And you thought the stuff at the back of your fridge was old.
Researchers have unearthed 4,000-year-old noodles in Northwestern China they say are definitive proof that the Chinese -- and not the Italians -- were the first to make pasta.
The prehistoric noodles are long, thin and yellow and were found covered in sediment in a well-preserved earthenware bowl. They were probably the last meal of someone who lived in a settlement along the upper reaches of the Yellow River that was destroyed by a major earthquake and catastrophic flooding 4,000 years ago.
The noodles were extremely delicate, the researchers said, and quickly turned to powder when they were exposed to the air. They were not in the least bit appetizing.
"No one has tasted them," said Houyuan Lu, a spokesman for the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. "They resemble the La-Mian noodle, a traditional Chinese noodle that is made by repeatedly pulling and stretching the dough by hand."
The noodles were made from millet, while modern Asian noodles and Italian pasta are made from durum wheat or bread wheat. Eating them would have required powerful slurping. At 50 centimetres, they are about twice as long as a piece of spaghetti, and only about 0.3 centimetres in diameter. A paper describing their discovery was published in the latest edition of the British journal Nature.
Prior to this discovery, the researchers said, the earliest written record of noodles dates back to about 1900 years ago. A book written during the East Han Dynasty (AD 25-220) contains the first description of the origin and production of noodles in China.
"Other theories suggest noodles were first made in the Middle East and introduced to Italy by the Arabs. Italians are widely credited for popularizing the food in Europe and spreading it around the world," Dr. Lu said.
Food experts have long acknowledged that China was the original home of the noodle, although many Italians have insisted that they invented pasta on their own turf. It may be that the Italians were the first to serve up pasta with sauce.
"Yes. We invented it. If you visit our museum you can find the document that talks about it. It is from the 11th century," said Vincenzo Giermoleo, manager of the Museo della Pasta in Rome.
In 1279, the estate inventory of a Genoese soldier included a basket of dried pasta.
But the prehistoric noodles discovered in China are from much earlier. The Neolithic period is when humans first began living in settlements, raising domestic animals and plants, and doing crafts such as pottery and weaving -- and eating noodles.
"This shows that the conversion of ground millet flour into long, thin strands for the preparation of boiled noodles was already established in this region 4,000 years ago," the researchers said.
"This is the earliest empirical evidence of noodles ever found."
Using your noodle
Ever wonder why Yankee Doodle stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni? It is probably because in the mid-18th century, macaroni referred to pasta, as well as an elaborate hairstyle.
One of the earliest Western references to noodles is in an Aramaic text, in fifth century B.C. The authors debate whether noodles are permitted under Jewish dietary laws.
Pasta came to North America with the British, who picked it up from the Italians. One of the most popular early ways to serve it was covered with cheese and cream, which became a classic: macaroni and cheese.
Source: The Atlantic Monthly, July, 1986.
