response: Well, there are 310 specific forms of known pasta!
original_response: Well there are 310 specific forms  of pasta !
history: I kind of want to get more into making pasta, so I want to learn about pasta in general to get a handle on it. What can you tell me about it? Well, pasta is a staple of Italian cuisine with its first reference in Sicily in 1154. Holy cow.. so it's been around for a while, huh? What are some more prominent pasta dishes? I'm not aware of any specific names but traditional pasta dishes are defined for the pasta, cooking style, and sauce or condiment used. Sure, that makes sense. Can you tell me anything specific or unique about pasta in general or pasta dishes? Well pasta can be divided into two broad catagories, dried and fresh. I see. I suppose that's most of what I could learn for now. But what's maybe one cool pasta fact that you like to tell others?
knowledge: Both dried and fresh pasta come in a number of shapes and varieties, with 310 specific forms known variably by over 1300 names having been documented.