Historically, official mention of the term "spaghetto" can be traced back to the first dictionary of the Italian language by Nicolò Tommaseo and Bernardo Bellini (1819). The word "spaghetto" was included as the "masculine singular diminutive of spago (thread)" and mention is made of "Minestra di Spaghetti" (spaghetti soup) which is pasta the size of a long, thin thread such as sopracapellini (type of spaghetti)". An interesting fact: in 1957, the BBC aired the first documentary on the production of spaghetti and the day after, the television studios were inundated by phone calls from viewers asking for the name of the producers and distributors of spaghetti so they could buy some.
Spaghetti is so versatile that it can be served with any condiment, from fish to meat, from vegetables to cheese, but is also excellent served just with extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of parmesan.
Available in 500g pack.
Tortiglioni are one of many varieties of maccherone, one of the oldest types of pasta originating from Naples.
The name in Italian refers to the shape and comes from the Vulgar Latin tortillare which literally means to wrap in a spiral with a characteristic pattern from the lathe used in pasta production.
The shape is particularly versatile, but also very original, and best suited to full-bodied sauces.
Tortiglioni are excellent served with succulent, meat-based sauces. They are also very good served with tomato sauce or vegetable and tomatic sauces. It is a particularly suitable type of pasta for oven-baked dishes.
Available in 500g packs.