.

¢ Spaghetti is the most popular type of pasta.

Source: American Italian Pasta Company