10 Fun Facts For the LOVE of Pasta!

For very obvious reasons, we LOVE pasta, and since you're reading our blog, you must love it too! With all of the sizes, shapes and colors, you are certain to find something for everyone. Between spaghetti, macaroni, and lasagna, there are over 600 different shapes of pasta around the world. With over 23 different and delicious pasta dishes to choose from, we have the best pasta at the Lake of the Ozarks! Here are a few fun facts about pasta to get your mouth watering before you come in for dinner tonight!

 1. Pasta comes in many different colors. Most pasta is cream-colored, but some is made with spinach giving it a green color. Red pasta is made using tomato, and gray pasta is made using squid ink. Some pasta is called "cellophane" because it becomes transparent when cooked.

2. Pasta has always been in the lime light! Popular movies featuring pasta include Lady and the Tramp, Under the Tuscan Sun and Eat, Pray, Love.

3. "Al dente" (al-DEN-tay) literally means "to the tooth," which is how to test pasta to see if it is properly cooked. The pasta should be a bit firm, offering some resistance to the tooth, but tender at the same time.

4. The first American pasta factory was opened in Brooklyn, New York, in 1848,  by a Frenchman

named Antoine Zerega. The machinery was powered by one horse, and he placed the pasta on the roof to dry in the sunshine. On cloudy days, workers would listen for the call "sta piovendo" (It's raining!) - their signal to drop everything and run to the roof to rescue the pasta!

5. Most pasta is made using wheat products, but other types of pasta are made using ingredients such as rice, barley, corn, and beans.

6. On average, Italians eat enough spaghetti to wind around the world 15,000 times. The average American eats about 4-1/3 lb. of pasta per year.

7. All pasta is made using essentially the same equipment and technology, but in an independent taste test conducted by Consumer Reports, Cook's Illustrated and The Washington Posts, U.S. pasta was found either superior to Italian imports or the judges were unable to discern a different between them.

8. The most popular pasta shape is spaghetti, followed by elbows, rotini, penne and lasagna.

9. Researchers have found that the majority of people cook their pasta by breaking long noodles in half to fit the pot (about 55 percent) and adding salt to the boiling water (52 percent).

10. Avoiding or limiting carbohydrates can leave you feeling sluggish, tired and unable to concentrate. Complex carbs (like pasta!) provide the optimum type of fuel to power your muscles and brain. They are digested more slowly, it provides a slower release of energy to keep you going through the day. Basically...eat your pasta!!



We hope these ten fun tips have made you hungry for pasta. We have been voted the best Italian restaurant at the Lake of the Ozarks for the last 5 years for a very tasty reason! Our food is fresh and delicious, and our service is impeccable. Today is always a good day for pasta, especially when you can come get Happy Hour every Monday through Friday from 4-6. Come use your newly learned facts while you eat some delicious pasta at the best restaurant at the Lake of the Ozarks!

Lake of the Ozarks BEST Italian Food and Sports Bar! 


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