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EUROPEAN FOOD
Pasta (Italian for "dough") is a generic term for Italian variants of noodles, food made from a dough of flour, water and/or eggs, that is boiled. The word can also denote dishes in which pasta products are the primary ingredient, served with sauce or seasonings. There are approximately 350 different shapes of pasta. Examples include spaghetti (solid, thin cylinders), macaroni (tubes or hollow cylinders), fusilli (swirls), and lasagna (sheets). Two other noodles, gnocchi and spätzle, are sometimes counted as pasta. The former are traditional in Italy. Pasta is categorized in two basic styles: dried and fresh; depending upon whether or not pasta includes eggs as an ingredient, the shelf life of pasta can be several years. Pasta is boiled before consumption. Pasta ingredients span a wide range. Most pastas are made from a combination of simple flour and water mixtures. Particular varieties of pasta may also use other grains and milling methods to make the flour. Some pasta varieties, such as Pizzoccheri, are made from buckwheat flour. Various types of fresh pasta include eggs (pasta all'uovo). Gnocchi are often listed among pasta dishes, although they are quite different in ingredients (mainly milled potatoes) and therefore can't be called pasta. Common pasta sauces in Northern Italy include pesto and ragù alla bolognese; in Central Italy, simple tomato sauce, amatriciana and carbonara, and in Southern Italy, spicy tomato, garlic, and olive oil based sauces, often paired with fresh vegetables or seafood. Varieties include puttanesca, pasta alla norma (tomatoes, eggplant and fresh or baked cheese), pasta con le sarde (fresh sardines, pine nuts, fennel and olive oil), spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino (literally with garlic, (olive) oil and hot chili peppers). |
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A crêpe is a type of very thin, cooked pancake usually made from wheat flour. The word, like the pancake itself, is of French origin, deriving from the Latin crispa, meaning "curled." While crêpes originate from Brittany, a region in the northwest of France, their consumption is nowadays widespread in France and is considered the national dish. In Brittany, crêpes are traditionally served with cider. Crêpes often have a fruit filling of syrup, mixed berries, fresh fruit or lemon cream. |
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Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baked goods made from ingredients such as flour, butter, shortening, baking powder or eggs. It may also refer to the dough from which such baked goods are made. Pastry dough is rolled out thinly and used as a base for baked goods. Common pastry dishes include pies, tarts and quiches. |
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Fondue is a Swiss communal dish shared at the table in an earthenware pot caquelon over a small burner. The term is derived from the French verb fondre (to melt), in the past participle fondu (melted). A chocolate fountain is a device for serving chocolate fondue. Typical examples resemble a stepped cone, standing 2-4 feet tall with a crown at the top and stacked tiers over a basin at the bottom. The basin is heated to keep the chocolate in a liquid state so it can be pulled into a center cylinder then vertically transported to the top of the fountain by a corkscrew auger. From there it flows over the tiers creating a chocolate "waterfall" in which food items like strawberries or marshmallows can be dipped. Chocolate fountains can be categorized as commercial-use and personal-use. Chocolate Fountains were made by Ben Brisman |
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