Sometimes it takes something as simple as food to remind us that people from all around the world share some of the same things. Take pasta, for instance. Many cultures have pasta in common. A spin of the globe proves it.
- When talking about pasta, our first stop would have to be Europe, namely, Italy, where every shape, size and type pasta has been created and adored in so many classics from simple spaghetti and meatballs to layers of meat- and cheese-filled lasagna and stuffed pastas like tortellini and ravioli, to name just a few.
- Legend has it that Marco Polo introduced pasta to Italy after his Far East journey in the 13th century, so we're spinning the globe to Asia, where there's historic evidence that the Chinese were eating a version of macaroni in 5,000 B.C. You've gotta try our version of a popular Asian pasta dish, Cold Sesame Noodles.
- Although not what we in America think of as traditional pasta, cellophane noodles made from Asian mung beans are enjoyed in soups and stir-fry dishes of many cultures.
- In Japan, buckwheat-based soba noodles are used much the same way as cellophane noodles.
- Couscous originated in Morocco, in North Africa. They're simply pasta pearls, made from semolina flour, that come plain or in flavored varieties.
- Returning to Europe, in Germany, we find flour-based, hearty dumpling-like spaetzle noodles that are traditionally teamed with sauces and stews.
Evidently good news traveled even hundreds of years ago, with the word about pasta spreading around the globe.
