A brief history of Pasta Making

Pasta dates back to before the time of christ. It was first mentioned in a book of recipes by Apicius, around the time of christ. It was not until 1279 that it (actually macaronis) was mentioned in a notary's inventory of an inheritance.

As time past, pasta production continued to grow and expand until the 17th century. Where in Naples the introduction of the kneading machine and mechanical press made pasta the food of the people, by significantly lowering it's cost of production. Naple's location also allowed pasta to be easily dried, thus extending it's shelf life.

In the 18th century, not being happy with the then current method of using ones feet to mix and knead the pasta dough, Ferdinando II, the king of Naples, hired Cesare Spadaccini, an engineer to improve the method of making pasta. Cesare made a machine, out of bronze, which copied the work that people had done.

It wasn't until the early 1800's when the Spanish brought the tomato to europe that tomato sauce and pasta combined. Through out the this century continued improvements were made to the primitive pasta making machines. In 1884 the first steam powered pasta making machine was introduced. The 19th century also introduced an abundance of new shapes. This was due to the ability of craftsmen to make holes in bronze disks. By changing these dies on the pasta presses a factory would offer up to two hundred different shapes.

1904 - 1914 was the pinicale of the pasta industry in Italy. It lead to a record 70,000 tons of pasta being exported in 1913. In 1917 the first system of continuous pasta making was pattented by Fereol Sandragne. However the importing countries soon started using Italian made machines to produce their own pasta.