02-06-2006, 06:52 PM
I'm afraid the answer here seems to be 'pick your theory of choice'. There is no proof, but neither can we exclude the possibility. Now, I've just ordered an 800-page book on the history of Mediterranean foodways and may be abler to get the info I need, but as things stand right now I'm not ready to pronounce one way or the other. There are three things i can say, though:
One crucial factor is the identity of 'tracta'. Some people assume that this is basically pasta - dried water paste - and its addition to dishes in Apicius our first evidence for this food. Others believe this refers to a thickening agent, possibly a varioety of dried breadcrumbs or crackers. The word itself derives from 'trahere' (to draw/pull), which may well be something pasta-like.
The second hinge factor is 'tria' / 'itrion' / 'itriyya'. This word is believed to be of Latin or Greek derivation, but first shows up in Arabic sources and refers to a food native to Southern Italy and Sicily. Unfortunatzely, it isn't thev kind of thing that got the attention of chroniclers, so by the time it shows up it is already a well-established thing. Also, it is not entirely sure itz means the same thing in the tenth century that it does in the thirteenth-century cookbook manuscript. Still, it's poissible that this is our 'tracta', a local tradition of pasta that does go back to Roman days. Not certain, though.
Thirdly, if Roman pasta existed, it was probably more like modern Spaetzle or Nockerln than the familiar Italian fare because the Romans did not yet grow durum wheat varieties but the soft wheat more suitable for breads and porridges. Soft wheat pasta is what makes modern Italians shudder in disgust when served North European 'noodles'.
One crucial factor is the identity of 'tracta'. Some people assume that this is basically pasta - dried water paste - and its addition to dishes in Apicius our first evidence for this food. Others believe this refers to a thickening agent, possibly a varioety of dried breadcrumbs or crackers. The word itself derives from 'trahere' (to draw/pull), which may well be something pasta-like.
The second hinge factor is 'tria' / 'itrion' / 'itriyya'. This word is believed to be of Latin or Greek derivation, but first shows up in Arabic sources and refers to a food native to Southern Italy and Sicily. Unfortunatzely, it isn't thev kind of thing that got the attention of chroniclers, so by the time it shows up it is already a well-established thing. Also, it is not entirely sure itz means the same thing in the tenth century that it does in the thirteenth-century cookbook manuscript. Still, it's poissible that this is our 'tracta', a local tradition of pasta that does go back to Roman days. Not certain, though.
Thirdly, if Roman pasta existed, it was probably more like modern Spaetzle or Nockerln than the familiar Italian fare because the Romans did not yet grow durum wheat varieties but the soft wheat more suitable for breads and porridges. Soft wheat pasta is what makes modern Italians shudder in disgust when served North European 'noodles'.
Der Kessel ist voll Bärks!
Volker Bach
Volker Bach
