January 4th is celebrated annually as National Spaghetti Day in the United States. However, I think this day should be called “Samantha Day,” because this is sometimes the only thing my daughter will eat. Spaghetti is pasta made into a long, thin cylindrical shape. It is most common in Italian cuisine, and is usually made from semolina flour. In recent years, this trend has been changing and it is now made with other flours; including gluten free options.

Basic spaghetti, as a main course, is generally served with simple tomato sauce. However, there are many other types of spaghetti dishes out there, like Spaghetti alla Puttanesca, Spaghetti con Pollo e Funghi, or my favorite, Spaghetti Aglio e Olio.

As the cultural center of the spaghetti phenomena, the annual consumption of spaghetti in Italy is 61.7 pounds per person per year (now that’s a lot of spaghetti!).

Fun Fact: The record for the world’s largest bowl of spaghetti was set in 2009, when Buca di Beppo filled a swimming pool in California with 13,780 pounds of spaghetti.

Enjoy a nice bowl of spaghetti today and celebrate Italian cuisine!

Questions?

If you have any questions about this article or food safety and culinary training, contact me at jdetloff@airculinaire.com. For questions about in-flight catering, contact weborders@airculinaire.com.