Dear Jordan,
"The first commercial pasta plant in the United States was founded in
1848 in Brooklyn, New York. By the turn of the century, the pasta
industry had reached a growth point that triggered a large group of
industry members to assemble for a discussion of manufacturing and
marketing issues. The result of this meeting was the establishment of
the National Macaroni Manufacturers Association. In 1981, the name was
changed to the National Pasta Association."
(SOURCE: ILovePasta.org, <http://www.ilovepasta.org/backgrounder.html>).
It wasn't started by Italians...
"[...] until 1848. The first pasta factory was built in Brooklyn, New
York by a Frenchman who spread his spaghetti strands on the roof to
dry in the sunshine. Pasta production increased during World War I
when all Italian imports were cut
off." (SOURCE: "Pasta, "Wheat Foods.org,
<http://www.wheatfoods.org/nutrition_grains/FactSheetsPdf/Pasta.pdf> -
PDF).
The Institute of Food Technologies states, however, that large scale
production did not start until the 1910s
20th CENTURY MARKS ACIEVEMENTS IN FOOD SCIENCE
<http://www.ift.org/cms/?pid=1000562>
And in any case, the first pasta factory in the world was not in the
US, but in Italy. Nestle like to claim that it is Buitoni (a company
now belonging to Nestle), that first manufactured dried pasta, in
1827:
"GIULIA BUITONI, widow and mother of 5 children, pawned her jewellery
to start the very first pasta factory in Italy in 1827. She opened for
business on November 12, 1827."
(SOURCE: Nestle/Buitoni,
<http://www.nestle.co.uk/ProductNewsAndOffers/AboutOurBrands/PastaAndCheese/>).
"The very first pasta manufacturing company was; 'Il Pastifico
Buitoni'. Set up in 1827 by a woman by the name of Giulia Buitoni, who
pawned her wedding ring to buy the necessary equipment. As a lady of
high values, she travelled the country to secure only the very best
flour. That Company still exists today; nearly 200 years later, and is
one of the biggest and more popular manufacturers worldwide, it is now
part of the Nestles group."
(SOURCE: "PASTA - A Basic history of",
<http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/6454/pasta_hist.html> - the site
contains more information on the commercial production of pasta).
This is however not accurate. Buitoni was the first to make mass
production, but there was a factory before them. " In 1740, the city
of Venice issued Paolo Adami a license to open the first pasta
factory. The machinery was simple enough. It consisted of an iron
press, powered by several young boys. In 1763, the Duke of Parma, Don
Ferdinando of Bourbon, gave Stefano Lucciardi of Sarzana the right to
a 10 year-monopoly for the production of dried pasta - "Genoa-style" -
in the city of Parma" (SOURCE: PASTA PROJECT - The Beginning,
<http://koal.kpedu.fi/europeanmenu/pasta2.htm>).
I hope this answers your question. Please contact me if you need any
clarification on this answer before you rate it. My search terms:
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production dried pasta 1848, "first commercial" pasta, "first
commercial" "dried pasta", "first dried pasta" |
