Integrative Assignment #1: Pasta

Assumption: I had no idea that spaghetti is not normally eaten with meatballs in Italy.  Growing up in American society, I was always told it was an “Italian food.”  I did not know that it only came into fruition once Italians immigrated to the United States, and those who were too poor to afford meat in Italy could finally eat it with everything.  It is more a part of “Italian-American” culture as we know today than actual Italian culture.

Dish: I decided to focus on pasta made with wheat flour, the most commonly eaten type of pasta.

Rotini (a type of pasta)

Chemical Analysis: What the flour is doing is creating gluten within the pasta.  Gluten is created when the flour is kneaded with water, and the proteins glutenin and gliadin are formed.  Said gluten is necessary so that the flour can stretch out into a thin, malleable sheet.  The pasta also needs eggs to use as a binding agent, and to give the pasta a moist texture.  Eggs contain fat, water, and protein, which make the pasta more flavorful and firm.  In order to make a “good” pasta, one must strike the proper balance between flour and eggs so that it is not too dry to be malleable, but not so moist that it is too slippery to be worked.

Cultural Analysis: The first reference to pasta dates back to 1154 in Sicily.  Pasta is served in over 300 known different shapes and forms.  It can be served as penne, rotini, lasagna, etc.  However, there are key differences between how pasta is served in Italy and how it is served in the United States.  In Italy, pasta is served as a first course in a small portion.  In the United States, however, pasta is most commonly served as a main course.  Pasta as a main course in the United States is most commonly served with cheese sauce (macaroni and cheese), or with meatballs (spaghetti and meatballs).  However, these dishes are American creations that do not exist in Italy.  As we saw in Big Night, these differences can create a clash between cultures.

Integration: I can now see why Italian chefs are so unwilling to change their pasta.  Since it can taste so different with so many different recipes and it can be served in so many different ways, each chef can have their own unique style of pasta that they consider “the best.”  For someone to ask a chef to change their pasta is considered blasphemy.  To change one’s pasta is to change one’s soul.