Mama Mia! Pasta Price Soars in Italy
Aug 8th, 2007, 06:13 AM
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Mama Mia! Pasta Price Soars in Italy
Italy is facing a pasta crisis of sorts as the price of durum wheat (or semolina) used to make Italian pasta has is soaring and is due to go up 20% imminently.
According to a NPR report the shortage is caused by global factors:
China and India are eating more bread and less rice - pushing demand for wheat up
growing of crops for biofuels in places like Canada again factors into the rise
Italian production this year has been sub-par
Interesting to me tidbits the program mentioned:
even though 20% increase they interviewed ordinary Italians who would have nothing to do with substituting cheaper non-durum wheat as this just isn't up to snuff. Folks say the durum stuff is easier to cook and simply tastes better - apparently durum yields a harder pasta Italians like.
The Italian Pasta Association seeks to insure the purity of Italian pasta and there apparently is a Pasta Purity Law it seems that dictates only semolina be used in pasta products.
Yet even with the increase a pound of pasta in stores still runs less than $1
Didn't know there was so much to know about pasta!
Now i know why perhaps pasta in Italy invariable tastes so good.
According to a NPR report the shortage is caused by global factors:
China and India are eating more bread and less rice - pushing demand for wheat up
growing of crops for biofuels in places like Canada again factors into the rise
Italian production this year has been sub-par
Interesting to me tidbits the program mentioned:
even though 20% increase they interviewed ordinary Italians who would have nothing to do with substituting cheaper non-durum wheat as this just isn't up to snuff. Folks say the durum stuff is easier to cook and simply tastes better - apparently durum yields a harder pasta Italians like.
The Italian Pasta Association seeks to insure the purity of Italian pasta and there apparently is a Pasta Purity Law it seems that dictates only semolina be used in pasta products.
Yet even with the increase a pound of pasta in stores still runs less than $1
Didn't know there was so much to know about pasta!
Now i know why perhaps pasta in Italy invariable tastes so good.
Aug 8th, 2007, 06:34 AM
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Well, the weather has obviously had an effect on the pasta harvest.
Shorter species like ravioli that grow high on the stem have mainly escaped, but spaghetti has been trailing in the water and has rotted on the vine.
Shorter species like ravioli that grow high on the stem have mainly escaped, but spaghetti has been trailing in the water and has rotted on the vine.
Aug 8th, 2007, 08:30 AM
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Hey J,
>spaghetti has been trailing in the water and has rotted on the vine.
I thought that spaghetti grew on trees.
See www.museumofhoaxes.com/spaghetti.html
Hi D,
>I thought that the hardness of pasta had something to do with how long it is cooked.
True, but the soft wheat pastas go from undercooked to mush, without any transition. They also has very little taste.
>spaghetti has been trailing in the water and has rotted on the vine.
I thought that spaghetti grew on trees.
See www.museumofhoaxes.com/spaghetti.html
Hi D,
>I thought that the hardness of pasta had something to do with how long it is cooked.
True, but the soft wheat pastas go from undercooked to mush, without any transition. They also has very little taste.
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