World Pasta Day

History of World Pasta Day

This may come as a shock, but Chef Boyardee did not invent pasta, although real-life Italian cook Hector Boiardi started the company in Pennsylvania over 80 years ago.

(By the way, he accumulated a net worth of $60 million.) Honestly, the world has enjoyed this dish since the first century AD.

While legend has it that Marco Polo imported pasta from China in the 1200s, British food writer Jane Grigson believes a Canadian spaghetti company may have started that tale in the 1920s.

We do know that dried pasta surged in popularity during the 14th and 15th centuries — mainly for its easy storage. This allowed people to bring pasta along on ships when exploring the New World.

Hungary boasted a pasta factory in 1859, while central Italy’s Buitoni Company began churning out pasta a mere eight years later. The trend moved into the present-day Czech Republic by 1884.

During a stay in Paris, President Jefferson ate what he called “macaroni,” but it might have been any type of pasta.

He eventually returned to America with two cases. Pasta’s popularity further blossomed in the U.S. during the late 19th century, when a large group of Italian immigrants (mostly from Naples), moved to America.

The World Pasta Day holiday itself only recently began in 1995 when 40 pasta producers from around the world gathered to hold the first World Pasta Congress.

Since then, diners around the world have joined forces each October to pay tribute to one of the most delicious and versatile foods ever.