Encyclopedia of Pasta

California Studies in Food and Culture #26

by Oretta Zanini De Vita, Maureen Fant (Translator)

Spaghetti, gnocchi, tagliatellea, ravioli, vincisgrassi, strascinati ―pasta in its myriad forms has been a staple of the Mediterranean diet longer than bread. This beautiful volume is the first book to provide a complete history of pasta in Italy, telling its long story via the extravagant variety of shapes it takes and the even greater abundance of names by which it is known. Food scholar Oretta Zanini De Vita traveled to every corner of her native Italy, recording oral histories, delving into long-forgotten family cookbooks, and searching obscure archives to produce this rich and uniquely personal compendium of historical and geographical information. For each entry she includes the primary ingredients, preparation techniques, variant names, and the locality where it is made and eaten. Along the way, Zanini De Vita debunks such culinary myths as Marco Polo's supposed role in pasta's story even as she serves up a feast of new information. Encyclopedia of Pasta, illustrated throughout with original drawings by Luciana Marini, will be the standard reference on one of the world's favorite foods for many years to come, engaging and delighting both general readers and food professionals.

Genres: Food, Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Reference, Culinary, History

400 pages, Hardcover

First published September 15, 2009

Reviews

[Karima · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a monumental feat of love, dedication and thorough research. It begins with a forward by Carol Field (food journalist and author of THE ITALIAN BAKER), a preface by the author and additional preface by the translator, Maureen B. Fant ( a native New Yorker and food writer who has lived in Rome since 1979). I especially was caught by Ms. Fant's opening sentence; "One very good reason to learn the italian language is to enjoy the works of Oretta Zanina De Vita in the original."

It is about the traditional shapes of Italian pasta, which arranged in alphabetical order and broadly organized into six categories; pasta corta (short), pasta lunga (pasta long), pasta ripiena (stuffed), pastina (tiny shapes cooked in broth) and strascinati (dis-dragged). Each entry is then provided with ingredients, how made, also know as, how served, where found and finished up with additional remarks. Many are accompanied by simple yet beautiful pencil drawings.

It is a treasure trove of history and culture.

I almost took away one star because I could not find one of my childhood favorite, "acini di pepe" but I just couldn't do it!

[Justin Redpath · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book opened my eyes about Italian culture, language, and pasta. As a Latin scholar, I was especially intrigued to learn about the origins going back to ancient Roman and Greek times!

[Merced Potter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully descriptive, as it should be with the amount of work that Oretta put into this work! You will never look at pasta the same way again.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not entirely what I expected! What I expected was an identification guide of sorts of the various types of pasta along with recipes to use. What I discovered was "Traditional Italian Pasta Shapes A to Z" and no recipes.

Each pasta lists its American name and then it's Italian name. Also provided are ingredients, how made, aka(s), how served, where found and remarks. These remarks may be a small paragraph as with Pannicelli to a few paragraphs as with Pappardelle to a few pages as with Ravioli to many pages as with Lasagna.

An interesting read! There are almost as many pastas as there are cheeses in the world.

I just experienced Pappardelle for the first time this past weekend. It was a Mushroom Pappardelle -- the pasta was served with 3 types of mushrooms and I chose to add scallops to my order -- Delicioso!

[Budd Margolis · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG, this is the most academi9c and thorough work on pasta!!!
Seriously a BIG work I will always refer to often!!