Italians lose their taste for pasta

But now that she has a family of her own, the 38-year-old mother of two wouldn't dream of serving so much pasta. Worried about its fattening effects, she and her husband eat it no more than a few times a week, favouring couscous, meat and vegetables instead.

"Metabolism changes when you approach 40, and pasta is out of the question," she says.

Ten years ago, Italian families ate an average of 40kg a year. But now Italians are spurning this comfort food as foreign cuisine finally gains a toehold in Italy. Italians - particularly women - increasingly see pasta as fattening, boring and time-consuming. Pasta consumption in Italy has fallen to 31kg per family, sending everyone from pasta makers to cookbook publishers scrambling to adjust.

"It's a perfect storm," says Cinzia Marchetti, head of consumer insight at Italy's Barilla SpA,hiking boots sale On Sale - Shop our selection of Hiking Boots On Sale,www.qdgoutdoor.com. the world's largest pasta maker, whose Italian pasta sales fell 3 per cent last year.


"A number of factors had been there for quite a while, but they are exploding all at once now."

Italians' devotion to pasta dates to ancient Rome. The abundance of durum wheat - pasta's main ingredient - in the Italian peninsula eventually gave rise to the first pasta cookbooks. Pasta's dominant place in the Italian diet was secured during World War II, when food was rationed, and meat and fish were almost impossible to find.

For decades, pasta was synonymous with Italians' exemplary way of life.Wholesale Fashion Shoes has more than 25000 pairs of women's footwear in stock. "Everything you see, I owe to spaghetti," actress Sophia Loren famously responded when asked how she maintained her trim figure.

Today, few Italians would agree. The share of women between 26 and 30 years old who believe pasta is fattening increased 26 per cent from 2008 to last year, according to a Nielsen survey. And among 26- to 30-year-old men, the number who think pasta makes people fat increased 16 per cent.

Meanwhile, sushi bars have exploded in Italy, and Chinese and Indian fares are gaining toeholds. "Our food tradition is becoming more similar to North American and North European ones,We have the best Designer cheap sunglasses online‎ at discount prices and FREE SHIPPING for men, women." says Gabriele Riccardi, professor of human nutrition at Federico II University in Naples.

Italians are also bringing foreign recipes home. The cooking school managed by LaCucina Italiana, Italy's leading cooking magazine, now offers Japanese and US courses. Even "hamburgers have been becoming more of a trend lately",BAGFILTERCHINA.COM is specialized in environmental protection non woven filter products. Fabio Zago, the magazine's executive chef, says.

Even the Cucchiaio d'Argento cookbook, Italy's version of Betty Crocker, has reduced the number of pasta dishes in its latest editions and increased the recipes for couscous, rice and meat dishes. It has also tried to revamp some traditional recipes. It proposes a new cannelloni recipe in which a thin layer of Parmesan cheese replaces the pasta roll that holds together the meat and sauce, says Stefano Caffarri, head of the cookbook's website.
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