Spaghetti is a long, thin, cylindrical pasta of Italian origin.[1] Spaghetti is made of semolina or flour and water. Italian dried spaghetti is made from durum wheat semolina, but outside of Italy it may be made with other kinds of flour. Traditionally, most spaghetti was 50 cm (20 in) long, but shorter lengths gained in popularity during the latter half of the 20th century and now spaghetti is most commonly available in 25–30 cm (10–12 in) lengths. A variety of pasta dishes are based on it, from spaghetti alla Carbonara or garlic and oil to a spaghetti with tomato sauce, meat and other sauces.
Spaghetti is the plural form of the Italian word spaghetto, which is a diminutive of spago, meaning "thin string" or "twine."[1]
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Pasta in the West may first have been worked to long, thin forms in Southern Italy around the 12th century.[2] The popularity of pasta spread to the whole of Italy after the establishment of pasta factories in the 19th century, enabling the mass production of pasta for the Italian market.[3]
In the United States around the end of the 19th century, spaghetti was offered in restaurants as Spaghetti Italienne (which likely consisted of extremely soggy noodles and a tomato sauce diluted with broth) and it wasn't until decades later that it came to be prepared with garlic or peppers.[4] Canned spaghetti, kits for making spaghetti and spaghetti with meatballs became popular, and the dish has become a staple in the U.S.[4]
Spaghetti is cooked in a large pot of salted, boiling water then drained in a colander (scolapasta in Italian).
In Italy, spaghetti is generally cooked al dente (Italian for to the tooth), just fully cooked and still firm. Outside Italy, spaghetti is sometimes cooked to a much softer consistency.
Spaghettoni is a thicker spaghetti which takes more time to cook. Spaghettini and vermicelli are very thin spaghetti (both of which may be called angel hair spaghetti in English) which take less time to cook.
An emblem of Italian cuisine, spaghetti is frequently served with tomato sauce, which may contain various herbs (especially oregano and basil), olive oil, meat, or vegetables. Other spaghetti preparations include using Bolognese sauce, alfredo and carbonara. Grated hard cheeses, such as Pecorino Romano, Parmesan and Grana Padano, are often added. It is also sometimes served with chili.
The world record for largest bowl of spaghetti was set in March 2009 and reset in March 2010 when a Buca di Beppo restaurant in Garden Grove, California, successfully filled a swimming pool with more than 13,780 pounds (6,251 kg) of pasta.[5]