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Pasta is one of the best foods out there, and there’s no debate about it. There are only a few things in the world that can compete with creamy spaghetti bolognese or penne alla vodka.
Pasta is undoubtedly the most accessible food out there and each country has its own rendition; China has the noddles, the Middle East had its own version and in Paris, vermicelli was first recognized in the eleventh century.
Nothing says Italy like its food, and nothing says Italian food like pasta. It is an integral part of Italy’s food history. So, most claims surrounding pasta origins say that it’s from, drumroll please, Italy. The earliest suggestions place the pasta as far as the first century AD where pasta was made from durum wheat and called ‘lagane’. An alternate theory that has not been refuted is that Marco Polo was the first one to bring with him a wheat ingredient that would be similar to the modern pasta.
The Arabic influences in the Southern parts furthered the influence of pasta and helped spread to the other parts of the country since durum wheat thrives in Italy’s climate. By the thirteenth century, the dried pasta became extremely popular for its nutrition and long shelf life, making it ideal for long ship voyages. And through voyages, it travelled to other countries as well.
The next big in pasta, however, didn’t happen for another six hundred years and that was tomatoes. For centuries, tomatoes were thought of as poisonous, and it wasn’t till 1839 that they first appeared in a pasta recipe.
During the late 19th century, when a large group of immigrants relocated from Italy to America (most from Naples), pasta became a common food in the United States. When American food chains started opening up in India in the late 90s, the culture of pasta wiggled itself in Indian kitchens.
