Ziti facts for kids
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| Alternative names | Boccolotti, zitoni, zituane, candele, ziti candelati |
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| Type | Pasta |
| Place of origin | Italy |
| Main ingredients | Durum wheat flour, water |
| Variations | bucatini |
Ziti is a type of pasta that comes from Campania, a region in southern Italy. It's shaped like a long, wide tube. Before you cook ziti, you usually need to break the long pieces into smaller, bite-sized parts.
Contents
What is Ziti Pasta?
Ziti is made from durum wheat flour and water. It's an "extruded" pasta, which means the dough is pushed through a special machine to give it its tube shape. Each piece is about 25 centimeters (about 10 inches) long.
How is Ziti Different?
Ziti looks a bit like bucatini, another tube-shaped pasta. However, ziti is much thicker and wider than bucatini. While some pastas like penne are already cut into short pieces, ziti comes in long tubes that you break yourself.
Ziti in Popular Dishes
Ziti is often used in baked dishes. People love to stuff it with cheese and sauces, then bake it in the oven. A very famous dish, especially in Italian-American homes, is baked ziti. It's also used in other tasty meals like pasta alla Norma, which is popular in Sicily.
The Meaning of Ziti
The word ziti comes from the Sicilian dialect of Italian. It's the plural form of the word zito, which means "bride" or "groom." This is because ziti pasta has a special connection to weddings. In Sicily, ziti is traditionally served at wedding feasts as a symbol of celebration.
See also
