History of Pasta

When most people talk about pasta, they probablyeaten with the bare hands. If you're thinking the sauce
think of Italy as its birth place. Historians would disagreemust have made quite a mess then you're jumping
however, and give credit to our neighbors in the eastahead in the story. Pasta at this time was eaten either
for inventing the earliest form of this much loved food.plain or sprinkled with cheese. It's not until a couple of
It was around 1700 B.C. when the Chinese came upcenturies later that sauce is introduced.
with a noodle made from rice flour. While not a popularThe first written record of a tomato sauce recipe is
theory with those who insist on giving credit to the1839. Soon pasta was becoming popular all over the
Italians, the Chinese do get the vote from mostcountry of Italy, and pastas of various shapes were
historians.being introduced. Still, even with its popularity, pasta
That doesn't mean that the Italians were not majorwas being made by small family businesses. Spaghetti,
players in the evolution of pasta as we know it.macaroni and vermicelli were being handmade by
Around 400 B.C. the Etruscans, who live in an area inthose specially trained in the art of pasta making.
the western part of Italy, made a noodle similar toThe Agnese family changed all of that in 1824 when
lasagna. This noodle was made from spelt, a grainthey opened the very first pasta factory in Northern
from which wheat has evolved.Italy. It's easy to see why Italians get the credit for this
Much later the Romans are credited with making afavorite food, and in the United States a wave of
noodle similar to the one made by the Etruscans, outItalian immigration would help the cement the idea that
of flour and water. These noodles, like the earlierpasta was an Italian food.
versions by the Chinese, were prepared by baking inEven though Thomas Jefferson had brought pasta to
an oven.America as early as the late 1700's, the food didn't
Boiled noodles came later and the Italians don't getbecome widely popular in the country until 1880-1900
credit for inventing these either. Instead, we can thankwhen large numbers of Italian immigrants came to
Arab traders who would bring dried noodles along onAmerica, bringing pasta with them.
their very long trips to the Orient. Who doesn't want aThe next several years would bring even more
hot meal while traveling? The Arabs did, and theyadvances for pasta such as the addition of meatballs
realized that this dried pasta along with a little boilingand later, thanks to the Franco-American company,
water was a quick, hot and easy to carry meal.canned pasta.
The Arabs brought this food with them to Sicily duringPasta has a place in American history as well. In the
the 8th century invasions. Before too long the Italian1920's farmers used pasta as a marketing campaign
city of Palermo was producing huge quantities of driedfor wheat. During the depression, the inexpensive and
pasta. So, can we give Italians the credit for massfilling dish became a staple in many households.
producing pasta? Much to the delight of the Italians,Today, pasta is as popular as ever. In tiny sidewalk
most historians would say, yes.cafes to the fanciest of gourmet restaurants, you are
Specifically, Naples gets the credit for the invention ofsure to find a few pasta dishes on the menu. Whether
techniques that allowed dried pasta to be produced enyou choose to thank the Italians for this delicious food
masse in 1600's. This pasta, which could last long time,or their eastern neighbors, we can all agree that our
is credited with bringing Naples out of an economicdinner tables wouldn't be the same without this
depression. No wonder Italians love their pasta!fabulous food.
This pasta was often sold by street vendors and was