We don’t need one day to celebrate the art of pasta. But since it’s National Pasta Day, it’s a good time to learn some trivia about the origin, shape and traditional recipes of your favourite dough.
Stats
According to the International Pasta Organization, in 2014 were produced over 14 million tons of pasta worldwide. As one can imagine, Italy is on top of the list with 3 million tons and 25 kg per capita.
Colours
Tomato makes pasta red, pumpkin makes it orange, spinach makes it green. In case you don’t know, the dramatic colour of black pasta is achieved thanks to the ink of cuttlefish & squids.
Orecchiette
This type of paste resembles a small ear, and that is exactly what “orecchiette” means in Italian. It is typical for Southern Italy.
Perciatelli = bucatini
Perciatelli and bucatini are both names given to thin hollow tubes of pasta. They can also be used for sustainable drinking – perciatelli make for a great cocktail straw!
Badly cut pasta
It sounds much worse that the actual product. This type of pasta is actually called “maltagliata” (Italian for “badly cut”). It is principally used in soups and it is made from scraps of dough (usually for tagliatelle) cut into triangles.
Pasta reale
It may sound like a real pasta, but paste reale is actually a paste similar to marzipan made from almonds, egg yolks and sugar. What we’re trying to say: don’t order it as a main dish at a restaurant!
Gnocchi
Gnocchi are soft dumplings which can be made from flour and potatoes, but also rice, ricotta, bread crumbs, herbs, pumpkin and even prunes.
Tortellini vs. tortelloni
Tortelloni are bigger than tortellini. The suffix –one adds volume in Italian.
How do you like your pasta?