How much do you know about pasta? Take the quiz to find out

Just how many pasta varieties are there? Photograph: Eskay Lim/Getty Images/EyeEm

1. Where did pasta originate?

   1. Duh. Italy, obviously.

   2. China. Spaghetti is just Italian noodles.

   3. Probably the Middle East.

2. According to legend, spaghetti carbonara was created by chef Renato Gualandi – in what circumstances?

   1. The usual circumstances: he had a bit of leftover cream and onion.

   2. To feed an army.

   3. In honour of Dame Lucia Carbona.

3. From scratch, how is durum wheat pasta made?

   1. Easy! Open packet, dump into boiling water.

   2. It’s processed in a giant drum, or as Italians know it: a durum.

   3. The wheat is turned into semolina, made into a dough, shaped and then dried.

4. What is the UK’s favourite type of pasta?

   1. The twisty one!

   2. The tubes!

   3. The shells!

5. What does it mean when your pasta is al dente?

   1. It’s not sticking to my kitchen walls. Back in the pan.

   2. Cooked to perfection!

   3. Time to add some oil to stop it glueing itself together.

6. When is conchiglie rigate traditionally recommended?

   1. When the supermarket’s run out of the fancy bow ties.

   2. For fish! Why else would it be shaped like a seashell?

   3. When you’re getting saucy in the kitchen.

7. Excluding pasta, seasoning and oil, what three ingredients do you need to make penne arrabbiata?

   1. It’s actually five ingredients: tomatoes, garlic and cheese, cheese, cheese!

   2. The holy trinity of Italian cooking – passion, love and extravagant hand gestures.

   3. Garlic, tomatoes and enough chilli to ensure you never forget to wash your hands again.

8. How much spaghetti is produced per day, by the world’s largest dried pasta factory?

   1. Enough to go around the equator three and a half times.

   2. Enough to reach the moon.

   3. Erm, it’s a foodstuff, not a journey route. Let’s talk numbers – 35,000 miles’ worth.

9. 

   What kind of pasta shape features in this 1931 Barilla pasta advert?

   1. Use your eyes – it’s pointy pasta! Hence the name: appuntito.

   2. I believe that in Italy, it’s known as stelline.

   3. Pastar.

10. Pasta maths time! What sum tells you how many pasta varieties there are?

    1. Add up all the countries in the world, times that number by three. It’s more than that.

    2. You’re kidding yourself if you think there’s a workable sum. No one knows the true number.

    3. Both A and B.

Solutions

1:C - Around the third and fifth centuries, a boiled dough called itrium became common in Palestine and by the eighth century pasta as we know it had arrived in Sicily, brought by Libyan invaders. As for that legend about Italy pinching spaghetti from China? It's complicated. There's evidence that Marco Polo saw the Chinese make noodles in the 13th century, but there are written accounts of pasta existing in Sicily before then., 2:B - Legend has it that Gualandi created it during the second world war for the US Army, inspired by their diet of powdered eggs and bacon. , 3:C - Most good dried pasta that you buy in shops, such as Barilla, contains only water and semolina, which has been turned into a dough, processed and dried. , 4:A - Although as a pasta expert, you obviously refer to it as fusilli. According to a YouGov survey, it’s the favourite pasta of 19% of the nation, compared with 11% for penne (tubes) and 7% for conchiglie rigate (shells)., 5:B - Al dente literally means to the tooth – and describes pasta or rice that is firm to the bite and ready to eat., 6:C - Its shape makes it perfect for sauce-based meals, such as tomato, meat or simple butter-based sauces, but you’ll find many shapes in the Barilla range that could do justice to a heavenly sauce., 7:C - Arrabbiata is a fiery, tomato-based dish. , 8:A - The Barilla pasta factory in Parma produces more than 90,000 miles of spaghetti a day – which is more than three and a half times the length of the equator, whose circumference is about 25,000 miles., 9:B - Stelline is Italian for “little stars”. Which refers to their shape, rather than their leading roles on the dinner plate., 10:C - According to the International Pasta Organisation, there are more than 600 types of pasta – more than three times the 195 countries that currently exist in the world – but no one knows the exact number.

Scores

1. 10 and above.

   Well done. You’re the lord of linguine! The sultan of spaghetti!

2. 9 and above.

   Well done. You’re the lord of linguine! The sultan of spaghetti!

3. 8 and above.

   Not bad. You’re not the master of macaroni just yet, but you clearly know your cannelloni from your conchiglie.

4. 7 and above.

   Not bad. You’re not the master of macaroni just yet, but you clearly know your cannelloni from your conchiglie.

5. 5 and above.

   Oh dear. Some pasta expert you are.

6. 4 and above.

   Oh dear. Some pasta expert you are.

7. 3 and above.

   Oh dear. Some pasta expert you are.

8. 2 and above.

   Oh dear. Some pasta expert you are.

9. 1 and above.

   Oh dear. Some pasta expert you are.

10. 0 and above.

    Oh dear. Some pasta expert you are.

11. 6 and above.

    Not bad. You’re not the master of macaroni just yet, but you clearly know your cannelloni from your conchiglie.

To find out more about Barilla and to learn about pasta shapes, visit barilla.com. For traditional recipes and pasta-cooking inspiration, try academiabarilla.it/en