10/17/2022
Spaghetti, fettuccini, macaroni, and ravioli: pasta is undauntable one of our favorite comfort foods. But do we know how the dish became so popular here in the states? Or where it even came from? The origins of pasta are a little difficult to trace, but many researchers support the theory that Marco Polo brought noodles back to Italy upon returning from a trip to China in 1271.
Though this theory supports a tale of discovery and adventure, Marco Polo’s travels are all retold through second hand sources, making the accuracy questionable. However, if Marco Polo did bring pasta back to Italy, he certain wasn’t the first to do so. Pasta was already a popular dish in Italy by the early 13th century. Other historians have traced pasta back to ancient Etruscan civilizations, who would grind cereals and grains before mixing them with water to produce their own pasta-like carbohydrate.
Pasta was brought to America by early Spanish settlers, but wasn’t popular until Thomas Jefferson made a trip to Paris and fell in love with macaroni (which, at the time, referred to any pasta shape). Years later, when a large group of Italian immigrants moved from Italy to America, pasta became a staple and obtainable meal in the United States.