Generality
Gi spaghetti is a typical food of Italian culture, a symbol of the Bel Paese all over the world. On the other hand, the origin of this food speaks Eastern, since the earliest types of spaghetti (which were millet-based) appeared in China 2, 000 years before the birth of Christ.
However, there are various types of spaghetti on the market, which often - beyond the shape (elongated and thin), the section (more or less round) and the destination for consumption as a first course - have little in common; in addition to those properly called (durum wheat), there are also egg pasta spaghetti, wholegrain, kamut, rice, corn, soy, gluten-free, with diabetic fibers, etc. Some are based on legumes, while others fall into the category of diet foods.
Spaghetti is the (stereotyped) symbol of our gastronomic tradition, but this does not do justice to the greatness of Italian cuisine, nor to the ingenuity of those peoples who first discovered spaghetti. Probably, this association derives from the fact that it is the longest dry pasta most consumed in Italy for almost 3 centuries and that, as such, has frequently been the subject of literary quotations and cinematographic shows.
Gastronomic use
Spaghetti is a basic ingredient for pasta dishes, both dry and sautéed (eg spaghetti with tomato sauce, spaghetti with cheese and pepper, spaghetti with seafood, etc.), and au gratin (eg spaghetti nests with béchamel and truffle ).
The primary cooking of spaghetti takes place in water, by boiling; they must be immersed in the boiling liquid (in quantities 10 times higher than the mass of the pasta to be cooked), basically salty (10g of salt per liter of water, but it is NOT a fundamental ingredient !!!), for a sufficient time to reach the cooking (which depends on thickness and personal tastes). In some regions it is used to "break" the spaghetti in half to facilitate total immersion in the water contained in a muffler (tall and narrow pan suitable for boiling / boiling).
Spaghetti alla chitarra with zucchini and stracchino
X Problems with video playback? Reload from YouTube Go to Video Page Go to Video Recipes Section Watch the video on youtubeHomemade Soy Spaghetti
Spaghetti with Scoglio
Wholemeal spaghetti with cream, lemon and walnuts
Nutritional Features
Spaghetti perfectly reproduces the chemical composition of dry pasta, but they seem to have a DIFFERENT impact on insulinemia; later we will try to understand "why".
They are very energetic and the calories come largely from complex carbohydrates, or starch. However, it is important to remember that the glycemic load and the energy amount of the spaghetti, after cooking and due to the hydration effect, are halved: 100g of dried spaghetti, once cooked, weigh about DOUBLE (that is, they absorb 100g of water). They do not contain significant doses of lipids and those few are mainly unsaturated (good fats). The amino acid profile is scarce, both from a quantitative and a qualitative point of view (medium value biological value). Being a vegetable food, spaghetti do not contain cholesterol and make a significant portion of dietary fiber. Among the mineral salts, the most common are potassium and phosphorus (however, subject to dilution during cooking), while, as far as the vitamin aspect is concerned, mediocre quantities of water-soluble vitamins of group B (some damaged during cooking) are highlighted .
We now come to the metabolic aspect of spaghetti. As can be easily deduced, being rich in carbohydrates, spaghetti can significantly increase blood sugar levels. The amount of glucose that enters the blood is a parameter called Glycemic LOAD and is proportional to the amount of carbohydrates taken with spaghetti (the same as for other dry pasta). On the contrary, the speed of blood sugar rise is called glycemic index and subordinates to many other factors, among which: starch structure, level of hydrolysis with cooking, simultaneous presence of dietary fiber, water, proteins, lipids, digestion, absorption capacity, etc. Both of these parameters influence the release of insulin by the pancreas, the hormone that can make glucose penetrate into most tissues and promote indiscriminate anabolism. An excess of energy nutrients (in this case glucose) and insulin promotes the synthesis of fatty acids by the liver and their deposition in the form of triglycerides (mainly) in adipose tissue.
If it is true that spaghetti have the same nutritional composition as other dry pasta (same glycemic load), it is equally true that the various formats are distinguished by the specific glycemic index (even if the real reasons are not entirely clear). Based on what mentioned by the various research sources (never completely agree), spaghetti would be the type of pasta with the lowest glycemic index . It is probable that this characteristic is due to the process of industrial extrusion of the same which, taking place in heat, creates a sort of barrier that hinders the internal hydration of the starch (not by chance, the glycemic index of the pasta changes considerably also in based on the cooking level). This also occurs in the drawing of other dry pastas even if, for their part, they have a less favorable total surface to volume ratio. A reduced rate of entry of glucose into the blood determines the most lazy stimulus of insulin, although this characteristic subordinates to the total glycemic load (ie the portion).
In conclusion, although they are more suitable than other dry pasta, high portions of spaghetti do not lend themselves to nutrition against diabetes, overweight and hypertriglyceridemia.
