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  • Essay / The History of Pasta - 959

    Pasta did not originate in the 13th century. Popular myth, pasta originated on Marco Polo's return trip from China, when he brought noodles back to Venice. According to food historian Serventi et al. (2003, p211), the myth originated in the 1920s from Macaroni Journal as an American promotional policy. In fact, pasta appeared 4,000 years ago. According to a National Geographic article, the preserved noodle bowl was found under ten feet of earth at the Laija archaeological site (Roach, 2005). The noodle bowl discovered at the Laija archaeological site in northern China is important because it represents the first empirical evidence of the existence of noodles. Huoyuan Li of the Institute of Geology discovered that the 4,000-year-old noodles were made from broom and foxtail millet grains at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. Roach argues that millet grain was indigenous to China because it was cultivated 7,000 years ago (Roach, 2005). Pasta was mass produced in America after World War II. The pasta industry has found itself in a second industrial revolution. The European pasta industry has lagged behind the American pasta industry. Small family businesses in southern Italy have gone bankrupt. America focused on automatic pasta production. Modernization of production equipment has given American companies a competitive advantage in pasta manufacturing. American companies measured the semolina, added water, then packaged the pasta into a finished product. In the 1920s, the American pasta industry introduced packaging and marketing. The pasta was packaged in visible cellophane to protect it from contamination. Through innovation, American companies have created standardized pasta. In 192...... middle of paper ...... pasta contains B vitamins and iron, is cholesterol-free and low in sodium. According to the National Pasta Association, one cup of whole wheat pasta provides 25% of daily fiber. Works CitedMoskin, J. (January 25, 2011). The long pull of noodle making. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/26/dining/26noodles.html?_r=2&sq=noodles&st=cse&scp=2&pagewanted=allRoach, J. (October 12, 2005). 4,000-year-old noodles found in China. National Geographic News. Retrieved from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/10/1012_051012_chinese_noodles.html Broihier, K. (2007). Choose the most nutritious pasta. Environmental Nutrition, 30(11), 4.Clark, N. (2011). Sports snacks. American Fitness, 29(2), 66-67.Serventi, S., Sabban, F. (2003). Pasta: the story of a universal food. New York, New York: Columbia University Press.