Pasta is an ancient food typical of the Mediterranean diet. Seasoned with vegetables, legumes, cheese, eggs, fish or meat, it is a versatile, healthy and balanced single dish. It provides all the nutrients we need, with a balanced intake of fats and proteins and with an estimated 40% calorie savings.

The real Italian pasta

The whole world knows and appreciates pasta, a symbol of Italian cuisine and one of the leading products of the Mediterranean diet, known and appreciated for its nutritional balance. But how do you recognize real Italian pasta? How do you choose authentic pasta?

Dry pasta

There are 4 types of pasta: fresh, egg, filled and dry. Dry pasta accounts for 80% of Italian production. So the word pasta is what Italians use to commonly refer to dry pasta. To indicate the other types they add the word fresca (fresh), all’uovo (egg) and ripiena (stuffed).

The types of dry pasta

Spaghetti, linguine, rigatoni, macaroni, farfalle, penne… Dry pasta comes in many forms, to be chosen according to the sauce you want to use. In fact, each form is better suited to retain a certain type of sauce.

Until the end of the fifteenth century the shapes of long pasta and short pasta were all called “maccheroni”. Later, the word identified only the long one, often shaped as a tube. The other types of pasta were given different names, mostly based on the shape it resembles, e.g. farfalle (butterflies) or penne (the nib of a fountain pen).

The ingredients

Pasta is a simple and popular dish consisting essentially of 2 ingredients: durum wheat semolina and water.

It all therefore revolves around the authenticity and quality of these two ingredients and their processing. Only by following strict rules imposed by the experience handed down through Italian tradition is it possible to obtain the real pasta, the good one.

Durum wheat

Authentic Italian pasta has unique characteristics. Firstly, it is to be produced only with durum wheat semolina. In Italy the law requires it: dry pasta must be made using only durum wheat (in pasta destined for foreign markets, common wheat can also be used). Why? First of all because durum wheat contains more proteins, gluten, more antioxidant carotenoids, and has a lower glycemic index. It also has a greater ability to retain starch and ensure perfect cooking. In fact, durum wheat cooks much more slowly than common wheat.