💠National Pasta Day 💠(17/10/21)
National Pasta day is celebrated anually on October 17th.
Pasta comes in many forms, as well as containing a myriad of ingredients - and potential. But what are its origins? As exciting an idea as it is to indulge, we're pretty sure that in the late summer of 1666, a plate of delicious spaghetti and meatballs didn't just fall out of a tree onto the unsuspecting skull of an English physicist and mathematician, thus culminating in the discovery of the laws of gravity and motion.
Greek mythology suggests that the Greek god Vulcan invented a device that made strings of dough – the very first spaghetti!
Similarly, it's thought that China's inhabitants were making a noodle-like food as early as 3000 B.C.
Pasta can be traced back as far as the 4th century B.C.; where an Etruscan tomb showed a group of natives making what appeared to be pasta.
Similarly, it's been proven that the inhabitants of China were making a noodle-like food as early as 3000 B.C.
In the 14th and 15th centuries, dried pasta gained popularity for its easy storage. This meant that it could be stored on ships when exploring the New World.
Pasta made its way to the New World through the English, as we discovered it while touring Italy.
A century later, pasta was present around the globe during such voyages of discovery.
Although tomatoes were introduced to Italy in the 16th century and incorporated in Italian cuisine in the 17th century, description of the first Italian tomato sauces appear to date from the late 18th century: the first written record of pasta with tomato sauce can be found in the 1790 cookbook L'Apicio Moderno by Roman chef Francesco Leonardi.
Before tomato sauce was introduced, pasta was eaten dry with the fingers; but the red liquid sauce demanded the use of a fork.
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826), the third President of the USA; is credited with bringing the first macaroni machine to America, in 1789; when he returned home having served as ambassador to France.
In actual fact, pasta was most likely brought to America by early Spanish settlers.
The first industrial pasta factory in America was built in Brooklyn in 1848 by a Frenchman who spread his spaghetti strands on the roof to dry in the sunshine.
Pasta production expanded in the 19th century and pasta makers popped up across the America.