Spaghetti is long, thin, and cylindrical noodle shaped pasta. Like other kinds of pasta, spaghetti is also made with flour, water. Spaghetti is staple food of traditional Italian cuisine. It is generally made from durum wheat semolina. Spaghetti is really popular among kids, young and adults. You can cook it with different ingredients such as meat and a variety of sauces. Spaghetti itself is quite nutritious and the added ingredients enhance its nutritional value and flavor. Here are some exciting and interesting facts about spaghetti, you should not miss:

13 interesting facts about spaghetti you shouldn't miss!!

1. The history of Spaghetti traces back to a thousand years ago!

Spaghetti was developed or created about thousand years ago in Europe. It was the result of religious and cultural invasion. After the Muslims conquered Sicily in 1827. Later the invaders from North America introduced wheat to the island. This wheat was rich in protein content and of supreme quality. Furthermore, the makers used milled wheat and water to make pasta. Then, they would dry the pasta for long term storage. It was in mid 12^th century when an Arab geographer referred to many shiploads of spaghetti being produced on the site. This was probably the first record of spaghetti production in Italy. The site is currently a car-wash in Palermo, Sicily.

2. The historians suggest otherwise!

Though, Italy is believed to be the invertors of spaghetti, but some historians suggest that it was brought to Italy by macro polo in 1217. Marco polo mentions pasta with reference to China in his book; “Books of the World’s Wonders”. And actually makes sense because Marco Polo traveled to China around 1217. Chinese have already been consuming noodles as early as 3000 BC. So, as per the historians, Marco Polo introduced spaghetti in Italy and it became instant hit.

3. Italians loves spaghetti!

Italy is the top producer and consumer of pasta. Italy produces approximately 1,432,990 tons of pasta annually and approximately 1.7 million tons pasta is exported. In terms of pasta consumption, Italy is the topmost country, followed by Tunisia, Venezuela, Greece, Chile and the United States.

4. The name of spaghetti is from its signature strands!

For the first time, the word “spaghetti” was used in 1849 as “sparghetti” in Eliza Acton’s Modern Cookery. The term “Spaghetti” is derived from Italian word ‘spaghetto’. In fact, it’s the plural of spaghetto. The term “spaghetto” comes from root ‘spago’ which means “little twine”. Thus, the name is perfect elaboration of its shape. In old times, spaghetti strands were thin and quite long. However, when it rose to fame during second half of 20^th Century, its thin and short length became popular. Now, spaghetti is available as thin, cylindrical and usefully 25–30 cm long noodles.

5. Nutrition facts about spaghetti!

Spaghetti is rich in proteins, carbs, fiber, manganese, copper, iron, vitamin B and B12. Moreover, the additional ingredients add to its nutritional value. The refined and enriched pasta is high in calories but low in fiber. On the other hand, the whole-wheat pasta is rich in fiber content. Being high in carbs means, you have to be careful about portion size. Moderation is the key when eating.

6. Traditionally, spaghetti is cooked in tomato sauce!

Today, there is wide range of sauces for spaghetti. However, the original and traditional way of cooking spaghetti is with tomato sauce. Yes, the sauce may contain various herbs such as oregano and basil to add to its nutritional value and flavor. Other ingredients of spaghetti include amatriciana or carbonara, olive oil, meat, vegetables. Moreover, you may sprinkle Grated cheeses, such as Parmesan and Pecorino Romano etc.

7. Interesting story of Spaghetti alla puttanesca!

Spaghetti alla puttanesca is an Italian pasta dish. This delicious and scrumptious dish is made with tomatoes, anchovies, capers, garlic and few other ingredients. This is one of the most interesting facts about spaghetti dishes! The dish “Spaghetti alla puttanesca” literally means “whore’s spaghetti.” The legends say that the prostitute would cook this food while awaiting their next appointment. On the other hand, it is said that a restaurant chef cooked this dish when for a group of late arriving customers. The customer ordered the chef to serve them “facci una puttanata qualsiasi”. This roughly means “make any kind of garbage”. The vernacular for garbage is “puttana” that refers to “prostitute”. Thus, the dish got its name Spaghetti alla puttanesca. Quite interesting!

8. America’s durum wheat is ideal for Pasta Production!!

United State’s wheat production has continued to grow since the late 1700s. In United States, there are six varieties of wheat grown. Remember, pasta (or spaghetti) is made with wheat. Of all these six varieties, the durum wheat is ideal for mass production of pasta. It’s mind-blowing that one bushel of wheat can make about 240 plates of pasta. In short, the entire US durum can produce a whooping 720 billion plates of pasta. Wow! That’s a lot of pasta.

9. Spaghetti world records!

Italian restaurant Buca di Beppo made the world record for the largest bowl of spaghetti. The restaurant made history by making largest pasta bowl that contained 13,786 pounds of pasta and 120 gallons of sauce.  Interestingly, the makers used a swimming pool measuring15' in diameter by 3.5' high to make this huge quantity of pasta. Guinness World Record of fastest spaghetti slurping is 26.69 second. Michelle Lesco achieved this record in USA.

10. It is the simplest pasta shape to produce on an industrial scale!

Spaghetti is the simplest pasta shape, ever produced at industrial scale. Italy’s oldest pasta and biggest pasta making company is Barilla in Parma. Here, durum wheat is transformed into 150 different pasta shapes. Spaghetti is the simplest of all.

11. Spaghetti, spaghettoni and spaghettini - all are different!

Spaghetti is named different according to its thickness. Spaghettoni is a thicker type. Spaghettini is a thinner type. And the thinnest type of spaghetti is ‘capellini’, with the diameter around 0.85 - 0.92 mm. Also Read: Interesting facts about Sushi

12. Thomas Jefferson – the person who introduced pasta in American cuisine!

Thomas Jefferson introduced pasta to America in 1789. Later in 1793, when he returned to his hometown from an extended stay in France, he started growing wheat. Of course, this newly introduced food product required growing new inputs. So, Thomas Jefferson played his part and grew wheat on his farms till his death in 1826.

13. BBC’s prank about spaghetti on April fool’s day!

In 1957, people still considered spaghetti as some exotic food product on April fool’s day; BBC used this opportunity and featured a hoax broadcast about the spaghetti harvest in Switzerland. Through this broadcast, they convinced thousands of people that spaghetti grew on trees and its strings always grow to the same length. These were some amazing and interesting facts about spaghetti. Stay tuned for more interesting content. . Pictures courtesy:

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