Macaroni
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| Type | Pasta |
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| Place of origin | Italy (modern macaroni) |
| Main ingredients | Durum wheat |
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Macaroni /ˌmækəˈroʊni/ is a variety of dry pasta traditionally shaped into narrow tubes, produced in various shapes and sizes. Originating in Italy and 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 extrusion. The curved shape is created by different speeds of extrusion on opposite ends of the pasta tube as it comes out of the machine.
In North America, the word "macaroni" is often used synonymously with elbow-shaped macaroni, as it is the variety most often used in macaroni and cheese recipes. In Italy, the noun maccheroni refers to straight, tubular, square-ended pasta corta ("short-length pasta"). Maccheroni may also refer to long pasta dishes such as maccheroni alla chitarra and frittata di maccheroni, which are prepared with long pasta like spaghetti.
The name comes from Italian maccheroni [makkeˈroːni], plural form of maccherone. The many variants 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 the North American culture.
The academic consensus supports that the word is derived from the Greek μακαρία (makaria), a kind of barley broth which was served to commemorate the dead. In turn, that comes from μάκαρες (makares) meaning "blessed dead", and ultimately from μακάριος (makarios), collateral of μάκαρ (makar) which means "blessed, happy".
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