8 Interesting Facts About Pasta

1. Pasta Originated in China

Most people believe pasta is the most important component of Italian cuisine, but the meal did not originate in Italy. Instead, pasta is an ancient Chinese meal that later became popular in Italy thanks to the travels of Marco Polo.



The Italian traveler went to China in around 1271 and came back with details about pasta. However, some claim that the Etruscans and Romans already knew about pasta long before Marco Polo helped rediscover the meal.

2. Italians Consume the Most Pasta

This is an interesting but not surprising fact since pasta is often associated with Italy. Nevertheless, one would expect a country with a larger population, such as the United States or China, to consume the most pasta worldwide. However, The International Pasta Organization stated that if Italians ate all pasta in spaghetti form, they would consume about 600 million kilometers of spaghetti. The noodles required to make that much spaghetti would wrap around the earth 15,000 times.



Even more surprising is that Venezuela and Tunisia are the second and third biggest consumers of pasta worldwide, respectively.

3. The Word "Pasta" Has Different Meanings

The term pasta originates from Latin and Greek. In Greek, pasta means barley porridge, while in Latin, the term means dough pastry cake. In the modern Italian language, pasta means "paste" mainly because of how you prepare the meal.

4. Italy Has Hundreds of Pasta Types

Italians make at least 350 types of pasta, each with its own shape. Spaghetti is the most popular type of pasta and consists of long strings of noodles. Another type of pasta is macaroni, which includes tiny pieces of pasta cut to an angle at each end. 

You may also find spiral pasta called fusilli. There is even the Farfalle pasta that resembles butterflies with wings crinkled at the edges and in the middle.

5. Tomatoes Were Not Part of the Original Pasta Recipe

When most people think of pasta, tomatoes immediately come to mind. But tomatoes were not part of the original recipe until the late 1600s. In fact, many Italians before the 1600s treated tomatoes as poisonous plants.



Antonio Lantini was the first person to create a recipe that included tomatoes as part of the spices. In 1790, Francisco Leonardi created the first pasta recipe that added tomato sauce.

6. Thomas Jefferson Brought Pasta to the U.S.

Thomas Jefferson was one of the founding fathers of the United States. One of the things he brought to the United States is pasta.



Jefferson achieved this feat by purchasing the first macaroni-making machine and bringing it back to the U.S. from France. He later created designs for the construction of a pasta machine.

7. Pasta Was Initially a Meal for the Rich

When chefs in Italy began to make pasta, the target was rich people. The reason for this is that kneading semolina took a long time, leading to high labor costs. Pasta only became popular among the common people after the industrial revolution introduced mechanical processes for semolina kneading.

8. Pasta Tastes Better With the Right Sauce

Italian pasta often uses light and heavy sauces. The heavy sauce will attach to the pasta's ridges evenly. For example, fusilli, farfalle, and conchiglie are better with a heavy sauce. The sauce can include cheese, tomato, and even meat between sheets of pasta.

Now that you know more about pasta, you might want to prepare some for yourself at home. But an excellent option is to eat the meal at your favorite Italian restaurant. If you are in Troy, MI, the best restaurant for pasta is Picano's Italian Grille. We serve Italian cuisine and other delicious meals for our clients. Contact us to make a reservation.