| It is estimated that Italians eat over sixty pounds of | | | | pasta makers outside of Italy are starting to use the |
| pasta per person, per year easily beating Americans, | | | | older style copper molds. |
| who eat about twenty pounds per person. This love of | | | | After the pasta is cut it must be dried using a process |
| pasta in Italy far outstrips the large durum wheat | | | | of specific temperature and time. This is another area |
| production of the country; therefore Italy must import | | | | where mass produced pasta falls short of good Italian |
| most of the wheat it uses for pasta. Today pasta is | | | | pasta made the correct way. The mass produced |
| everywhere and can be found in dried (pasta secca) | | | | pastas are dried at very high temperatures for a |
| and fresh (pasta fresca) varieties depending on what | | | | shorter time than quality pasta. Traditional pasta is |
| the recipes call for ( Quality pasta in Agrelma ). The | | | | allowed to dry slower, up to 50 hours at a much lower |
| main problem with pasta today is the use of mass | | | | temperature. It is after the pasta is fully dried that it is |
| production to fill a huge worldwide demand. And while | | | | packaged. The result is a product with a much better |
| pasta is made everywhere the product from Italy | | | | mouth-feel, quicker cooking time, and superior sauce |
| keeps to time-tested production methods that create | | | | holding noodles. |
| a superior pasta. | | | | Fresh Pasta |
| Dried Pasta | | | | Essentially all pasta starts out as fresh pasta but some |
| There are roughly 350 different shapes and varieties | | | | is made to be eaten "soft". Fresh pasta can be made |
| of dried pasta in Italy, even more counting regional | | | | with slightly different ingredients than the dried variety. |
| differences. All the importers can find a lot of | | | | Many northern regions of Italy use all-purpose flour and |
| information's and offers for high quality pasta, directly | | | | eggs while southern Italy usually makes theirs from |
| from the producers, in the emarketplace . Shapes | | | | semolina and water but it depends upon the recipe. |
| range from simple tubes to bow ties (farfalle, which | | | | Serving pasta that is made fresh that day shows a |
| actually means "butterfly"), to unique shapes like tennis | | | | great deal of care in preparation and a high level of |
| rackets (racchette). Many, but not all of these types | | | | pride in the household's culinary skills. However fresh |
| are usually available wherever pasta is made. By Italian | | | | pasta is not inherently better than dried pasta, it is just |
| law dried pasta must be made with 100% durum | | | | different and is used in different situations. Some types |
| semolina flour and water, a practice that all but the | | | | of pasta are served only fresh, others only dried and |
| worst quality pasta makers worldwide have since | | | | some others can have fresh and dried versions. It is in |
| adhered to. However there are two factors in dried | | | | this case that it can be argued that fresh is better than |
| pasta from Italy that make it typically better than most | | | | dried pasta. Fresh pasta has been made in households |
| other products: extrusion and drying methods. | | | | throughout Italy for generations but the region of |
| Dried pasta, especially the more complex shapes | | | | Emilia-Romagna has the reputation of making the best. |
| (such as radiatore) are designed for grabbing and | | | | Here fresh pasta is often served with cream sauces |
| holding onto sauces. Dried tube pasta (ziti or penne) | | | | or a simple sauce of butter and sage while light |
| often has ridges or slight abrasions on the surface to | | | | tomato sauces are reserved for the summer months. |
| hold onto the pasta sauce as well. These ridges and | | | | Following the simple but important rule of using fresh |
| bumps are created during the extrusion process, when | | | | local ingredients, the Piedmontese serve their fresh |
| the pasta is forced from a copper mold and cut to | | | | pasta with a butter sauce covered with slices of |
| desired length before drying. These molds, while | | | | decadent local black truffles. Wherever you are in Italy, |
| expensive and prone to wear are favored for making | | | | being served fresh homemade pasta is a real treat as |
| the best dried pasta. However most producers | | | | you can be assured that the pasta was made that |
| worldwide use steel molds that produce pasta that is | | | | day and will have a taste that will make you rethink |
| too smooth to hold onto sauce. Fortunately more | | | | notions of what good pasta is. |