It’s well-known that pasta is one of the most popular dishes originating from Italy. This dish is enjoyed throughout the world. This has been made possible by dried pasta, which is easy to transport and store.
What’s not so well-known is where dried pasta originated from. The distinction goes to the small town of Gragnano in the Gulf of Naples. Thanks to its climate, this town has been producing dried pasta for over a thousand years, and Gragnano’s pasta is regarded as the best dried pasta in Italy.
Gragnano Pasta: the City of Pasta
Food is much more than nourishment; it’s a way to travel and get to know the world. This is why the convenience of getting Gragnano pasta can’t be stressed enough. There’s dried pasta, and then there’s pasta di Gragnano IGP.
This is why whenever you find that a company’s pasta and noodles are made in Gragnano, close to Naples, Italy, you know you’ll be getting top-quality products. Manufacturers must comply with strict requirements because the products have a PGI (Protected Geographical Indication).
Paccheri
This is a delicious Neapolitan pasta that looks like macaroni, but it’s much, much bigger! There are ridged and smooth versions of Paccheri, which look like mini cannelloni. They have a cylindrical shape and can get pretty filled up with sauce because of their size.
They’re the stuff of legends, too. They say that pasta makers invented Paccheri to hide garlic because garlic was smuggled into Austria from Italy back in the day.
Spaghetti
Whenever people think about pasta, the first image that comes to mind is very likely a mouth-watering plate of spaghetti. This is perhaps the most popular Italian pasta dish ever, produced everywhere in Italy.
Still, Gragnano spaghetti is one of the best iterations, and thanks to the ability to be paired with any sauce or just a hint of olive oil, it’s extremely versatile.
Linguine
This type of pasta can be easily confused with spaghetti, as it shares a similar shape but is flat and wider. It’s also extremely versatile but is widely used with seafood and clam sauce dishes.
Because of its delicate strands, the sauce clings to the pasta more than other rounded pasta styles. Simplicity and deliciousness set the mark when you prepare some linguine!
Orecchiette
This is perhaps one of the most cute-looking pasta around. Orecchiette means “little ears,” and the name says it all. Because they are concave-shaped, they are very easily filled with sauce or other preparations.
They’re ideally served with cream-based sauces, rich in fatty foods like pancetta, ricotta, and ham. You’ll get more than your share of those ingredients in each bite!
Buon Appetito!
Gragnano pasta is nothing short of a masterpiece. Tradition and delight combine to create some of the best pasta in Italy and worldwide. Once you’ve tried it, you can never go back to those bland, uninspiring noodles ever again!
About the Author/s
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.
