Mamma Mia! It wasn't the Italians who invented the pasta!

Italy is known for its cuisine rich in pasta and wine, and we are already used to associating some specific dishes there. That's why a lot of people think pasta is an Italian invention - and unfortunately you might be a little disappointed, but it isn't.

Today I Found Out has put together some theories about the origin of good old pasta. The first of these is that Marco Polo brought the noodles from China and “installed” them in Italy, at the time of the Yuan Dynasty - which took place between 1271 and 1368 -, since the Chinese already had a habit of eating some kind of instant noodles. since 3000 BC

Theories and more theories

The problem with this theory begins with the fact that this instant noodle made in China is not the same noodle known today as Italian. Another factor is that in 1279 there were reports of an Italian soldier about the famous pasta - he said the dish was created in Genoa.

The pasta as we know it was actually described in 1154 by the Arab geographer Idrisi as being very common in Sicily, which leads us to deduce that Marco Polo could not have brought the pasta to Italy because the food was already known. over there.

Many historians believe that it was the Arabs who brought the noodles to Italy around the 9th century AD, along with other foods such as spinach, eggplant and sugar cane - records found in Aramaic show how to prepare the dish through of cooking.

Curiosities about pasta

• It is believed that the first noodle maker in the USA was bought by Thomas Jefferson in 1789. After that he invented his own appliance.
• Pasta shapes vary so that it can suit various types of sauce - thin and long shapes are ideal for more liquid sauces, while more worked shapes combine with denser sauces.
• There is a noodle museum in Rome.
• The first noodle factory in the USA was established in 1848.

* Originally posted May 4, 2013.