Pasta

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Pasta

Pasta (/ˈpɑːstə/; Italian pronunciation: [ˈpasta]) is a type of food typically made from an unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or eggs, and formed into sheets or various shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking.

Etymology

The word "pasta" comes from Italian pasta, from Late Latin pasta "dough, pastry cake, paste", from Greek πάστα (pasta) "barley porridge", probably originally "a salted", from παστός (pastos), "sprinkled with salt, salted".

Types of Pasta

There are many different varieties of pasta. They are usually sorted by size, being long (pasta lunga), short (pasta corta), stuffed (ripiena), cooked in broth (pastina), stretched (strascinati) or in dumpling-like form (gnocchi/gnocchetti). Yet, due to the variety of shapes and regional variants, "one man's gnocchetto can be another's strascinato".

Some examples of pasta include:

  • Spaghetti - long, thin, cylindrical pasta of Italian origin
  • Fettuccine - type of pasta popular in Roman and Tuscan cuisine
  • Ravioli - type of pasta comprising a filling enveloped in thin pasta dough
  • Macaroni - type of dry pasta shaped like narrow tubes
  • Lasagna - type of wide, flat pasta, possibly one of the oldest types of pasta

Preparation

Pasta is typically made from an unleavened dough of a durum wheat flour mixed with water or eggs and formed into sheets or various shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Some pastas can be made using rice flour in place of wheat flour to yield a different taste and texture, or for those who need to avoid products containing gluten.

Related Terms

  • Al dente - describes pasta that is cooked to be firm to the bite
  • Antipasto - traditional first course of a formal Italian meal
  • Cannelloni - type of pasta similar to a large tube that is typically stuffed
  • Gnocchi - various thick, small, and soft dough dumplings that may be made from semolina, ordinary wheat flour, egg, cheese, potato, breadcrumbs, cornmeal, or similar ingredients

External links

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