Place of origin | The earliest record of noodles was discovered in northwestern China, from 4,000 years ago. [1] |
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Main ingredients | Unleavened dough |
Noodles are a type of food made from unleavened dough which is either rolled flat and cut, stretched, or extruded, into long strips or strings. Noodles are a staple food in many cultures and made into a variety of shapes. The most common noodles are those derived from either Chinese cuisine or Italian cuisine. Chinese noodles are known by a variety of different names, while Italian noodles are known as pasta.
While long, thin strips may be the most common, many varieties of noodles are cut into waves, helices, tubes, strings, or shells, or folded over, or cut into other shapes. Noodles are usually cooked in boiling water, sometimes with cooking oil or salt added. They can also be steamed, pan-fried, deep-fried, or baked. Noodles are often served with an accompanying sauce or in a soup, the latter being known as noodle soup. Noodles can be refrigerated for short-term storage or dried and stored for future use.
The word for noodles in English was borrowed in the 18th century from the German word Nudel (German: [ˈnuːdl̩] ⓘ ). [2] The German word likely came from Knodel or Nutel, and referred to any dumpling, though mostly of wheat. [3]
Colloquial uses for noodle to refer to someone's head, or to a "dummy" are unrelated, and likely came from the older English word noddle. [3]
The earliest written record of noodles is found in a book dated to the Eastern Han period (25–220 CE). [1] Noodles made from wheat dough became a prominent food for the people of the Han dynasty. [4] The oldest evidence of noodles was from 4,000 years ago in China. [1] In 2005, a team of archaeologists reported finding an earthenware bowl that contained 4,000-year-old noodles at the Lajia archaeological site. [5] These noodles were said to resemble lamian, a type of Chinese noodle. [5] Analyzing the husk phytoliths and starch grains present in the sediment associated with the noodles, they were identified as millet belonging to Panicum miliaceum and Setaria italica . [5] However, other researchers cast doubt that Lajia's noodles were made from specifically millet: it is difficult to make pure millet noodles, it is unclear whether the analyzed residue were directly derived from Lajia's noodles themselves, starch morphology after cooking shows distinctive alterations that does not fit with Lajia's noodles, and it is uncertain whether the starch-like grains from Laijia's noodles are starch as they show some non-starch characteristics. [6]
Food historians generally estimate that pasta's origin is from among the Mediterranean countries: [7] a homogenous mixture of flour and water called itrion as described by 2nd-century Greek physician Galen, [8] among 3rd to 5th-century Jews as itrium as described by the Jerusalem Talmud [9] and as itriyya (Arabic cognate of the Greek word), string-like shapes made of semolina and dried before cooking as defined by the 9th-century physician and lexicographer Isho bar Ali. [10]
There are over 1,200 types of noodles commonly consumed in China today. [11] They vary widely according to the region of production, ingredients, shape or width, and manner of preparation. Due to the vast diversity of Chinese noodles, there is no single Chinese word equivalent to the Western concept of "noodles," nor is the notion of "noodles" as a unified food category recognized within Chinese cuisine.
In Standard Mandarin, miàn (simplified Chinese: 面; traditional Chinese: 麵) means "dough" but can be used to refer to noodles made from wheat flour and grains such as millet, sorghum, and oats. While fěn (粉) means "powder" but can be used to refer to noodles made from other starches, particularly rice flour and mung bean starch. [12]
Wheat noodles in Japan ( udon ) were adapted from a Chinese recipe as early as the 9th century. Innovations continued, such as noodles made with buckwheat ( naengmyeon ) were developed in the Joseon Dynasty of Korea (1392–1897). Ramen noodles, based on southern Chinese noodle dishes from Guangzhou but named after the northern Chinese lamian, became common in Japan by 1900. [13] [14] [15] [16]
Kesme or erişte noodles were eaten by Turkic peoples by the 13th century.
Ash reshteh (noodles in thick soup with herbs) is one of the most popular dishes in some middle eastern countries such as Iran.
In the 1st century BCE, Horace wrote of fried sheets of dough called lagana . [17] However, the cooking method does not correspond to the current definition of either a fresh or dry pasta product. [18]
The first concrete information on pasta products in Italy dates back to the Etruscan civilization, the Testaroli. The first noodles will only appear much later, in the 10th or 11th centuries, [19] and there is a popular legend about Marco Polo bringing the first pasta back from China. Modern historians do not give much credibility to the story and rather believe the first noodles were imported earlier from the Arabs, in a form called rishta. [20] Pasta has taken on a variety of shapes, often based on regional specializations.
In Germany, documents dating from 1725 mention Spätzle . Medieval illustrations are believed to place this noodle at an even earlier date. [21]
Armenian variety of noodle, Arishta, is prepared from wheat, water and salt. It is thick and is usually eaten with matzoon, clarified butter and garlic. [22]
The Latinized word itrium referred to a kind of boiled dough. [8] Arabs adapted noodles for long journeys in the fifth century, the first written record of dry pasta. Muhammad al-Idrisi wrote in 1154 that itriyya was manufactured and exported from Norman Sicily. Itriya was also known by the Persian Jews during early Persian rule (when they spoke Aramaic) and during Islamic rule. It referred to a small soup noodle, of Greek origin, prepared by twisting bits of kneaded dough into shape, resembling Italian orzo. [23]
Zacierki is a type of noodle found in Polish Jewish cuisine. [24] It was part of the rations distributed to Jewish victims in the Łódź Ghetto by the Nazis. (Out of the "major ghettos", Łódź was the most affected by hunger, starvation and malnutrition-related deaths.) The diary of a young Jewish girl from Łódź recounts a fight she had with her father over a spoonful of zacierki taken from the family's meager supply of 200 grams a week. [25] [26]
Wheat
Rice
| Buckwheat
EggEgg noodles are made of a mixture of egg and flour.
Others
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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 originally 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.
Ramen is a Japanese noodle dish. It includes Chinese-style wheat noodles served in a broth. Common flavors are soy sauce and miso, with typical toppings including sliced pork, nori, menma, and scallions. Ramen has its roots in Chinese noodle dishes and is a part of Japanese Chinese cuisine. Nearly every region in Japan has its own variation of ramen, such as the tonkotsu ramen of Kyushu and the miso ramen of Hokkaido.
Gnocchi are a varied family of dumplings in Italian cuisine. They are made of small rolls of dough, such as those composed of a simple combination of wheat flour, potato, egg, and salt. Variations of the dish supplement the simple recipe with flavour additives, such as semolina flour, cheese, breadcrumbs, cornmeal or similar ingredients, and possibly including herbs, vegetables, and other ingredients. Base ingredients may be substituted with alternatives such as sweet potatoes for potatoes or rice flour for wheat flour. Such variations are often considered to be non-traditional.
Seitan is a food made from gluten, the main protein of wheat. It is also known as miànjīn, fu, milgogi, wheat meat, gluten meat, or simply gluten.
Spätzle ( ), Spätzla or Spatzen, called nokedli in Hungarian, are a type of Central European egg pasta typically served as a side for meat dishes with sauce. Commonly associated with Swabia and Alsace, it is also found in the cuisines of southern Germany and Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Hungary, Vojvodina, Banat, Slovenia, Lorraine, Moselle, and South Tyrol. It may be served as a side dish or with other ingredients like cheese and onion as a main dish. Spätzle are egg-based pasta made with fresh egg of an irregular form with a rough, porous surface. The glutinous dough is put directly into boiling water or steam and the form varies between thin and thick, elongated and short. They are the only pasta that is cooked for the first time during the fabrication. The moist dough is either pressed through a perforated metal plate or it drips through this plate into the boiling water. Other ways to prepare Spätzle are more applicable for domestic use.
Chinese noodles vary widely according to the region of production, ingredients, shape or width, and manner of preparation. Noodles were invented in China, and are an essential ingredient and staple in Chinese cuisine. They are an important part of most regional cuisines within China, and other countries with sizable overseas Chinese populations.
Champon, also known as Chanpon, is a noodle dish that is a regional cuisine of Nagasaki, Japan. There are different versions in Japan, Korea and China. The dish was inspired by Chinese cuisine.
Noodles are a staple of Japanese cuisine. They are often served chilled with dipping sauces, or in soups or hot dishes. Noodles were introduced to Japan from China during the Song Dynasty between the Heian until the early Kamakura period.
Rice noodles are noodles made with rice flour and water as the principal ingredients. Sometimes ingredients such as tapioca or corn starch are added in order to improve the transparency or increase the gelatinous and chewy texture of the noodles. Rice noodles are most common in the cuisines of China, India and Southeast Asia. They are available fresh, frozen, or dried, in various shapes, thicknesses and textures. Fresh noodles are also highly perishable; their shelf life may be just several days.
Lamian is a type of soft wheat flour Chinese noodle that is particularly common in northern China. Lamian is made by twisting, stretching and folding the dough into strands, using the weight of the dough. The length and thickness of the strands depends on the number of times the dough is folded.
Tatar cuisine is primarily the cuisine of the Volga Tatars, who live in Tatarstan, Russia, and surrounding areas.
Korean noodles are noodles or noodle dishes in Korean cuisine, and are collectively referred to as guksu in native Korean or myeon in hanja character. The earliest noodles in Asia originate from China, and date back 4,000 years ago. In Korea, traditional noodle dishes are onmyeon, called guksu jangguk, naengmyeon, bibim guksu, kalguksu, kongguksu among others. In royal court, baekmyeon consisting of buckwheat noodles and pheasant broth, was regarded as the top quality noodle dish. Naengmyeon, with a cold soup mixed with dongchimi and beef brisk broth, was eaten in court during summer.
Kesme or erişte is a type of egg noodle found in various Central Asian countries. It is also found in Turkish cuisine and is called erişte and “kesme” in modern standard Turkish. The word itself is a nominalisation of the verb to cut or to slice, referring to the slicing of the dough involved in preparing the noodles. The term may refer to the noodles themselves, or the prepared dish made with them. Kesme is traditionally a homemade dish, and not often found at restaurants or cafés. In Turkey, kesme is also known as "erişte", and eaten generally in winter. It is made from flour, egg, water, salt and milk. These ingredients are worked into a dough, which is rolled out, cut, and dried in the sun or an oven after dried for a day.
Instant noodles, or instant ramen, is a type of food consisting of noodles sold in a precooked and dried block with flavoring powder and/or seasoning oil. The dried noodle block was originally created by flash-frying cooked noodles, which is still the main method used in Asian countries; air-dried noodle blocks are favored in Western countries. Dried noodle blocks are designed to be cooked or soaked in boiling water before eating. Ramen, a Japanese adaptation of Chinese noodle soup, is sometimes used as a descriptor for instant noodle flavors by some Japanese manufacturers. It has become synonymous in the United States with all instant noodle products.
Swabian cuisine is native to Swabia, a region in southwestern Germany comprising great parts of Württemberg and the Bavarian part of Swabia. Swabian cuisine has a reputation for being rustic, but rich and hearty. Fresh egg pastas, soups, and sausages are among Swabia's best-known types of dishes, and Swabian cuisine tends to require broths or sauces; dishes are rarely "dry".
Lokshen, also known as Itriyot, locshen, lockshen, or Jewish egg noodles, is the common name of a range of Ashkenazi Jewish egg noodles that are commonly used in a variety of Jewish dishes including chicken soup, kugel, kasha varnishkes, lokshen mit kaese, and as a side dish to Jewish brisket, sweet and sour meat balls, apricot chicken, and many other dishes. They may also be served with melted butter or a simple tomato sauce. In the United States, lokshen are also used as the basis for various casseroles and baked dishes including tuna noodle casserole, and both sweet and savory lokshen kugels.
Spätzle is a city specialty.