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Sapori Di Napoli – Creating the Perfect Pasta

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As it turns out, the popular myth that Marco Polo, a Venetian merchant, brought pasta back from the Far East and introduced it to Italians for the first time in 1295 is not true. Although the Chinese were eating pasta as early as 5,000 B.C., the early Etruscans made pasta as early as 400 B.C., centuries before Marco Polo returned from his travels along the Silk Road.

Dried pasta is a different story, though. Italians didn’t start making dried pasta until the early 1300’s. But soon after dried pasta made its debut, it quickly became the preferred form of pasta in Italy, favored for its longer shelf life, and easy storage and transport. It quickly began traveling around the world as traders and explorers brought pasta along on their ships as they set-forth to discover the New World. By that time, different shapes of pasta started to appear, along with new technologies which made making and drying pasta much easier. It was these innovations that further boosted pasta consumption in Italy, and ultimately lead to pasta becoming a ubiquitous part of the Italian diet.

Of course the other ubiquitous ingredient, tomato, took longer to become completely entrenched. The Spanish explorer, Cortez, brought tomatoes back to Europe from the New World in 1519, but it did not make significant in-roads into the Italian diet until the early 1800’s. Tomatoes and pasta: A trans-Atlantic match-made-in-heaven - with a very long engagement period.

What Makes One Dried Pasta Better Than Another?

Italian law states that dried pasta must be made with 100% durum semolina flour and water, a rule that all but the lowest quality pasta makers adhere to worldwide. However there are three things that make one dried pasta better or worse than another: Where the wheat is grown, how the pasta is extruded, and how it is dried.

In Italy's Campania region, pasta is considered more than just food; pasta is art, ritual, culture, and history all rolled into one. This is especially true in Naples and the towns and villages that surround it. The craftsmen at the Pastificio Artigianale Romita - located in the village of Borgo Reale di S. Leucio about 15 miles due north of Naples - produce their pasta, Sapori di Napoli, with the skill and experience few can match. They employ traditional production methods now abandoned by industrial pasta makers. They start with the purest water and semolina flour from hand-selected locally-grown durum wheat. The local durum is lower in ash and higher in gluten content, which makes for a dried pasta of superior texture and flavor.

After working the dough by hand, the Master Pasta Makers extrude the pasta dough through traditional bronze molds or dies. This slow and careful process is more than tradition; it ensures the proper texture of the final product. It is the rough surface of bronze extruded pasta, as well as the shape, that ensures a good marriage between the pasta and the sauce. There are some 350 different shapes and varieties of dried pasta in Italy - more if you consider regional specialties and handmade shapes. The more complicated shapes are specifically designed for grabbing and holding onto sauces. But, the surface texture of the pasta also makes a difference. In fact, some tube pastas have additional ridges (“rigate”) on the outside, designed to help the pasta and the sauce better stick together. It is these traditional bronze dies that, while expensive and prone to wear, are preferred by the Master Pasta Makers of Sapori di Napoli, because they ensure a finer quality dried pasta that helps the pasta and the pasta sauce stay attached to each other after cooking.

Many producers, especially outside of Italy, use steel or even Teflon dies. These modern dies allow the pasta manufacturer to extrude the pasta much more quickly and therefore, more cheaply. But the pasta produced is too smooth to hold onto the pasta sauce – even when making tube or twisted shapes.

After the pasta is extruded and cut, it must be properly dried. This is another place where industrial pasta producers fall short. Mass produced pasta is dried at very high temperatures for a shorter time, while traditional pasta is allowed to dry more slowly at a much lower temperature and for a longer period of time. Sapori di Napoli pasta is dried using traditional methods under controlled low-temperature conditions for 24 to 92 hours, depending on the shape. This slow drying process leads a better tasting product, and more uniform water absorption during cooking so that you can get that perfect "al dente" on your plate every time.

Think About It

Next time you are at the grocery store considering which pasta product to purchase, think about Sapori di Napoli, and the care and devotion they put into each package of pasta. Look for a pasta that is made with genuine durum wheat semolina, and that is extruded through bronze dies. Not only will your pasta taste better, but you will help get your pasta and pasta sauce back together - and live happily ever after.

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This Week's Recipes

Pasta season is upon us. Here are a few pasta recipes from the recent La Cucina Italiana Magazine – September/October 2010 issue – the pasta issue. There are many more recipes where these came from. Look for the pasta issue on your newsstand.

TROFIE WITH PESTO ALLA GENOVESE

ORECCHIETTE WITH BROCCOLI RABE

FUSILLI WITH ARTICHOKE AND TOMATO SAUCE

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