Quality marks
The authentic name of macaroni pasta in translation from Italian means "dough". The classic recipe for their industrial manufacture is simple. From the wheat flour with water, knead the dough, and then pass through a special machine that gives it shape, cuts and dries. The word Maccheroni also exists in the lexicon of Italians. Usually they call this a long tube of dry dough with a hole inside.
Depending on the quality and grade of flour, pasta is divided into groups and classes. Group A includes products from flour of solid wheat varieties. Macaroni of group A is not too much boiled and has a number of useful properties, which we will discuss below. Group B - macaroni from vitreous wheat. And in Group B products come from ordinary bakery flour, which is cheap, but not too suitable for making pasta. In Italy, in their homeland, it is generally forbidden to use such flour for the release of this product. With classes, everything is simpler. To the first belong products from flour of the highest grade, to the second - from the flour of the first.
As for the egg paste, the Italians consider it a separate variety. Perhaps this is correct. In the dough is added egg powder, which gives it a peculiar taste. And instant noodles, neither in composition nor in production technology, are different from ordinary pasta. The only nuance is that before the packing it is processed by hot steam. Thanks to this, it boils down in just a few minutes. In Italy, there are over 300 varieties of pasta. In our stores, "species diversity" is more modest - a few dozen. Worldwide, spaghetti (spago) has become the most popular. And at us the most running macaroni - short and horns.
Macaroni - the product is quite simple. Therefore, if the producer wants to sell his goods at a price higher than the average, he needs something to surprise the consumer. A kind of product - colored pasta, which are prepared with the addition of natural vegetable puree. Red pasta - with carrots, purple - with beets, green - with spinach. They look unusually on a plate, like children and are well suited for salads. Year on year imports in this market is becoming less. But the real Italian pasta can still be bought in our stores. Although it is two or more times more expensive than the average price of domestic pasta.
Properties of pasta
It is considered that from macaroni get fat. This is not entirely true. For example, the famous Italian actress Sophia Loren adored her pasta all her life and often cooked them with a variety of sauces. And no less famous actress Anna Magnani every evening ate a serving of spaghetti and at the same time remained slim. Italian nutritionists say that to maintain a good shape, eat a plate of "empty" paste twice a week. In general, pasta is not dangerous for the figure, if they are not abused. In 100 grams of dry product contains about 350 kilocalories, and in the prepared dish - three times less. Agree, not so much. The main thing is not to combine pasta with fats. Without any harm to the waist, vegetables can be added to the pasta without oil, with a light sauce, for example soy. And here is a typical Russian variant - noodles with cheese and butter - a direct way to excess weight.
Flour from durum wheat, from which classical pasta is made, is rich in Group B vitamins. Also in pasta is a lot of especially valuable vitamin F. Quality pasta contains fiber, which gives a long feeling of satiety and removes toxins from the body.
How Italians Eat Pasta
• Italians do not cook pasta as much as we do - until a semi-solid state called al dente. Follow their example - maybe you will like it.
• In Italy, they often mix pasta with fish. Although we somehow consider these products not very compatible.
• The latest time in fashion includes pasta-based salads. They add sweet pepper, broccoli, mushrooms, olives, garlic, cherry tomatoes and season with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and Italian herbs.
• Macaroni can lie in the closet without compromising taste for years. However, with prolonged storage, they lose useful properties.
Lovely women watching their figure. Answer this question: "Why can Italians have pasta, but we can not?". Remember, high-quality pasta is not full. In addition, they are tasty and contain useful substances. Bon Appetit!