View source for Macaroni

{{Short description|Type of pasta}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Distinguish|macaron|macaroon}}
{{Infobox food
| name             = Macaroni
| image            = Macaroni2.jpg
| image_size       = 250px
| caption          = 
| alternate_name   = ''Maccheroni'' (in [[Italian language|Italian]])
| country          = [[Italy]]<ref name="country">Maccheroni47473hb, [http://www.maccheroni.it/storia.htm History of Maccheroni] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602080524/http://www.maccheroni.it/storia.htm |date=2019-06-02 }} (it)</ref>
| region           = 
| creator          = 
| course           = 
| type             = [[Pasta]]
| served           = 
| main_ingredient  = [[Durum wheat]]
| variations       = 
| serving_size     = 100 g
| calories         = 350.5<!-- nutrition data from https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ -->
| calories_ref     = 
| protein          = 13 
| fat              = 1.5
| carbohydrate     = 75
| glycemic_index   = 
| similar_dish     = 
| cookbook         = 
}}
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| image1            = Elbow macaroni die front.jpg
| width1            = 124
| alt1              = 
| caption1          = 
| image2            = Elbow macaroni die back.jpg
| width2            = 124
| alt2              = 
| caption2          = 
| footer            = Elbow macaroni [[Die (manufacturing)|die]]: front view (left) and rear view (right)
}}

'''Macaroni''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|m|æ|k|ə|ˈ|r|oʊ|n|i}}), known in Italian as '''''maccheroni''''', is a [[pasta]] shaped like narrow tubes.<ref name=oxdict>Oxford Dictionary, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120718222959/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/macaroni Macaroni]</ref> Made with [[durum wheat]], macaroni is commonly cut in short lengths; curved macaroni may be referred to as "elbow macaroni". Some home machines can make macaroni shapes but, like most pasta, macaroni is usually made commercially by large-scale [[Food extrusion|extrusion]]. The common curved shape is created by different speeds of extrusion on opposite sides of the pasta tube as it comes out of the machine.

The word ''macaroni'' is often used synonymously with elbow-shaped macaroni, as it is the variety most often used in [[macaroni and cheese]] recipes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sharethepasta.org/pasta-shapes/|title=Pasta Shapes|access-date=2023-08-14|archive-date=2023-08-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230814055749/https://sharethepasta.org/pasta-shapes/|url-status=live}}</ref> In Italy and other countries, the noun ''maccheroni'' can refer to straight, tubular, square-ended ''pasta corta'' ({{literally|short pasta}}) or to long pasta dishes, as in ''[[Spaghetti alla chitarra|maccheroni alla chitarra]]'', which is prepared with long pasta such as [[spaghetti]]. In the United States, federal regulations define three shapes of dried pasta (macaroni, spaghetti, and [[vermicelli]]) as falling under the label of "macaroni product".<ref>{{cite web|title=U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21 Section 139.110: "Macaroni Products."|url=https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-139/subpart-B/section-139.110|access-date=2021-12-02|archive-date=2021-12-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207035726/https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-139/subpart-B/section-139.110|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Etymology==
In [[Italian language|Italian]], ''maccheroni'' refers to elongated pasta, not necessarily in tubular form.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://dizionari.corriere.it/dizionario_italiano/M/maccherone.shtml |title=Dizionari - Corriere |access-date=2020-09-27 |archive-date=2020-08-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815125349/https://dizionari.corriere.it/dizionario_italiano/M/maccherone.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> This general meaning is still retained outside [[Rome]] and in different languages which borrowed the word.

''Maccheroni'' comes from Italian ''maccheroni'' ({{IPA|it|makkeˈroːni|lang}}), plural form of ''maccherone''. The academic consensus supports the position that the word is derived from the [[Greek language|Greek]] μακαρία (''makaría''),<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dmakari%2Fa μακαρία] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201212145129/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=makari/a |date=2020-12-12 }}, (def. III),
Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus Digital Library</ref> In turn, that comes from μάκαρες (''mákares''), meaning the 'blessed ones, blessed dead', the plural of μάκαρ (''mákar''), which means 'blessed, happy'; μακάριος (''makários'', from μάκαρ (mákar) + -ιος (-''ios'', adjective suffix)) and Μακάριος (''Makários''), '[[Macarius|Makarios]]' (Latinized form: [[Macarius]]), are derived terms.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dma%2Fkar μάκαρ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809194842/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=ma/kar |date=2021-08-09 }}, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/maccherone|title=maccheróne in Vocabolario - Treccani|website=www.treccani.it}}</ref> The many varieties sometimes differ from each other because of the texture of each pasta: [[rigatoni]] and ''[[tortiglioni]]'', for example, have ridges down their lengths, while ''chifferi'', ''lumache'', ''lumaconi'', ''pipe'', ''pipette'', etc. refer to elbow-shaped pasta similar to macaroni in North American culture.

However, the Italian linguist G. Alessio argues that the word can have two origins. The first is the [[Medieval Greek]] μακαρώνεια (''makarṓneia''), '[[dirge]]' (stated in sec. XIII by James of Bulgaria), which would mean 'funeral meal' and then 'food to serve' during this office (see modern [[East Thrace|Eastern Thrace]]'s  μαχαρωνιά (''makharōniá'')—''macharōnia'' in the sense of 'rice-based dish served at the funeral'), in which case, the term would be composed of the double root of μακάριος (''makários''), 'blessed', and αἰωνίως (''aiōníōs''), 'eternally'.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dai%29w%2Fnios αἰωνίος] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925092645/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=ai)w/nios |date=2021-09-25 }}, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus</ref> The second is the Greek μακαρία (''makaría''), 'barley broth', which would have added the suffix ''-one''.<ref>G. Alessio, "Atti dell'Accademia Pontaniana", t. 8, 1958-59, pp. 261–280</ref>

In his book ''Delizia! The Epic History of Italians and their Food'' (2007), [[John Dickie (historian)|John Dickie]] instead says that the word macaroni, and its earlier variants such as ''maccheroni'', "comes from ''maccare'', meaning to pound or crush".

The word first appears in English as ''makerouns'' in the 1390 ''[[The Forme of Cury]]'', which records the earliest recipe for [[macaroni and cheese]].<ref>{{cite web |author=James L. Matterer |url=http://www.godecookery.com/goderec/grec6.htm |title=Makerouns |publisher=Godecookery.com |access-date=2010-10-20 |archive-date=2018-10-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181020045722/http://www.godecookery.com/goderec/grec6.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Outside Italy==
As is the case with dishes made with other types of pasta, macaroni and cheese is a popular dish and is often made with elbow macaroni. This is called macaroni cheese in the United Kingdom. A similar dish, [[Älplermagronen]], with a base of cream and cheese originated in Switzerland in the 19th century.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XIlZuk8IvWcC&pg=PA771|title=Mrs Beeton's Household Management|first1=Isabella|last1=Beeton|first2=Mrs Beeton (Isabella|last2=Mary)|date=27 January 2018|publisher=Wordsworth Editions|isbn=9781840222685|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/macaronicheese_83521|title=Macaroni cheese|website=BBC Food|access-date=2018-01-27|archive-date=2023-03-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308003237/https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/macaronicheese_83521|url-status=live}}</ref> In Great Britain, particularly Scotland, macaroni cheese is a popular filling for [[Macaroni pie|pies]], often consumed as a takeaway food or at football grounds.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Andy Morton |title=Pittodrie Pie takes silver at 2023 World Scotch Pie Championships |url=https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/lifestyle/food-and-drink/5312677/pittodrie-pie-silver-medal-at-2023-world-scotch-pie/ |access-date=2023-02-08 |website=Press and Journal |date=24 January 2023 |language=en-GB |archive-date=2023-02-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208145737/https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/lifestyle/food-and-drink/5312677/pittodrie-pie-silver-medal-at-2023-world-scotch-pie/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A sweet macaroni, known as macaroni pudding, containing milk and sugar (and rather similar to a [[rice pudding]]), was also popular with the British during the Victorian era.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nb0UDAAAQBAJ&q=Mrs+Beeton%E2%80%99s+Book+of+Household+Management+macaroni+pudding&pg=PA272|title=Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management: Abridged Edition|last1=Beeton|first1=Isabella|last2=Humble|first2=Nicola|date=2008-06-12|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199536337|language=en}}</ref>  A popular canned variety is still manufactured by [[Ambrosia (food brand)|Ambrosia]] and sold in UK supermarkets.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ambrosia.co.uk/|title=Ambrosia - Home|website=www.ambrosia.co.uk|access-date=2020-04-29|archive-date=2020-04-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200415133233/https://www.ambrosia.co.uk/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In areas with large populations open to Western cultural influence such as [[Hong Kong]], [[Macau|Macao]], [[Malaysia]], and [[Singapore]], the local Chinese have adopted macaroni as an ingredient for Chinese-style Western cuisine. In Hong Kong's ''[[cha chaan teng]]'' ('tea restaurants') and [[Southeast Asia]]'s ''[[kopi tiam]]'' ('coffee shops'), macaroni is cooked in water and then rinsed to remove starch, and served in clear broth with [[ham]] or [[Hot dog|frankfurter]] [[sausage]]s, peas, [[shiitake|black mushrooms]], and optionally [[Eggs as food|eggs]], reminiscent of [[noodle soup]] dishes. This is often a course for breakfast or light lunch fare.<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna16440507 AP, Explore the world of Canto-Western cuisine], January 8, 2007</ref> Macaroni has also been incorporated into Malay Malaysian cuisine, where it is [[Stir frying|stir-fried]] akin to [[mee goreng]] using Asian seasoning similar to said noodle dish (i.e. [[shallot]]s, [[oyster sauce]], and [[Chili sauce and paste|chili paste]]).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://myresipi.com/recipes/makaroni-goreng-baik-punya|title=Makaroni goreng baik punya|date=18 October 2008|website=MyResipi.com|language=ms|access-date=9 April 2020|archive-date=1 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501175548/http://myresipi.com/recipes/makaroni-goreng-baik-punya|url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Italy|Food}}
* [[List of pasta]]
* [[Macaroni art]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wiktionary|macaroni}}
* [http://law.justia.com/cfr/title21/21-2.0.1.1.24.html 21 C.F.R. PART 139—MACARONI AND NOODLE PRODUCTS] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130127150818/http://law.justia.com/cfr/title21/21-2.0.1.1.24.html |date=2013-01-27 }}

{{Pasta}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Types of pasta]]
[[Category:Neapolitan cuisine]]