Last Saturday was National Pasta Day, and I’ve been thinking a lot about pasta of late (it is also National Pasta Month after all). But my thinking hasn’t only been about how we prepare and enjoy pasta but also how we consume it.
My earliest memories around the table are at my grandparents’ home. My grandfather loved Sunday lunch in his house. He was the patriarch; he was from Italy. He ate his spaghetti twirled in a spoon; we ate our spaghetti twirled in a spoon.
Everyone I knew growing up ate their spaghetti this way. At some point, though, it became considered bad manners. Gouche. I never agreed; in fact, I think eating spaghetti without the organizing effect of a spoon is bad manners. Spaghetti twirled on a flat plate is less organized and less compact than when it's done in the concave bowl of a spoon. Watching someone slurp wiggling tendrils of spaghetti is not pretty (with a few exceptions: see the Instagram post below of The Pasta Queen eating the spaghetti of Rocco DiSpirito.
I found it amusing a few years back when a pasta-plating trend emerged, especially in upscale restaurants, where spaghetti (or any long noodle) was twisted in a ladle and plated decorously as a little nest. (Maybe with a tweezers-applied garnish on top). I know there are mixed feelings about this. I kind of like it, actually, as it does add to the visual appeal of a cohesive dish as opposed to sprawling mound of pasta.
So, I say let's credit this trend with redeeming the spoon when we eat spaghetti! Who is with me?!?
