[HN Gopher] The Sauce That Survived Italy's War on Pasta
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       The Sauce That Survived Italy's War on Pasta
        
       Author : prismatic
       Score  : 38 points
       Date   : 2023-01-29 05:00 UTC (18 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.atlasobscura.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.atlasobscura.com)
        
       | jonstewart wrote:
       | > Both Musollini and Marinetti died in the 1940s
       | 
       | Well, technically, -yes-, Mussolini* died in the 1940s... but it
       | wasn't exactly from natural causes in 1948 or anything....
       | 
       | *note that Atlas Obscura misspells Mussolini
        
       | gabythenerd wrote:
       | > ...He wanted to wean Italy off of foreign wheat imports, which
       | were becoming increasingly difficult to acquire amidst
       | international sanctions and a suffering domestic economy. Rice
       | grew well in Northern Italy, so Mussolini sent free rice samples
       | throughout the country and bombarded Italians with pro-rice
       | propaganda.
       | 
       | How did pasta get so popular if they had to import the wheat?
       | Seems they cannot produce enough for the whole population without
       | imports even now, I would think that would make it expensive over
       | staples thay they can grow themselves.
        
         | masklinn wrote:
         | > How did pasta get so popular if they had to import the wheat?
         | 
         | It didn't. The population increased and the country didn't have
         | the wheat-growing regions it would have needed to match.
         | 
         | And pasta is not the only wheat sink, bread and other doughs
         | (e.g. pizza) are generally wheat based as well.
        
         | Turing_Machine wrote:
         | Wikipedia says that the population of Italy nearly doubled
         | between 1861 and 1936, this despite the fact that there was
         | massive emigration of Italians to places like the United States
         | and Argentina over the same period.
         | 
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Italy
        
         | philwelch wrote:
         | Wheat had been the staple food of the Italian peninsula since
         | at least the days of Rome, though the Romans ate bread rather
         | than pasta. It _was_ the staple they could grow themselves.
        
           | Eleison23 wrote:
           | [dead]
        
         | xeromal wrote:
         | Romans were importing grain from Egypt in the 0s so I guess
         | Italy has been doing so long it didn't matter.
        
         | juujian wrote:
         | Now, this is just a guess not backed up even by a google
         | search, but being that Italians have been eating pasta since
         | the Middle Ages, I would guess that it has something to do with
         | Northern Italy being part of the Holy Roman Empire.
        
       | klyrs wrote:
       | First ingredient: two peeled potatoes
       | 
       | > Prepare the potato water. Boil the potatoes in a pot of salted
       | water until soft. Remove them from the pot and reserve the water,
       | which will be used to thicken the sauce. The potatoes can be used
       | for a different recipe.
       | 
       | later on...
       | 
       | > Add parsley, a spoonful of tomato sauce, and a few spoonfuls of
       | the potato water to the pan. Let the sauce reduce.
       | 
       | > Pour the sauce into a blender and add the anchovies and capers.
       | Blend until thick and smooth. Return the sauce to the pan, adding
       | more potato water if too dry.
       | 
       | This is somewhat upsetting. My dad, a professonial cook, would
       | always deride recipes for their use of thickener -- just cook it
       | longer, or add less liquid to begin with! That could apply
       | here... but the second use for the potato water is to thin the
       | sauce! I'm somewhat skeptical of some cooks' generic advice
       | against adding water to a dish; it's perceived to thin the flavor
       | or whatever. But this? It's just potato water! The flavor is
       | nothing to write home about; just use some freaking water!
       | 
       | And what are we going to do with those two potatoes? Oh, set them
       | aside for some other dish. Here's an idea, don't put this on
       | pasta, make some freaking gnocchi and _don 't_ wind up with a
       | pair of moldy boiled potatoes in the back of your refrigerator.
       | And we're making a whole pot of potato water for, what, two or
       | three spoonsful? Why not boil it down, and keep the powder for
       | ready us? Or just... use corn starch, dance on my dad's grave. It
       | will be okay.
       | 
       | And don't even get me started on wasting time to _peel_ the
       | potatoes. Quarter, boil, and the skins slip right off.
       | 
       | The sauce does sound tasty, though.
        
         | tmountain wrote:
         | About as necessary as a bay leaf, which I have been waging a
         | war against for years...
        
       | xeromal wrote:
       | The gravy
        
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       (page generated 2023-01-29 23:00 UTC)