Nowadays, many newfangled products have appeared on store shelves and on restaurant menus, but sometimes familiar dishes are hidden behind the new names. One of the most striking examples is pasta and macaroni, both names are Italian, but pasta has long come into use, just like pasta they began to be sold relatively recently.
Let's look at these pasta a little more carefully and try to find out how pasta differs from regular pasta.
2. On the supermarket shelf there is pasta under the pastaZara brand. On the front side there is an Italian flag and not a word in Russian. On the back there is information in many languages. The regular price for this pasta is 88.90 rubles per pack, but now there is a promotion, the price has been reduced to 52.90 rubles. Come on!
There is an opinion that to make pasta, unlike pasta, flour from durum varieties wheat. Indeed, they write about this on the package, but let’s not rush to conclusions. 
3. Someone thinks that pasta is made in Italy. The pack indicates several possible production addresses in different provinces of Italy, but among them was a plant in the Saratov region. Do you think this is an import? 
4. The marking at the bottom clearly indicates that the paste was produced in Russia by MakProm LLC. But the thesis that imported goods continue to work better than Russian ones, hence the design for Italy. 
5. On the next shelf there are “Snails” pasta, produced under the Dixie chain’s own brand. 
6. Let's look at the composition. It is exactly the same as the pasta discussed above. The same flour from durum wheat, the same GOST. Almost the same characteristics nutritional value. It is recommended to cook pasta for 7 minutes, and pasta for 6-8. 
7. Now pay attention, let’s look at the manufacturer. It is also encrypted with a code. 
8. The transcript is just above. Surprise: familiar MakProm LLC from the Saratov region. 
9. What about the price? Without the Italian brand, domestic products cost 34.90 rubles per pack. The pack is, however, a little smaller. 
10. Let’s calculate: taking into account the discount, pasta costs 105.8 rubles/kg, without a discount - 177.8 rubles/kg, and “Snails” pasta of the same composition and the same manufacturer costs 77.56 rubles/kg.
Is it worth overpaying for the brand and the Italian name - decide for yourself. I prefer to call pasta pasta and not pay double the price just for a fancy name. And I can make up fairy tales myself. 
11. In my opinion, the paste looks like this: 
What do you prefer? Pasta or pasta? Are you ready to pay twice as much for foreign inscriptions?
It's all in the composition. Pasta, which, as you know, came to us from Italy, is prepared exclusively from durum wheat. This flour is rich in gluten and contains a minimal amount of starch. These products are easily absorbed by the body, and, accordingly, they do not make you fat. This is why Italians look very slim while endlessly eating spaghetti, lasagna, tagliatelle and other types of pasta.
But pasta is prepared from soft glassy flour, which, as a rule, has a lower price. Products made from such flour quickly stick together and do not provide any nutritional value to the body.
To be fair, it is worth noting that many manufacturers are now combining regular wheat with durum wheat, thus trying to somehow improve the quality of pasta. However, this is of little use. There is no benefit from such a product, you gain weight in the same way as after a piece of sliced loaf with butter and jam, and the pasta itself sticks together just like dumplings forgotten in a pan over low heat.
How to distinguish pasta from pasta
Read the information on the packaging. The composition should contain only water and flour made from durum wheat (Durum Semolina). And that's it, nothing more. No additives or mixed wheat varieties.
Look at the color. Correct, high-quality pasta made from durum wheat has a pleasant yellowish-golden color. The only exceptions are types of pasta with various additives (black - with cuttlefish ink, green - with spinach, red - with paprika, bright yellow - with egg). If you see pale, almost white or gray figures in a pack, it is better to return it to the shelf.
How to cook pasta correctly
The most popular way to cook pasta all over the world is to cook it until al dente, when the center of the pasta remains slightly hard. The pasta is brought to readiness in a frying pan with some sauce.
One of the main secrets of preparing the right pasta is large-volume dishes. Large pans help the pasta not stick together. Some housewives add it to the water for these purposes. olive oil, however Italian chefs It is not recommended to do this, as this will worsen the interaction of the pasta with the sauce. Another cooking secret is that the pasta does not need to be rinsed after cooking: this simple procedure can kill the taste of even the best product.
On the streets of any city in Italy from the northern to the southern point you can see a sign with the word “ Pasticheria", written, naturally, in Italian.
Mistakenly believing that it serves pasta in the generally accepted sense of denoting pasta, one can be embarrassed, since the word pasta in Italian means both the dough itself and the products made from it. Therefore, the word on the sign is translated into Russian as a confectionery, that is, an establishment that makes any dough products that can be both sweet and salty. But, I must add that they are made from fresh dough.
Neolithic dough
Pasta products, currently united by the Italians with one capacious word pasta, cannot be found in a confectionery shop, since they are prepared by drying and not from fresh dough, unlike the exhibits on display. Scientists believe that the history of the appearance of dried dough goes back to the Neolithic, when people began to grow cereal crops and grind the grains into flour. By adding water, people learned to knead very hard dough, cut it into plates and strips for convenience, and then dry it in the sun.
Thanks to representatives of several civilizations that existed relatively isolated from each other, dough appeared, and then products made from it.
Food for the poor
Initially, the word “pasta” for Italians generalized any food, dish that was ready to be served on the table. To this day, Italians often pronounce this word in everyday life when discussing the general topic of food in the house. But, starting from those times when the lack of food began to be acutely felt in a country with an increasing population, when vegetables could no longer satisfy the population’s need for food, there was a catastrophic shortage of meat, then the population began to switch to making products from flour and water, especially , there was experience in manufacturing such products.
Such a different dough
The Arabs brought it to Sicily many centuries ago. dried dough strips, to which many spices were added during production. To this day, residents of Sicily add cinnamon, raisins and other seasonings to it when kneading dough. But, if for the inhabitants of Sicily this product became familiar in the diet, then Naples was forced to switch to it due to an increase in population, at a time when the problem with food was acute.
Methods for making dough have improved over time. On top of that, they are not only baked, but also boiled. In different regions of Italy, special forms and recipes began to appear.
Residents of Venice kneaded a stiff dough, taking very fine grains, adding water and shaping the dough into long hollow tubes. This emptiness inside gives the name to the product, which in the language of the locals is “macaroni”. Moreover, only very thin tubes began to be called this word; depending on the thickness, a particle was added to the word to specify the size, “more” and “even more.”
Until the sixteenth century, pasta was most often used as a dessert, and an expensive one at that. For their preparation, special durum wheat was used, and only wealthy people could feast on the expensive dish.
Pasta to the masses
Later, pasta becomes a product for the wider population. The beneficial combination of only flour and water was based, rather, on savings, since, according to the new recipes, wealthy people had the opportunity to add eggs to the dough, but the poor could not afford it. In addition, pasta was prepared for future use, and the addition of eggs did not allow them to be stored for a long time. Initially, pasta was eaten with hands, since Italians did not know such an object as a fork until the 19th century.
By the fifteenth century, dried dough products gained popularity precisely in connection with the possibility of preparing for future use and long-term storage, and a little later an association of pasta producers is created with its own charter. In different regions of Italy and even in individual cities, pasta producers were called differently, and the dough was also kneaded different ways. The principle still remained unchanged, the dough was kneaded very stiff and elastic.
Over time, the word pasta reduced its range of use and began to be used only in relation to the dough itself and to products directly made from it. All paste products acquired specific shapes and clear names that have not changed for centuries. For each product we recommend a specific sauce with a unique consistency and taste qualities, because each shape of a dough product is capable of holding a specific type of sauce, so that the dish not only looks beautiful when served, but is comfortable to grip with a fork.
Pasta and pasta
Currently, there is a law that makes a clear gradation between pasta itself and pasta. Pasta producers can, at their discretion, change the composition of the dough, choose the type of flour and its grinding, and add different ingredients, including cereal or cottage cheese. Such products belong to the category of “pasta”.
Over time, the Italians united all products that contain flour under the single term pasta. Pasta also belongs to the category of pasta, but, specifically, this name can only be given to products with an unchanged traditional composition - durum wheat flour and water.
However, Italians will never call a product made at home with the word “pasta”, since pasta itself is made in a factory, and they make a clear gradation between homemade pasta and factory-made products, believing that homemade pasta tastes better.
A sauce or a dish of both? We will try to answer this question in this article. We will tell you about the origin of pasta and its victorious march around the world after the discovery of America and the invention of the spaghetti machine. The word “pasta” itself is familiar to Russian people. But the most common clarification of the term immediately comes to mind: dental. The dictionary gives us the definition of "pasta". This is the name given to a homogeneous, mushy mass of fairly dense consistency, in which the content of solids, ground into powder, exceeds twenty percent. This characteristic corresponds to the dental and tomato paste. But this is not a paste that has a similar etymology, but nothing more. The term, which later came to mean a flour dish with sauce, appeared during the Renaissance, when Greek cooks cooked for the Italian patricians. And the etymology of this paste goes back to the Hellenic word “pastos”, which simply means flour gravy. In late Latin, pasta is simply “dough”.
Pasta and noodles - who takes the lead?
Pasta is a rare case when the name appeared much later than the dish itself. It is believed that pasta was brought home to Venice by Marco Polo from his travels to China. It was rice noodles, which supposedly served as a model for its wheat counterpart - Italian pasta. The Chinese, as proof of their historical superiority, present a bowl with this petrified dish found in the tomb of a man who lived four thousand years ago. But it must be said that since the time when people learned to cultivate cereals, such food has been observed in different cultures. At first it was flour mixed with water, which was dried in the sun. Something similar to spaghetti appears in images on the walls of ancient Egyptian tombs. And in a cookbook from the first century AD we find a recipe for a dish similar to fish lasagne. In medieval Italy, even before Marcus Polo, they knew “pasta.” The etymology of this word comes from the verb maccare - to crush, knead. Martino Corno, who lived in the eleventh century and served as the cook of a high-ranking Roman prelate, left us the oldest documented recipe for the preparation of a dish now called “pasta”. It was a dessert where pasta was boiled in almond milk and seasoned with sweet spices.
Popularity of pasta
A natural question arises. If dough products already had a term (pasta), then why was it necessary to duplicate it and call it “pasta”? Or is it like “bread” and “bakery”? And most importantly: where does the term come from that refers us to “a homogeneous mushy mass of dense consistency”? Why is pasta a paste? The answer lies in the sauce. In Italy, pasta is often called a product that has a hole inside. Until the nineteenth century they were considered a delicacy. They were boiled in milk, seasoned with butter, cheese and sweet seasonings. After the discovery of America, tomatoes appeared on European tables. For some time, the fruits of the nightshade crop were treated with caution. But in Sicily, poor peasants decided to take a risk and, after simmering tomatoes with basil and garlic in a frying pan for a long time, they invented the excellent “salsa di pomodoro.” And when Cesare Spadaccini invented a machine for making pasta (it resembles a meat grinder), pasta became very accessible to the general population.
How is pasta different from pasta?
What we sell under the guise of noodles is completely unsuitable for preparing gourmet flour dish with sauce. After all, pasta is Italian Cuisine. And the pasta for the dish must be appropriate. They are made from flour, which is obtained from grinding durum wheat grains. Such grains ripen in areas with an Italian climate. When buying pasta, you need to look for the inscription SEMOLA on the label. Products made from such flour will remain a little hard, they will not boil into porridge, and in a colander they will not stick together into one lump. They do not need to be washed - this is nonsense, according to Italian housewives. After all, cold water will make real pasta too “tight” to taste. Any pasta, unlike our vermicelli, has microscopic grooves on its surface. This ensures that the sauce stays on the pasta rather than sliding off.
Types of Italian noodles
So, we found out that pasta is like italian pasta, and dishes made from them. Moreover, lasagna is also included in this category. Paste is the name given to the wide sheets of dough used to prepare this dish. In the town of Pontedassio, not far from Genoa, in a special pasta museum there is kept a notarial deed dated February 4, 1279, confirming the existence of dough products already in those days. The Chinese may have invented noodles, but they acquired such a variety of forms only on Italian soil. It seems, what difference does it make whether the pasta is straight and thin (spaghetti), curved like worms (vermicelli), curved in spirals (cavatappi), in the form of butterflies (farfalle) or shells (conchiglia)? Italians believe that form is of paramount importance. Each type of pasta has its own sauces. And some are served as an appetizer - for example, cannelloni (large tubes) or conciglioni (huge shells). These types of pasta are stuffed with cheese, spinach or minced meat and baked with sauce.
Application in Italian cuisine
But to say that pasta = pasta would not be entirely correct. We already mentioned that lasagna is included in this category. But she is not alone. We can say that all cuisines in which boiled dough is involved are called pasta. And this means that there is an analogue of our dumplings too. In Italy there are several types of them - also different forms and the most incredible fillings. The most common are ravioli - square dumplings, inside of which you can find anything - from smoked salmon to chocolate. There are also capeletti, which means “caps,” and agliolotti. Depending on the size and shape of the pasta, they are used in different dishes. For example, pastas called acini di pepe (pepper grains) and orzo (rice) are added to soups and salads. There are pastas that are used mainly for casseroles (ziti, capellini). If we ask an Italian the question: “Is pasta pasta or sauce?”, he will find it difficult to answer. There is a tradition of making certain types of noodles with certain gravies. Some pastas are served with cream sauce, others make exclusively tomato.
Color spectrum
Natural ones have a juicy golden hue. But Italians are a people with endless culinary imagination. For them, pasta is “the art of living beautifully.” That’s why they add various ingredients to the pasta dough. natural dyes. So, dried and crushed tomatoes make the paste red, beets - pink, bell pepper or carrots - orange, spinach - green. Anthracite-colored pasta looks especially impressive on the table. They are made that way by cuttlefish ink. Naturally, natural color additives affect the taste of pasta.
How to cook a pasta dish
First, the dough products need to be boiled. This action must be carried out in parallel with the preparation of the sauce, so that both ingredients of the dish arrive at the table at the same time. So, put a large pot of water on the fire. When it boils, add salt and pour a teaspoon vegetable oil. Throw in the pasta. Stir with a wooden spoon so that the products do not stick to the bottom of the pan or stick to each other. We don't break long spaghetti - it's barbaric. Just dip one edge into boiling water, the dough will soften, and everything else will also go under water. Cooking time depends on the thickness of the products and is usually indicated on the packaging. But you cannot blindly trust what is written. Italians believe that pasta should be cooked until al dente. Translated, this means “by the tooth.” So we try the fished pasta with them. If it bites well, but there is a white dot in the middle, then it’s ready. Place the pasta in a colander. Do not rinse under any circumstances - this will completely ruin the taste of the dish.
Preparing the sauce
Now let’s pay attention to the second component of the dish called “ Italian pasta" Recipes sold at home give us about three hundred types various sauces. But there is one golden rule: the thicker and shorter the pasta, the thicker the gravy should be. One more note: ready dish It is customary to sprinkle with Parmesan, but the exception is pasta with fish or seafood. As for sauces, each region of Italy has its own, special ones. In the north of the country, meat and mushrooms are added to the gravy, and on the islands - fish and seafood. Outside of Italy, about five types of sauces are used - Bolognese, Carbonaria... But the main delicacy of authentic pasta sauce is “pesto a la Genovese”. Heat olive oil in a frying pan, add basil leaves and half a head of garlic. Then the seasonings that have given off the aroma are removed. Mediterranean pine nuts and sheep cheese cut into pieces are immersed in oil.
How Italian pasta is served
Recipes (at home, as we see, it is quite possible to make such a dish yourself) stipulate that both ingredients of the dish - pasta and sauce - must be prepared at the same time. If the gravy is complex and requires long-term heat treatment (for example, with mushrooms), then it needs to be done earlier. By the way, this sauce is ideal for penne (feathers) - diagonally cut and short pasta. Heat olive oil (50 g) and fry one hundred grams of porcini mushrooms or champignons, cut into pieces, for five minutes. Pour in a quarter glass of white wine and 150 ml of cream. Salt and season the sauce with pepper. It is better to warm up the plate. We put pasta in it. Pour sauce on top. Place grated Parmesan cheese nearby for sprinkling.
Who doesn’t want to look great and, like a mystical magnet, attract the admiring glances of others. Short off-the-shoulder dresses, swimsuits and other clothing items reveal various parts of the body. It has long been noted that hair on the body does not make anyone look good, which is why hair removal products are becoming increasingly popular. One of the most attractive hair removal products is sugar paste for sugaring. Today, many stores provide a wide selection of sugar pastes of various types and all the necessary products for sugaring from companies such as Maris Pandis, saona
What types of sugar paste is divided into?
If you are wondering how to choose a paste for sugaring, you should immediately note that the main distinguishing parameters of sugar paste are consistency and purpose. All sugar pastes can be divided into:
- ultra-soft;
- soft;
- medium soft;
- solid.
Soft pastes for sugaring
Soft and ultra-soft sugar pastes for sugaring are perfect for hair removal of vellus or fine hair, like on the hands. This paste is perfect for all people with delicate skin and increased sensitivity. The easiest way to remove light hair with this sugar paste. Removing them does not require much effort and soft sugaring pastes can easily cope with this task. The soft paste can be easily applied to the desired areas of the body and removed with a cloth. A soft sugar paste is applied, usually using a spatula.
Medium soft sugaring pastes
To remove moderately hard hair from the surface of the body, use a medium-soft sugar paste. Since the consistency of the medium-soft sugaring paste is much denser and more like jelly, it is much more convenient to apply it with your hands, that is, manually. It is also easy and convenient to remove by hand.
Solid pastes for sugaring
The toughest and thickest hairs are best removed using hard types of sugar paste. These hairs include hair under the arms and in the bikini area, they are the toughest, but are also located in the area of tender and especially sensitive skin. Therefore, before applying the paste, you should treat the skin with an antiseptic and cover it with talcum powder. Solid sugar pastes for sugaring must be heated. Experts recommend doing this in any of several simple ways:
- heat in a water bath;
- in the microwave;
- stretch with your hands.
Sugar paste in cartridges
There are also sugar pastes in cartridges that require mandatory heating, otherwise they simply cannot be applied. In principle, it is recommended to heat any sugar paste, even soft and medium. The heating methods are the same as for hard sugar paste, with the exception of manual heating of soft sugaring paste for obvious reasons.
If it is difficult for you to choose a specific sugaring paste based on consistency parameters: some are too soft and others are too hard, then sugar pastes can simply be mixed with each other to achieve the optimal consistency specifically for your skin type. In this case, the result should be as effective as possible and not irritate the skin.
What are sugaring products made of?
Sugar pastes for sugaring include the following components:
- sugar;
- water;
- lemon juice.
- plant extracts;
- essential oils;
- honey, molasses.
There are companies that add monosaccharides (glucose, fructose) to sugar paste. The basis of any sugaring paste is the first three ingredients: sugar, water, lemon juice. And the rest of the additives are designed to perform skin care functions during depilation. For example, extract walnut used to slow down hair growth, thereby prolonging the positive effect of the procedure. Here we can note such well-known manufacturers as Pandis, Maris and Saona.
If the paste contains flavorings or preservatives, this is a sign of low quality paste. High-quality sugar paste consists of natural ingredients of natural origin.
DIY sugar paste for sugaring
Due to the simplicity of the composition and the low cost of many components of sugar paste, some representatives of the fair sex try to make their own pastes for sugaring. But in practice, everything is not as simple as it seems at first glance. Usually, all attempts to create sugar paste for sugaring at home result in the appearance of an incomprehensible fluid mixture with all the signs of ordinary caramel. Of course, it is impossible to remove hair with such a mixture. Therefore, it is much more profitable to purchase a ready-made, factory-made sugaring paste, or use hair removal complex BIKINI MAX. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try. Through trial and error, you can achieve the ideal consistency of your homemade sugar paste. It just takes time and patience.
Sugaring techniques
In order to efficiently perform the hair removal procedure using the sugaring method, either in a professional salon or at home, they use special techniques. There are three main ones:
- sugaring by hand or manual technique;
- using application;
- bandage depilation.
The manual technique of applying sugar paste is classic. At the same time, sugaring paste is applied to the area of the skin from which hair needs to be removed by hand. All types of sugar paste are suitable for working with this method. Before the procedure, the paste must be heated to a temperature of 35-40°C. The consistency should be like liquid honey. The mixture is applied with your fingertips in the direction against hair growth. The layer should be uniform over the entire surface. Then you should wait a few seconds for the paste to adhere better to your hair. The sugar paste for sugaring is removed with a sharp movement in the direction of hair growth.
The principle of application is identical to the previous method. This method is most suitable for cases where hair removal is performed with a hard type of paste. After heating, take the paste in small lumps and spread it on the skin area in small pieces– this is where the name of the method comes from, by analogy with application. Excellent for hair removal in the hot season, when the skin is moisturized.
When cleaning the body from hair using the bandage technique, special devices are used, such as a cosmetic spatula, strips of paper or fabric, or an elastic bandage.
For this method, sugar paste in cartridges is most often used. It is better to heat such a paste with a special wax heater to a temperature level of 37-45°C. The heated paste is applied to the hair removal area using a metal spatula or cassette roller until a uniform thin layer is obtained. After this, strips or a bandage are applied. The applied sugar paste is removed along with the bandage. This technique is most suitable for cases where it is necessary to remove hair from large surface areas.
Qualitative differences between sugar paste from different manufacturers
Sugar paste "Maris" is a unique development for hair removal. It does not have a negative effect on the follicles, since Maris Sugaring sugar paste consists entirely of natural ingredients. Special chemical composition allows you to minimize pain during hair removal from the surface of the skin. Maris products for sugaring save time and money due to the fact that:
- all products are sold at an affordable price;
- the certified composition allows you to slow down the growth of new hair after removal;
- Maris company makes sugaring at home as convenient and effective as possible thanks to a series of video tutorials. Which saves time and money on going to a professional salon.
The Pandis company presents the entire line of products for professional sugaring. All types of sugar pastes are produced, from the softest to the hardest and sugar paste in cartridges. In addition, sugaring with Pandis rises to a completely different level, as the company offers training in modern European methods remotely. The assortment includes a wide range of sugaring pastes with various parameters; all products consist of natural ingredients and do not contain chemical additives. Pandis experts even claim that their sugar paste has become the favorite treat of many sweet tooths throughout Europe.
The Saona Cosmetics company represents on the market a wide segment of products for skin care before and after hair removal, as well as sugar pastes for sugaring. All products are based only on natural ingredients. In the production of sugaring products, modern equipment is used, which significantly reduces the cost of production. Therefore, everything is sold at quite affordable prices.
To everyone's delight - pros and cons
As a result of using sugaring, your skin becomes beautiful and smooth, and you become the subject of admiration for others. No wonder this method was so popular back in the days of the pharaohs of ancient Egypt. During the process of sugaring or sugar hair removal, you:
- get rid of excess body hair;
- remove old dead skin;
- nourish your body with useful substances.
In addition to all the positive qualities, the use of the procedure is contraindicated for people suffering from allergies, women during menstruation and pregnancy, with damaged skin areas and an allergic reaction to individual components of the sugar paste.