Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Greetings Infomaniacs,

When you order a big plate of pasta at your favorite Italian restaurant, or enjoy a spicy meatball covered in tomato sauce, you probably don't spend a lot of time thinking about where these delicious dishes come from, but there is a fascinating history to a lot of the foods we take for granted every day.

Enjoy!

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WHO SAID IT?
QUOTE: "People who love to eat are always the best people."

HINT: (1912-2004), was an American chef, author, and television personality.

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RANDOM TIDBITS
Legend has it that noodles were first made by 13th century German bakers who fashioned dough into symbolic shapes, such as swords, birds and stars, which were baked and served as bread. In the 13th century, the Pope set quality standards for pasta.

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Thomas Jefferson is credited with introducing macaroni to the United States. It seems that he fell in love with a certain dish he sampled in Naples, while serving as the U.S. Ambassador to France. In fact, he promptly ordered crates of "macaroni," along with a pasta-making machine, sent back to the States.

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The first American pasta factory was opened in Brooklyn, New York, in 1848, by a Frenchman named Antoine Zerega. Mr. Zerega managed the entire operation with just one horse in his basement to power the machinery. To dry his spaghetti, he placed strands of the pasta on the roof to dry in the sunshine.

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During the 1980s, macaroni, which was traditionally considered a "blue-collar" down-home meal, was transformed into the more upscale "pasta." As more and more people began to have fun with it and romanticize it throughout the '60s and '70s, its image began to change along with its name.

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The Spanish explorer Cortez brought tomatoes back to Europe from Mexico in 1519. Even then, almost 200 years passed before spaghetti with tomato sauce made its way into Italian kitchens.

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The Italians only ate meat a few times a month. So, when they came to America, where meat was so plentiful, they incorporated meat into their cooking more often, making meatballs an American invention.




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WHO SAID IT?
QUOTE: "People who love to eat are always the best people."

ANSWER: Julia Child.