Part-Time Genius 9 Saucy, Savory Facts About Pasta
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Nov 14, 2025 Dive into the fascinating world of pasta with quirky facts that will leave you craving more! Discover the staggering variety of over 350 pasta shapes and the quirky myth that Marco Polo brought noodles to Italy. Learn about Casanova's daring macaroni-powered prison escape and the bizarre BBC prank about spaghetti trees. Plus, hear about the rarest pasta threads used in rituals and the history behind Italy's pasta purity law. It's a delicious mix of history, humor, and culinary trivia!
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Shape Defines Pasta Purpose
- There are over 350 named pasta shapes, each with its own backstory and purpose.
- Shape matters because it affects sauce pickup and eating experience.
Cavatappi Was A Studio Mistake
- Barilla accidentally created cavatappi when a dye produced curvy molds, and they trademarked it as Celentani.
- Other makers called it cavatappi, from the Italian for corkscrew, after Barilla's trademark kept them out.
Pasta Versus Noodles Clarified
- The OED defines pasta as durum-wheat-based shapes and noodles as string-like pieces that may be other flours.
- Thus some noodles are pasta, but not all pasta are noodles under that definition.
