Webadept, Scriptor and I want to know:

What's the difference (if any) between Pasta, Spaghetti, and Noodles?
Please be brief (well, as brief as you want).

Hi Philipp, 

See the trouble with question/tactics like this, is that now I have to
come up with a $35.00 answer about pasta and noodles, so the folks
reading these answers, those people who are not researchers, won't
think that the service is poor around here :-) They don't get to hear
the researcher-behind-the-currtain banter, they just see a $35.00
question about noodles, and the answer given for that amount. Quite a
challenge, but I have all day, so I'll give it my best shot.

The run down willie-ga gives in the comment area is brief and
accurate. The first thing we see is that the words themselves are from
different languages.

It is legend (mostly in America) that Marco Polo was the one who first
brought Spaghetti to Italy from China, as well as ice cream, which
isn't true, but it makes a nice story.

There's evidence suggesting the Etruscans made pasta as early as 400
B.C. The evidence lies in a bas-relief carving in a cave about 30
miles north of Rome. The carving depicts instruments for making pasta
- a rolling-out table, pastry wheel and flour bin. Also pasta is found
in the will of Ponzio Baestone, a Genoan soldier who requested
"bariscella peina de macarone" - a small basket of macaroni. His will
is dated 1279, 16 years before Marco Polo returned from China.  The
Chinese are on record as having eaten pasta as early as 5,000 B.C. In
the 13th century, the Pope set quality standards for pasta.

Spaghetti is a type of Pasta, but pasta is not always spaghetti. There
are more than 600 pasta shapes produced worldwide. Tripolini or
"little bows" were named to honor the Italian conquest of Tripoli in
Libya, fettucine means ribbons; stelline means little stars; and
capelli d'angelo means angel's hair. In 18th century England, macaroni
was a synonym for perfection and excellence. That's why, for example,
the feather in Yankee Doodle's cap was called "macaroni." In fact, the
word "macaroni" means "dearest darlings" in Italian. Thomas Jefferson
is credited with introducing macaroni to the United States. He tasted
it in Naples, and promptly ordered crates of "maccaroni," along with a
pasta-making machine, sent back to Monticello.

Pasta was around for thousands of years before anyone put tomato sauce
on it. Cortez brought tomatoes back to Europe from Mexico in 1519.
Even then, almost 200 years passed before spaghetti with tomato sauce
became something Italians thought was a good thing to make for dinner.
The English word tomato comes from the Spanish tomatl, first appearing
in print in 1595. A member of the deadly nightshade family, tomatoes
were erroneously thought to be poisonous, which could explain why no
one thought to stick tomato sauce on the dinner table. Cortez
discovered tomatoes growing in Montezuma's gardens and brought seeds
back to Europe where they were planted as ornamental curiosities, but
not eaten. Most likely the first variety to reach Europe was yellow in
color, since in Spain and Italy they were known as pomi d'oro, meaning
yellow apples. The French referred to the tomato as pommes d'amour, or
love apples, as they thought them to have stimulating aphrodisiacal
properties. Italy was the first to embrace and cultivate the tomato
outside South America.

Durum wheat is considered the best wheat to use for making pasta. 

Noodles, as willie-ga suggests, egg noodles anyway, really have egg in
them. Pasta never does. It is Federal law in the states that noodles
contain 5.5% egg before they can be called noodles.

Legend has it that noodles were first made by 13th century German
bakers who fashioned dough into symbolic shapes, such as swords, birds
and stars, which were baked and served as bread. The Chinese were
however eating Noodles, and Raman as early as 3000 b.c.

In the states, March is National Noodle Month. 


Links of Interest

I Love Pasta
http://www.ilovepasta.org/factsaboutpasta.html

Zerega Pasta
http://www.zerega.com/who.html

Durram Wheat Quick Facts
http://www.ndwheat.com/wi/durum/durum_quickfacts.asp

Cortez Tomatoes
http://www.sunseeds.com/varieties/pdffiles/tomatoes/cortez_6237.pdf


Monticello
http://www.monticello.org/


Thanks, 

webadept-ga

Absolutely delicious answer!

I always wondered myself. I think, that when you grow up, it is Pasta.
When you're a child, it is still noodles.

PASTA: an Italian word meaning paste, describes the various shapes and
sizes of products made with flour and water.

Pasta products can be categorized by their shapes:

- Long goods, such as SPAGHETTI, fettuccine,linguine, etc.
- Short goods, including macaroni, twists andziti, among others.
- Specialty products, such as shells, bow ties,lasagna, etc.
- NOODLES, which have ribbon-like shapes and are generally made with
eggs.


Given that there is no sign of an answer forthcoming, can I usurp
webadept and steal his answer cash :)

willie-ga

Willie - Without knowing too much about Philipp and Scriptor's
motives, I guess that it is sort of repayment for the service he gives
the Researcher's community in our forum (as a fellow researcher, you
can also join).

Willie: No, sorry.
Politicalguru: Yes, indeed.

i think i agree with willie in theory, though political guru has a
point because children cant say pasta as easily as they can noodles,
so from a practical standpoint that is correct.

why is this a $35 question anyway?