9 surprising facts about pasta

Read on to know about some really surprising facts regarding pasta!

Pasta is no more food of leisure as it has become a staple for many people around the world. Here are certain facts regarding this carb-rich food ingredient that you may probably not be aware of.

China is the home of pasta

We think that pasta was invented in Italy, but it has been found that people in China were eating pasta from as early as 5000 B.C. and Roman civilization has been preparing it only since 500 B.C.

Tomato sauce was formed later

This is because tomatoes were not native to Europe and were introduced only in 1519 by the Spanish explorer Cortez. Then, soon after meatballs were added to it.

There are 600 shapes of pasta

It has been reported that there are more than 600 variations of pasta all over the world.

The pasta was introduced to America in 1789

It was only after the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, who bought pasta to the US in 1789 that Americans were formally introduced to this delicious preparation.

Italians eat a lot of pasta

It has been reported that worldwide it is Italy that consumes the greatest amount of pasta. An average Italian eats approximately 600 million kilometers of spaghetti in a year, which is enough to wrap around this planet 15000 times.

America loves spaghetti

According to a survey, it was found that Americans love spaghetti, penne, and rotini in this particular order.

The word pasta has a different meaning

The word pasta comes from the Greek and Latin origin meaning “barley porridge” and “dough pastry cake” respectively. In Italian, pasta means “paste”.

Pasta makes us happy

It has been found that this carbohydrate-rich food increases the production of serotonin, which is a neurotransmitter that triggers the feeling of happiness.

Different pasta needs a different sauce

Long and flat pasta such as fettuccine and linguini goes best with creamy sauce as it clings better to this pasta. Short tubular or spiral-shaped pasta such as rotini and fusilli go better with thick and chunkier tomato sauce.