Did Marco Polo bring pasta from China?

[a425couple]

Did Marco Polo bring pasta from China?
Answer = that was not the first!

Origin of Italian Pasta
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Durum wheat grows naturally in Italy.
©ISTOCKPHOTO/ELIANDERIC

Incredibly, the emergence of Italian pasta occurred in total isolation
from China. Before Marco Polo left for his China expedition in 1292,
Italy had discovered the culinary delights of pasta centuries earlier.
The Arab geographer Idrisi described the pasta he encountered in Sicily
in 1154 as made from flour and formed into long strings [source: Needham
and Wang]. By the Mi­ddle Ages, Sicily and Sardinia had developed pasta
trades as well.

When tracing the origins of Italian pasta, historians look to a plant,
rather than an individual. The cultivation of durum wheat offers more
clues to how Italian pasta evolved into the country's trademark food.
Today, most of the pasta on store shelves comes from durum wheat, which
has high levels of gluten. That gluten adds malleability to the pasta
dough, making it easier to work with. The Chinese climate isn't
conducive to durum wheat production, whereas the cereal thrives in
Italy's environment. Ancient Greek and Roman civilizations grew durum
wheat, but written records indicate that they stopped short of
converting the ground grains, or semolina, into pasta and settled for
breads and gruel [source: Serventi, Sabban and Shugaar].

Yet some food historians argue that the Greeks had more cooking in the
kitchen that paved the way for pasta. For instance, the ancient Greek
word meaning "ribbon" is itrion, and the Arabic word for "noodle" is the
similar-looking itrijab [source: Bober]. In addition, Greek mythology
includes a tale about the god Vulcan pushing dough through a device that
converts it into thin, edible threads.

But that etymological explanation doesn't completely account for the
leap from bread to pasta in Italy. A majority of food historians credit
the Arabs for bringing pasta, along with spinach, eggplant and sugar
cane, to the Mediterranean basin [source: Bober]. By the ninth century,
Arab groups had expanded into Sicily and southern Italy, likely bringing
along noodle-making techniques learned from their Eastern neighbors. By
the 12th century, Arabs had also taught Italians their methods for
drying pasta, which they would have used for preserving the food while
traveling [source: Capatti, Montari and O'Healy].

As pasta production traveled up the Italian boot, Naples became the
center of durum wheat pasta manufacturing. Today, Italians gobble up
between 66 and 77 pounds (30 and 35 kilograms) of pasta every year, more
than anywhere else in the world -- including China [source: Dendy and
Dobraszczyk].

http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/marco-polo-pasta1.htm

[DR...@teikyopost.edu]

On Tuesday, September 12, 2017 at 10:55:04 PM UTC-4, a425couple wrote:
> Did Marco Polo bring pasta from China?
> Answer = that was not the first!

[snip]

Did Marco Polo bring silk worms from China?

When I attended fourth grade in Italy, our teacher told us that Marco
Polo brought back silk worms from China. Supposedly, he hid them in
bamboo canes so that the Chinese customs officials would not discover
them. Is there any truth to this story?

[a425couple]

Kind of close,,,,
This is interesting:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smuggling_of_silkworm_eggs_into_the_Byzantine_Empire

"Silk, which was first produced sometime during the fourth millennium BC
by the Chinese, was a valuable trade commodity along the Silk Road.[2]
By the first century AD, there was a steady flow of silk into the Roman
Empire.[2] With the rise of the Sassanid Empire and the subsequent
Roman–Persian Wars, importing silk to Europe became increasingly
difficult and expensive. The Persians strictly controlled trade in their
territory and would suspend trade in times of war.[3] Consequently, the
Byzantine Emperor Justinian I tried creating alternative trade routes to
Sogdiana, which at the time had become a major silk-producing centre:[4]
one to the north via the Crimea, and one to the south via Ethiopia.[5]
The failure of these efforts led Justinian I to look elsewhere.

Expedition
Two unidentified monks -- made their way to China by 551 AD.[6] While
they were in China, they observed the intricate methods for raising silk
worms and producing silk.[6] This was a key development, as the
Byzantines had previously thought silk was made in India.[7] In 552 AD,
the two monks sought out Justinian I.[5] In return for his generous but
unknown promises, the monks agreed to acquire silk worms from China.[4]
They most likely traveled a northern route along the Black Sea, taking
them through the Transcaucasus and the Caspian Sea.[1]

Since adult silkworms are rather fragile and have to be constantly kept
at an ideal temperature, lest they perish,[8] they utilized their
contacts in Sogdiana to smuggle out silkworm eggs or very young larvae
instead, which they hid within their bamboo canes.[1][5] Mulberry
bushes, which are required for silkworms, were either given to the monks
or already imported into the Byzantine Empire.[1] All in all, it is
estimated that the entire expedition lasted two years.[9]

Impact[edit]
Byzantine silk
Shortly after the expedition there were silk factories in
Constantinople, Beirut, Antioch, Tyre, and Thebes.[5] The acquired silk
worms allowed the Byzantine Empire to have a silk monopoly in Europe.
The acquisition also broke the Chinese and Persian silk monopolies.[1]
The resulting monopoly was a foundation for the Byzantine economy for
the next 650 years until its demise in 1204.

-----------------------------
But there are certainly others that retell the story
your teacher told:

https://aelarsen.wordpress.com/2015/01/28/marco-polo-west-meets-east/

Tells the tale:
"Polo’s father and uncle get caught trying to smuggle silk worms out of
China hidden in a hollow staff, and this gives Marco probably his most
interesting plot-line, in which he is given permission to decide their
punishment for himself. This is a remarkably silly story-line. In 551
AD, a pair of Christian monks actually did smuggle silk worms out of
China, eventually getting to the Byzantine Empire, where a thriving silk
industry sprung up, forming a major feature of Byzantine diplomacy until
the 1140s, when King Roger II of Sicily attacked the Byzantines and
literally stole the entire silk industry from them, bringing it back to
Sicily, where it quickly spread to the rest of Italy. If the Polos
thought they could get rich smuggling silk worms from China to Italy in
the 1270s, they had a rather defective business plan, since it would be
the equivalent of trying to make a killing by smuggling cars into Detroit."

[Paul J Gans]

How about:

"In the mid-6th century AD, two monks, with the support of the Byzantine
emperor Justinian I, successfully smuggled silkworm eggs into the
Byzantine Empire, which led to the establishment of an indigenous
Byzantine silk industry. This acquisition of silk worms from China
allowed the Byzantines to have a monopoly of silk in Europe."

From:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smuggling_of_silkworm_eggs_into_the_Byzantine_Empire

--
--- Paul J. Gans

[DR...@teikyopost.edu]

On Wednesday, September 13, 2017 at 11:47:51 AM UTC-4, a425couple wrote:
> On 9/13/2017 6:37 AM, DR...@teikyopost.edu wrote:
> > On Tuesday, September 12, 2017 at 10:55:04 PM UTC-4, a425couple wrote:
> >> Did Marco Polo bring pasta from China?
> >> Answer = that was not the first!
> > [snip]
> >
> > Did Marco Polo bring silk worms from China?
> >
> > When I attended fourth grade in Italy, our teacher told us that Marco
> > Polo brought back silk worms from China. Supposedly, he hid them in
> > bamboo canes so that the Chinese customs officials would not discover
> > them. Is there any truth to this story?
> >
>
> Kind of close,,,,
> This is interesting:
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smuggling_of_silkworm_eggs_into_the_Byzantine_Empire

a425couple, I would like to thank you and Paul J. Gans for the
reference to the URL above.

[D. Spencer Hines]

Yes, Good For The Christian Monks.

The Church is actually quite good at running...

Covert Operations.

DSH
---------------------------------------------------

"The final happiness of man consists in the contemplation of truth....
This is sought for its own sake, and is directed to no other end beyond
itself."

Saint Thomas Aquinas, [1224/5-1274] _Summa Contra Gentiles_
[c. 1258-1264]

"a425couple" wrote in message news:opbjt...@news3.newsguy.com...

On 9/13/2017 6:37 AM, DR...@teikyopost.edu wrote:
> On Tuesday, September 12, 2017 at 10:55:04 PM UTC-4, a425couple wrote:
>> Did Marco Polo bring pasta from China?
>> Answer = that was not the first!
> [snip]
>
> Did Marco Polo bring silk worms from China?
>
> When I attended fourth grade in Italy, our teacher told us that Marco
> Polo brought back silk worms from China. Supposedly, he hid them in
> bamboo canes so that the Chinese customs officials would not discover
> them. Is there any truth to this story?
>

Kind of close,,,,
This is interesting:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smuggling_of_silkworm_eggs_into_the_Byzantine_Empire

"Silk, which was first produced sometime during the fourth millennium BC
by the Chinese, was a valuable trade commodity along the Silk Road.[2]
By the first century AD, there was a steady flow of silk into the Roman
Empire.[2] With the rise of the Sassanid Empire and the subsequent

Roman-Persian Wars, importing silk to Europe became increasingly