It was finally The first phylogenetic tree of Italian stuffed pasta has been reconstructed. From Sardinia to Friuli, from tortellini bolognesi to cappelletti romagnoli, the analysis was carried out by applying for the first time scientific methods of biology to one of the most iconic elements of the Italian tradition.
An innovative scientific approach
The study, conducted by the Department of Biology of the University of Padua in collaboration with the Universities of Bari, Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo and Federico II of Naples, was published in the journal Discover Food. Research indicates that stuffed pasta, born in Eurasia, first arrived in Northern Italy and then spread to the rest of the peninsula.
“This work represents the first interdisciplinary approach that uses a biological science methodology to explore questions in food science,” explains Vazrick Nazari, the study’s first author. “We asked ourselves where this incredible diversity of Italian stuffed pasta comes from and how these varieties are related to each other.”
Phylogenetic Tree: Italian Biocultural Diversity
Telmo Pievani, coordinator of the study, underlines: “Where there is a lot of diversity organicthere is usually also a lot cultural diversityand Italy is very rich in them. Food is born from the intersection between biology and culture. With this studywe demonstrate that the evolutionary approach can reconstruct not only the tree geneaLof the species, but also that of the cultural artifactslike stuffed pasta.”
The researchers reconstructed the phylogenetic tree of stuffed pasta using data from scientific literature and reference texts of Italian cuisine, including the famous book by Pellegrino Artusi “La scienza in cucina e l’arte di mangiar bene” from 1891.
Two big families
The analysis has identified two big families of stuffed pasta: the more three-dimensional tortellini and the flatter ravioli. Both groups appear to have origins in Northern Italy. The only outsiders to these two families are the Sardinian culurgiones, suggesting that the tradition of stuffed pasta in Sardinia may have originated independently.
This discovery opens up new perspectives on the Italian cultural and gastronomic diversityhighlighting the interaction between biology and culture in the creation of our traditional foods.
What do you think of this discovery? What is your favorite stuffed pasta shape?
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