Macaroni

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Name Variations

 * maccheroni

About Macaroni
Wikipedia Article About Macaroni on Wikipedia

Macaroni is typically machine-made dry commercial pasta, used in contrast to fresh pasta made at home or in small local businesses. Macaroni technically must not contain eggs. Although usually commercially made, some more advanced home machines do allow for the fresh creation of macaroni pasta.

Macaroni is a corruption of the Italian word maccherone and its plural maccheroni. Its etymology is debatable. Some scholars think it's related to Greek makaria, a kind of barley broth. Others think it comes from Italian maccare, "to bruise or crush" (referring to the crushing of the wheat to make the pasta) which comes in turn from Latin macerare.

The Italian word for all types of macaroni, from hollow tubes, to shells, to twists. All pasta used to be called maccheroni; today it is used only for the short curved tube-shaped pasta.