Did you know? Spaghetti and penne are the shapes most loved by Italians.
Spaghetti ranks first among the formats most loved by Italians.
This was revealed by an elaboration by Unione Italiana Food based on a Nielsen survey which photographed preferences in terms of pasta shapes in the country, according to 4 areas: North-West (Piedmont, Valle d’Aosta, Liguria, Lombardy), North-east (Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Emilia-Romagna), Center (Tuscany, Umbria, Marche, Lazio, Sardinia), and South (Abruzzo, Molise, Puglia, Campania, Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily).
If Spaghetti is the ID of pasta, Penne comes in second place and together they represent 78% of the pasta sold throughout the country, taking into consideration that when we talk about spaghetti and penne we are referring to the entire category of spaghettini, spaghettoni, pennette, mezze penne, pennoni and all similar terms that refer to the same format.
Starting from the third position, regional preferences begin to emerge – as reported by the researchers – with iconic pasta shapes used for traditional recipes. In the North (west and east) fusilli win while in the center short kinds of pasta such as mezze sleeves reign supreme and in the South, the preference goes to pasta for broths and soups, with mixed pasta occupying most of the section. In fourth place, in the North (west and east) and the South, short pasta wins against fusilli which conquers the Center and finally, in fifth position, pasta for broths and soups predominates in the North while in the Center and South, rigatoni wins /tortiglioni/macaroni. The Italian Food Union reminds us that Italy is the world leader in production (3.6 million tonnes) and consumption (23 kg each) and with its participating pasta makers it proposes, as Christmas approaches, a small guide to the right format combinations /seasoning, reserving a place of honor for first courses rich in taste and tradition.
99% of Italians eat pasta, and eat it an average of 3.7 times a week. In fact, the majority of the population eats it 2 to 5 times a week (37% 2-3 times, 30% 4-5 times), while 1 in every 5 Italians (20%) eat it nearly every day.
There are also a few doubts about the preferred time of day to eat it, with 75% of respondents indicating that they eat pasta mainly for lunch, compared to 11% who prefer it for dinner, and another 11% who expressed an equal frequency among two meals.
Another very dear topic is how to season pasta, and in this case, we have a winner: it is ragù, indicated as the favorite sauce by a fifth of the population. But the differences based on demographic characteristics are also interesting: young people (18-34) put carbonara in second place, while those 55+ love tomato, whether that be a good sauce or just cherry tomatoes. Instead, the 45-54 group shows a fair appreciation for seafood pasta.
Looking at the regions, there is a greater concentration of lovers of pesto and garlic, oil and chili in the north-west, amatriciana and gricia in the center, turnip tops in the south, and the norm in the islands (where it reaches 10%), while there was an even more overwhelming victory for ragù in the north-east (30%).
Preparation of pasta
However, before eating the pasta you need to prepare it.
On average, how many grams of pasta do Italians cook per person? The answer is around 100 grams (102.9 to be exact).
This average changes significantly based on gender (114 among men, 93 among women) and age (113 among 18-34, 96 among 55+), while there are no particular differences based on the geographical area.
Once weighed, you need to look at the cooking times, and although almost half of the respondents indicated that they had no problems finding the indications on cooking times on the pasta packaging, almost a third (29%) admitted that they often do struggle to find such instructions. A remaining 21% say that they don’t bother following the instructions, assessing for themselves when the pasta is ready.
And how long should you keep it cooking? For the majority of Italians (64%), pasta must be al dente. Only 9% prefer it well done, while the remaining 25% appreciate a happy medium.
But is there still anyone who knows how to prepare homemade pasta in addition to cooking it?
According to data collected by YouGov, half of Italians (52%) know how to make pasta by hand, plus another 20% don’t know how but would like to learn. This percentage is significantly higher in the south, where it reaches 57%, among women (58%) and among Italians aged 55 and over (58%). Although this habit is less widespread among young people, there are still 44% in the 18-34 age group who say they know how to do it, and 29% who would like to learn. The real stumbling block for this tradition is that even among those who know how to make pasta at home, 40% declare they never have time to make it.