Contrary to popular belief, Marco Polo did not discover pasta. The ancient Italians made pasta much like we do today. Although Marco Polo wrote about eating Chinese pasta at the court of Kubla Khan, he probably didn't introduce pasta to Italy. B.C. The evidence lies in a bas-relief carving in a cave about 30 miles north of Rome. Legend has it that noodles were first made by 13 th century German bakers who fashioned dough into symbolic shapes, such as swords, birds and stars, which were baked and served as bread.
All pasta is made by essentially the same equipment using the same technology.
Also, in independent taste tests conducted by Consumer Reports, Cook's Illustrated and The Washington Post , U.S. pasta either was found superior to Italian imports or the judges were unable to discern a difference between them. Thomas Jefferson is credited with introducing macaroni to the United States. It seems that he fell in love with a certain dish he sampled in Naples while serving as the U.S. Ambassador to France. The first American pasta factory was opened in Brooklyn, New York, in 1848, by a Frenchman named Antoine Zerega. Mr. Zerega managed the entire operation with just one horse in his basement to power the machinery.