Spaghetti

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Spaghetti is a long, thin form of pasta, round in cross-section. It is frequently served in a tomato-based sauce, which may also contain olive oil, seasonings, including herbs (especially oregano and basil), and vegetables (for example green peppers, onions and mushrooms). It may also be topped with any of several hard cheeses, such as Pecorino Romano, Parmesan or Asiago. It may also contain meat in the sauce. Outside Italy it is often served with meatballs, although that is not a typical Italian recipe.

Related Topics:
Pasta - Tomato - Sauce - Olive oil - Seasoning - Herb - Oregano - Basil - Vegetables - Green peppers - Onions - Mushrooms - Cheese - Pecorino Romano - Parmesan - Asiago - Meatball

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Most spaghetti sold and consumed is commercially prepared, then dried. Spaghetti is cooked by boiling the pasta in water until it softens. The consistency or texture of spaghetti changes as it is cooked. One popular consistency is al dente which is translated from the Italian as "to the tooth" which means it is soft, but with texture. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=define%3Aal+dente&btnG=Search Others prefer their spaghetti fully cooked, which gives it a much softer consistency.

Related Topics:
Boiling - Water - Al dente

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To have a perfect "spaghetti al dente", spaghetti should be derived only from durum wheat semolina, even though spaghetti produced with other kinds of flour can be found outside Italy.

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The word spaghetti is the plural of the Italian word spaghetto, which is a diminutive of spago, meaning "string," or "twine." Therefore literally, the word "spaghetti" means "little strings." It is, however, normal to treat it as an uncountable noun in English, and say "this spaghetti is tasty" rather than "these spaghetti are tasty." Similarly, to speak of an individual strand, we would say "there's a piece of spaghetti on the floor" rather than "there's a spaghetto on the floor."

Related Topics:
Italian - Uncountable noun - English

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Eating spaghetti with a fork and a spoon is perfectly polite, being the traditional Neapolitan habit. However, many other Italians consider the proper way to eat it to be with just a fork, or with the help of the edge of the knife at the very most, like any other dish.

Related Topics:
Fork - Spoon - Neapolitan

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Legend has it that Marco Polo brought the recipe for spaghetti back from China; however there is evidence that pasta has been made in Italy at least since the 4th century BC.

Related Topics:
Legend - Marco Polo - China - 4th century BC

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