# Luca’s lengthy treatise on Italian pasta – Part II



## Luca Lazzari (Apr 25, 2012)

Hello friends. As my grandmother Maria used to say, “ogni promessa è debito”: a promise is a promise. After writing the *first part of my treatise on Italian pasta*, here I am with the second one: the ingredients of Italian pasta. I’ll try to keep it short and simple (but I’ll fail ).
And, not, pasta doesn’t grow on trees, as the *supposed first April Fool by BBC pointed out*…
If you want to keep it super simple, you can just get this basic information: Italian pasta alimentare must be made only with durum or soft wheat semola, water and, for some products, eggs. Except for some special cases...

*The ingredients of Italian pasta
*As I said in the first part, the Italian word comes from Latin “pasta” which meant “flour mixed with water and salt”. In Italy pasta is a generic term, but in this post I’m talking about “pasta alimentare” (pasta intended to be used as a food) and the making of pasta alimentare in Italy is ruled by precise guidelines (DECRETO DEL PRESIDENTE DELLA REPUBBLICA 9 febbraio 2001, n. 187).

According to our law, in Italy you can basically make and sell three kinds of pasta alimentare:
– *Pasta secca* (dry pasta)
– *Pasta fresca* (fresh pasta)
– *Pasta all’uovo* (egg pasta)

Some info: Italy is by far the main producer of pasta and Italians are the greatest devourers of the thing around the globe (each one of us black-haired mandolino players gobbles up around 60 pounds a year of the delicious stuff). A precise production technique must be followed to make pasta, which I will spare you for the sake of simplicity (anyway, who cares? Let the Carabinieri check those pasta-producing folks…).

But let’s get back to the basics: what are the ingredients? As I said they are basically *wheat*, *water* and, in some cases, *eggs*.

*Pasta secca* (maximum moisture allowed: 12,5%) must be produced only with:
– Durum wheat semola, produced from Triticum durum wheat
– A negligible percentage of soft wheat semola (less then 3%), produced from Triticum aestivum wheat
– Water

*Pasta fresca* (minimum moisture required: 24%) must be produced only with:
– Durum wheat semola
– Soft wheat semola may be used
– Water

*Pasta all’uovo* must be produced only with:
– Durum wheat semola
– Whole chicken eggs (or a product derived from whole chicken eggs, known as “ovoprodotto liquido”): the required proportion is 200 g egg for 1 kg of semola

*Not only durum wheat…
*It is possible to produce pasta with different cereals, but the label must clearly show it. A typical example is pasta for gluten-free diets, made with rice, maize (corn) or other cereals.
Another case is “pasta speciale”, special pasta. This kind of pasta is made adding other ingredients to the mix, like green vegetable (spinach, basil, parsley) to produce green pasta, red vegetable (tomato, red beet) for red pasta, cuttlefish ink for black pasta and so on.
Talking about gnocchi, they are not strictly considered pasta: the main variety of gnocchi currently made in Italy in fact contains potatoes (not all of them; for example, gnocchi alla romana are baked semolina disks, but this is another story…).

Warning: according to Italian law, pasta for the foreign market can be prepared with ingredients and techniques different from those required for the Italian market, provided that the product complies with local laws and it’s healthy for human consumption. I must admit my ignorance on this point: I don’t know if Italian pasta makers sell different lines of products for domestic and foreign markets. 

*Stuffed pasta*
Obviously, stuffed pasta needs stuffing ingredients other then wheat, water and eggs. The variety of stuffing makes it impossible to propose you a proper list. We have dozens of different stuffing around the nation, used to prepare many different shapes of pasta ripiena: from agnolotti to tortelloni, from ravioli to cappelletti, from casoncelli to pansoti. Maybe I’ll cover this subject in another part of this series of posts.

As you can see, Italian pasta is a very simple product and simplicity is one of the pillars of Italian cuisine. Being so simple, pasta is highly versatile and can be mixed with quite everything that grows, runs, grazes, flies or swims to produce an endless variety of beautiful recipes. You can find some of these recipes in the “*Pasta, Rice, Beans, Grains...*” section of this wonderful forum.

Buon appetito and arrivederci to the next issue! 

_As always, please let me know if you would like me to cover some specific subject. I’ll try to serve you the best I can._


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## justplainbill (Apr 25, 2012)

Why do the Carabinieri always travel in pairs?


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## Luca Lazzari (Apr 25, 2012)

justplainbill said:


> Why do the Carabinieri always travel in pairs?



Because one can read, the other can write...


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## justplainbill (Apr 25, 2012)

Luca Lazzari said:


> Because one can read, the other can write...


Must be true, I heard the same thing 45 years ago; but they used to carry bigger guns than the civilian police.


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## Andy M. (Apr 25, 2012)

Luca Lazzari said:


> ...must be made only with durum or soft wheat semola, water and, for some products, eggs...what are the ingredients? As I said they are basically *wheat*, *water* and, in some cases, *eggs*_*.*_*..*




For which products or in which cases are eggs used?


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## Margi Cintrano (Apr 25, 2012)

Buonasera Luca,

Como stai ?  I am writing this note to let you know that I have read your informative post on my favorite country´s Pasta Varieties. Enjoyed and thanks for posting.

Grazie,
Kind regards.
Margi Cintrano.


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## Luca Lazzari (Apr 25, 2012)

Andy M. said:


> For which products or in which cases are eggs used?



Andy M., according to the law, eggs can be used only to produce pasta which is labeled "pasta all'uovo" (uovo means egg in Italian).
Practically, tagliatelle, tagliolini, lasagne and pappardelle are some types of pasta all'uovo (even if you can find variations of these shapes which are made without eggs). Pasta all'uovo is traditionally more common in central and northern Italy then in the south, while the south is the homeground of durum wheat pasta, like spaghetti, rigatoni, bucatini etc.
Basically, law was introduced to rule a well-established tradition and to ensure high and consistent quality levels in the production, packaging, storage and delivery phases, without limiting the diversity of the wide range of pre-existing pasta types around the nation.


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## Andy M. (Apr 25, 2012)

Thanks, Luca.  our two-part treatise is very informative.


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## taxlady (Apr 25, 2012)

Thank you for the interesting and informative post.


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## Dawgluver (Apr 25, 2012)

Good stuff, Luca!  Thanks!


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## purple.alien.giraffe (Apr 25, 2012)

You are seriously making me wish I could tour Italy for a year just to try out a bunch of the different pasta preparations.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Apr 25, 2012)

Bounasera, Luca.  Grazie, Grazie!


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## Luca Lazzari (May 23, 2012)

Margi Cintrano said:


> Buonasera Luca,
> 
> Como stai ?  I am writing this note to let you know that I have read your informative post on my favorite country´s Pasta Varieties. Enjoyed and thanks for posting.
> 
> ...





Andy M. said:


> Thanks, Luca.  our two-part treatise is very informative.





taxlady said:


> Thank you for the interesting and informative post.





Dawgluver said:


> Good stuff, Luca!  Thanks!





PrincessFiona60 said:


> Bounasera, Luca.  Grazie, Grazie!



You're welcome friends! Today I'll start working on the next release


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## Luca Lazzari (May 23, 2012)

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> You are seriously making me wish I could tour Italy for a year just to try out a bunch of the different pasta preparations.



You could start from the northwestern shores of Liguria and their trenette al pesto, go south along the coastline and taste a couple of pasta recipes in every region... But don't forget fish and meat, cheese and cold cuts, vegetables and cakes, fruit and liquor, wine and beer, bread and pizza, soups and pulses, ice-creams and granite...


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## purple.alien.giraffe (May 23, 2012)

Luca Lazzari said:
			
		

> You could start from the northwestern shores of Liguria and their trenette al pesto, go south along the coastline and taste a couple of pasta recipes in every region... But don't forget fish and meat, cheese and cold cuts, vegetables and cakes, fruit and liquor, wine and beer, bread and pizza, soups and pulses, ice-creams and granite...



So what your saying is, I should hike through Italy so I don't end up gaining 100lbs.  In all seriousness, Italy is in the top 5 of places I'd like to visit.


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## Luca Lazzari (May 23, 2012)

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> So what your saying is, I should hike through Italy so I don't end up gaining 100lbs.  In all seriousness, Italy is in the top 5 of places I'd like to visit.



Yes, you'd better take the "cavallo di San Francesco", Saint Francis of Assisi's horse, which means go walking! In this way you'll be able to devour tons of food without loosing your shape


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## purple.alien.giraffe (May 23, 2012)

Luca Lazzari said:
			
		

> Yes, you'd better take the "cavallo di San Francesco", Saint Francis of Assisi's horse, which means go walking! In this way you'll be able to devour tons of food without loosing your shape



Well, currently my shape is round and lumpyish with a hint of female curves so maybe I'll have to do enough of the walking that it would help me improve my shape.


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## PrincessFiona60 (May 23, 2012)

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> So what your saying is, I should hike through Italy so I don't end up gaining 100lbs.  In all seriousness, Italy is in the top 5 of places I'd like to visit.



You'll be carrying me along, right?


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## Addie (May 23, 2012)

Of all the fun shapes of macaroni products in Italy, my favorite one is bucatini. It is long, thick, has a hole down the center and you can only pick up one strand at a time. And it doesn't like to twirl around your fork. The only brand that I have found that sells it in my area is Pastene. It is an imported brand. 

Lyda uses it a lot on her shows. It does take much longer to cook than finer products, but you can never cook it past al dente. Seat several children down with a plate of bucitini then stand back to watch the fun. It is like they are eating a plate of straws. They usually give up with the fork and start using their fingers. Sucking up one strand at a time. 

Okay kids, start playing with your food.


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