The History and Evolution of Italian Pasta Cooking
If you look into the history of Italian pasta cooking, you will see that the food used as a staple in the Italian diet has not always been so. While till the 1500's, macaroni (the term used for any dried pasta) was considered an exotic food, cooking pasta in an Italian household was considered very expensive chiefly due to the high costs and the time-intensive labor required for making pasta and was therefore reserved only for the upper class. However, after the 17th century, the dynamics of the pasta industry saw a sea-change along with rapid industrialization and technological advances, eventually making Italian pasta cooking a hot favorite among all classes. From then onwards, Italians embraced pasta as an integral part of their daily diet. Eventually, the diversity, distinctive flavors and unique specialty dishes originating from Italian pasta made Italian cuisine a hot favorite among the whole of Europe and America. Italian pasta of course rules the roost, being the cornerstone of food culture throughout all of Italy.Through the course of time, the role of Italian pasta has changed greatly throughout Italy’s culinary history. Once enjoyed by Italy’s elite as a handmade specialty, today cooking pasta is made the foundation of Italian cuisine all over the globe. Today, a slew of Italian pasta products available in the market consist of both dried and fresh pasta and range in size from tiny soup pasta to large sheets of lasagna noodles. Moreover, there are shaped Italian pasta available in many different sizes and specific shapes.
While the basic cooking method used for cooking pasta is boiling, a few other methods are also used to cook specific types of pasta, including baking, deep-frying, and stir-frying. Accomplished with a minimal amount of equipment like a large pot, a large spoon, and a colander, Italian pasta meals are known for their flavor and essence. What more, paired with healthy ingredients like tomato sauce, fresh vegetables, olive oil and fish, the meal is low in fat and packed with nutrients and antioxidants to nurture your body as your palate.
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