October 25th: World Pasta Day

Originally written on October 25, 2021. Updated 2023

Carb lovers of the world, did you know that October 25 is World Pasta Day?
Well, try to imagine a warm steaming pile of spaghetti in a rich tomato sauce, littered with seasoned sausage, black olives, and wild mushrooms.
Pasta comes in over 600 shapes known, and their names are usually Italian words that are delightfully descriptive of their shapes. Among the most popular are Spaghetti, vermicelli (literally “little worms”), fusilli (“spindles”), linguine (“little tongues”), conchiglie (“shells”) and penne (“quills”).
Despite Italian food made it famous, there are actually other popular and beloved dishes elsewhere, including Chinese Chow Mein, oriental noodles and German Spaetzle.
And World Pasta Day is the perfect time to celebrate all these treats!

People have been eating pasta since at least 5,000 B.C. However, World Pasta Day was brought into existence as part of the World Pasta Congress on the 25th of October in 1995, when 40 pasta producers from around the world gathered to hold the globe’s first World Pasta Congress to discuss the glories of one of the most delicious and versatile foods known to man, with particular emphasis on the importance of spreading knowledge of the world’s panorama of pasta.
This organization uses World Pasta Day to promote the eating of pasta, along with its cultural and culinary importance.
The World Pasta Congress engages from encouraging consumers, to try new pasta, to providing important information to institutions and promotions of this increasingly popular food.
And every country is encouraged to celebrate the day in its own way, sharing the logo of the official organization and participating in the global strategy of World Pasta Day.

This may come as a shock, but Chef Boyardee did not invent pasta, although Italian cook Hector Boiardi started the company in Pennsylvania over 80 years ago. (By the way, he accumulated a net worth of $60 million).
Actually, the world has enjoyed this dish since the first century AD.
Despite legend has it that Marco Polo imported pasta from China in the 1200s, British food writer Jane Grigson believes a Canadian spaghetti company may have started that tale in the 1920s, but we do know that dried pasta surged in popularity during the 14th and 15th centuries, mainly for its easy storage.
This allowed people to bring pasta along on ships when exploring the New World.
Interestingly, Hungary boasted a pasta factory in 1859, while central Italy’s Buitoni Company began churning out pasta a mere eight years later, and the trend moved into the current Czech Republic by 1884.
Pasta’s popularity further blossomed in the U.S. during the late 19th century, when a large group of Italian immigrants (mostly from Naples), moved to America.

In any case, on this day, eat pasta.
And lots of it!
One of the best ways to celebrate World Pasta Day is by preparing your favorite dish and enjoy it.
No matter how lacking your kitchen skills may be, you can almost surely make yourself a bowl of pasta.
Options for what to put on it range from the simple to the complex, from melted butter, to cheese sauce, tomato sauce and pesto, which are traditional options. But some people like to get super creative with unique flavors including butternut squash, avocado and mango sauce.
And the options are virtually endless!
But you can also try making homemade pasta.
Probably a little difficult and time-consuming, but it absolutely worth it.
The easiest way to make it is by using an at-home pasta maker, and the recipe is fairly simple, using just a few ingredients.
Basic pasta will consist of wheat flour, eggs, olive oil and a bit of sea salt but some pasta recipes don’t include eggs, and others might have a more unique flavor, such as spinach, sun-dried tomato, roasted red pepper and more.
And those who don’t have a pasta maker can certainly make it by hand, as it was done for hundreds of years in every home in Italy!
But, in any case, this is the ideal day to get creative and experiment with different flavors and dishes.
And, al over the world, in various communities, people are celebrating pasta on this day.

Moreover pasta (especially the whole grain variety) can help sustain energy throughout the day with its rich carb content.
It also includes folic acid, and has a low glycemic index, which means it’s not likely to cause uncomfortable spikes in your blood sugar.
Enjoy!