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The Discovery of Pasta by Luca Cesari

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The Discovery of Pasta

Publisher
Tantor Media, Inc
Publish Date
28 July 2026
Run Time
7 hours 49 minutes
Format
Audiobook
$13.95

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What to expect

What is Italy without pasta? Come to think of it, where would the rest of us be without this staple of global cuisine? An acclaimed Italian food writer tells the colorful and often-surprising history of everyone's favorite dish.

In this hugely charming and entertaining chronicle of everyone's favorite dish, acclaimed Italian food writer and historian Luca Cesari draws on literature, history, and many classic recipes in order to enlighten pasta lovers everywhere, both the gourmet and the gluten free.

What is Italy without pasta? Come to think of it, where would the rest of us be without this staple of global cuisine? The wheat-based dough first appeared in the Mediterranean in ancient times. Yet despite these remote beginnings, pasta wasn't wedded to sauce until the nineteenth century. Once a special treat, it has been served everywhere from peasant homes to rustic taverns to royal tables, and its surprising past holds a mirror up to the changing fortunes of its makers. Full of mouthwatering recipes and outlandish anecdotes—from (literal) off-the-wall 1880s cooking techniques to spaghetti conveyer belts in 1940 and the international amatriciana scandal in 2021—Luca Cesari embarks on a tantalizing  and edifying journey through time to detangle the heritage of this culinary classic.

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Details

Author
Luca Cesari
Narrator
Paul Bellantoni
Duration
7 hours 49 minutes
Release Date
28 July 2026
ISBN
9798318527777
Format
Audiobook
Publisher
Tantor Media, Inc
Genre
Cookery / food by ingredient: pasta and noodles, European history, National and regional cuisine

Synopsis

What is Italy without pasta? Come to think of it, where would the rest of us be without this staple of global cuisine? An acclaimed Italian food writer tells the colorful and often-surprising history of everyone's favorite dish.In this hugely charming and entertaining chronicle of everyone's favorite dish, acclaimed Italian food writer and historian Luca Cesari draws on literature, history, and many classic recipes in order to enlighten pasta lovers everywhere, both the gourmet and the gluten free.What is Italy without pasta? Come to think of it, where would the rest of us be without this staple of global cuisine? The wheat-based dough first appeared in the Mediterranean in ancient times. Yet despite these remote beginnings, pasta wasn't wedded to sauce until the nineteenth century. Once a special treat, it has been served everywhere from peasant homes to rustic taverns to royal tables, and its surprising past holds a mirror up to the changing fortunes of its makers. Full of mouthwatering recipes and outlandish anecdotes—from (literal) off-the-wall 1880s cooking techniques to spaghetti conveyer belts in 1940 and the international amatriciana scandal in 2021—Luca Cesari embarks on a tantalizing  and edifying journey through time to detangle the heritage of this culinary classic.

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