The history of pasta is as convoluted as a bowl of spaghetti. The romantic legend that Marco Polo brought pasta back from China is totally rejected by most Italians, who had been enjoying it for generations before he was even born.
Many claim that the originators of ravioli itself were the Russians, who stuffed them with meats and called them pelmeni. Other cultures have their own style of ravioli as well: in China, there is the wonton; in central and eastern Europe, the pierogi. In the Middle East, there is shisbarak, which is cooked in hot yoghurt. The Jews stuff their kreplach; The Germans, their maultaschen; the Turks their manti; and with the Ukrainians, there is varenyky. But ravioli is most frequently associated with Italy.
Italians definitely have a love affair with food, and many Italian “Mammas” still go to the market daily and cook from scratch. Lately, however, many couples who both work outside the home have succumbed to ready-to-use bottled pasta sauces and frozen pizzas. The Slow Food movement was founded right here in Italy in 1986, as a response to this rapidly expanding fast food (and “fast life”) culture.
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