Pasta

Human beings have eaten pasta for over 7,000 years and it is therefore very difficult to determine who invented it. The term pasta derives from the Greek πάσταand it means “dough”. One hundred years before Christ, Cicero and Horace already loved pasta, and, in A.D.1154, the Arab geographer Al-Idrin celebrated "a delicacy made of flour, in the shape of cords". It was called triyah, and it was manufactured in Palermo. Here is the first evidence of the existence of spaghetti nine hundred years ago!

In Italy, dry pasta - the one commonly on sale, not to be mistaken with handmade fresh pasta - is prepared only with durum wheat. According to the Italian law, it can be made exclusively with durum semolina or durum wheat and water. Durum wheat allows pasta to hold up to cooking, unlike soft wheat.

When you have to choose the right type of pasta, remember that smooth surface pasta is appreciated for its lightness, while the ridged type of pasta is usually preferred for its ability to retain the sauce.

A suggestion:
when you want to cook pasta, fill a large pan with salted water, so that pasta does not stick. If you find out at the very last moment that the pan you have chosen is too small and you can do nothing about it, you can always add a little oil to the cooking water!