Type | Pasta |
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Alphabet pasta, also referred to as alfabeto and alphabetti spaghetti in the UK, [1] is a pasta that has been mechanically cut or pressed into the shapes of the letters of an alphabet (almost always the Latin alphabet). It is often served in an alphabet soup, which is also sold in a can of condensed broth or as a packet soup. Another variation, alphagetti, consists of letter-shaped pasta in a marinara or spaghetti sauce.
Small pieces of carrot and some spices are often added to the filling. The noodles are usually up to one centimeter in size and are shaped like the letters A-Z and, more rarely, the numbers 0-9 or the @ sign.
It is not clear who invented alphabet soup, when or why. As early as 1877, Paris grocers sold "...small bits of macaroni, for use in soup, which are stamped with... the letters of the alphabet." [2] and Paris restaurants served "...delicious soups made of macaroni or vermicelli cut up into the shape of letters of the alphabet..." [3] In 1883, The Chicago Herald Cooking School cookbook provided a recipe for soup calling for a small pasta such as "alphabet pastes of the same material as macaroni stamped in letters". [4] In January 1900 it was on the menu at New York City's Au Lion d'Or. [4] In 1908, Wilbur Wright was served alphabet soup in Le Mans, France. [5]
Also unclear is whether the soup or the linguistic term for an overabundance of acronyms or abbreviations came first; food historian Janet Clarkson notes that "the first reference I have found so far to the metaphorical alphabet soup also occurs in 1883, in a quotation by the originator of Life magazine, John Ames Mitchell, referring to teaching his son the alphabet soup (the ABCs) of business." [4]
One common American brand of condensed-style alphabet soup is the Campbell's brand, which was founded in 1869. This soup, like its competitors, is marketed towards parents for its educational value. [6]
A similar product, Alphabetti Spaghetti, was sold by the H. J. Heinz Company for 60 years before being discontinued in 1990. Like Campbell's alphabet soup, it contains alphabet pasta canned in tomato sauce. It was later reintroduced by Heinz in 2005. [7]
Macaroni is pasta shaped like narrow tubes. Made with durum wheat, macaroni is commonly cut in short lengths; curved macaroni may be referred to as elbow macaroni. Some home machines can make macaroni shapes but, like most pasta, macaroni is usually made commercially by large-scale extrusion. The curved shape is created by different speeds of extrusion on opposite sides of the pasta tube as it comes out of the machine.
Pasta is a type of food typically made from an unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Pasta was traditionally only made with durum, although the definition has been expanded to include alternatives for a gluten-free diet, such as rice flour, or legumes such as beans or lentils. Pasta is believed to have developed independently in Italy and is a staple food of Italian cuisine, with evidence of Etruscans making pasta as early as 400 BCE in Italy.
Spaghetti is a long, thin, solid, cylindrical pasta. It is a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine. Like other pasta, spaghetti is made of milled wheat, water, and sometimes enriched with vitamins and minerals. Italian spaghetti is typically made from durum-wheat semolina. Usually the pasta is white because refined flour is used, but whole wheat flour may be added. Spaghettoni is a thicker form of spaghetti, while spaghettini is a thinner form. Capellini is a very thin spaghetti, while vermicelli refers to intermediate thicknesses.
Kraft Dinner in Canada, Kraft Mac & Cheese in the United States, Australia and New Zealand, Mac and Cheese in the United Kingdom and internationally, is a nonperishable, packaged macaroni and cheese mix. It is made by Kraft Foods Group and traditionally cardboard-boxed with dried macaroni pasta and a packet of processed cheese powder. It was introduced under the Kraft Dinner name simultaneously in both Canada and the U.S. in 1937. The brand is particularly popular with Canadians, who consume 55% more boxes per capita than Americans.
Carbonara is a pasta dish made with fatty cured pork, hard cheese, eggs, salt, and black pepper. It is typical of the Lazio region of Italy. The dish took its modern form and name in the middle of the 20th century.
Macaroni and cheese is a dish of macaroni pasta and a cheese sauce, most commonly cheddar sauce.
Franco-American is a brand name of the Campbell Soup Company. Founded by Alphonse Biardot as Franco-American Food Company, it sells gravy and condensed soups; it was formerly used for SpaghettiOs and other pasta products until 2004 when it was replaced with the main Campbell's brand.
SpaghettiOs is an American brand of canned ring-shaped pasta in tomato sauce. It is marketed to parents as "less messy" than regular spaghetti. More than 150 million cans of SpaghettiOs are sold each year. They are sold in tomato sauce and with additions including meatballs, pieces of processed meat resembling hot dog slices, beef-filled ravioli, and calcium-fortified spaghetti.
Linguine is a type of Italian pasta similar to fettuccine and trenette, but elliptical in section rather than flat. It is about 4 millimetres in width, which is wider than spaghetti, but not as wide as fettuccine. Linguine was traditionally served with sauces such as pesto, but others such as tomato or fish based sauces are popular as well.
Macaroni salad is a type of pasta salad, served cold, made with cooked elbow macaroni and usually prepared with mayonnaise. Much like potato salad or coleslaw in its use, it is often served as a side dish to barbecue, fried chicken, or other picnic style dishes. Like any dish, national and regional variations abound but generally it is prepared with raw diced onions, dill or sweet pickles and celery and seasoned with salt and pepper.
Spaghetti and meatballs is an Italian-American pasta dish consisting of spaghetti, tomato sauce, and meatballs.
Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot, that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling or simmering solid ingredients in liquids in a pot until the flavors are extracted, forming a broth. Soups are similar to stews, and in some cases there may not be a clear distinction between the two; however, soups generally have more liquid (broth) than stews.
Donald Edward Goerke was an American business executive and food developer. While working for the Franco-American division of the Campbell Soup Company in 1965, he invented SpaghettiOs, and was thereafter known as "The Daddy-O of SpaghettiOs."
Bolognese sauce, known in Italian as ragù alla bolognese or ragù bolognese, is a meat-based sauce in Italian cuisine, typical of the city of Bologna. It is customarily used to dress tagliatelle al ragù and to prepare lasagne alla bolognese.
Greek-American cuisine is the cuisine of Greek Americans and their descendants, who have modified Greek cuisine under the influence of American culture and immigration patterns of Greeks to the United States. As immigrants from various Greek areas settled in different regions of the United States and became "Greek Americans," they carried with them different traditions of foods and recipes that were particularly identified with their regional origins in Greece and yet infused with the characteristics of their new home locale in America. Many of these foods and recipes developed into new favorites for town peoples and then later for Americans nationwide. Greek-American cuisine is especially prominent in areas of concentrated Greek communities, such as Astoria, Queens and Tarpon Springs, Florida.
Chili mac is a dish prepared using chili con carne and macaroni as primary ingredients, which is often topped or intermingled with cheese. Some versions are made using prepared or homemade macaroni and cheese. It is a common dish in the cuisine of the Midwestern United States, and is also popular in other areas of the United States.
Filipino spaghetti is a Filipino adaptation of Italian spaghetti with Bolognese sauce. It has a distinctively sweet sauce, usually made from tomato sauce sweetened with brown sugar, banana ketchup, or condensed milk. It is typically topped with sliced hot dogs or smoked longganisa sausages, giniling, and grated cheese. It is regarded as a comfort food in Philippine cuisine. It is typically served on almost any special occasion, especially on children's birthdays.