5 things you don’t know about pasta

1. Was pasta invented by Chinese (and brought by Marco Polo) or not? Come on! It was known and eaten in Italy at least in 1200 (and it’s proven).

2. Pasta does not make you fat, that’s absolutely false. Pasta is made of starch and starch is not transformed into fat. What can be fattening, though, is the condiment. Pasta al burro (with butter), pasta all’olio (with oil) or carbonara (with bacon and eggs) can add a lot of calories to your diet. In this case, pasta al pomodoro (with tomato) is the best option.

3. Never throw pasta at the wall to check if it’s cooked. This is an urban myth and we can assure that no Italian would ever do it.

4. Eating spaghetti with the help of a spoon is, for an Italian, like having a cappuccino after 11am. An absolute no no. Avoid the spoon at all costs, if you want to mingle with Italians.

5. Spaghetti and penne are the most famous kinds of pasta, known all over the world. But pasta has more than 100 different shapes, some known only in some regions of Italy.