Global Consumer Survey But that's nothing compared to the European home of pasta, Italy, 81 percent of which regularly have pasta on their daily menu. The food staple is almost equally as popular in France, where 78 percent of respondents count it as a regular fixture on their shopping list.
Pasta has topped a global survey of the world's favourite foods. So how did the dish so closely associated with Italy become a staple of so many tables around the globe?
Countries that consume the most pasta are Italy, followed by Tunisia, Venezuela, Greece, Chile, and the United States.
New York- It's no surprise that New York leads the nation in pasta lovers per capita - after all, it's home to some of the best Italian restaurants in the world like Carmine's on Times Square or nearby Trattoria Trecolori.
Americans consume 6 billion pounds of pasta each year.
In the case of males, the highest ratio of noodle consumers was for those between 19-50 years old. For both males and females, 9-18 year-olds consumed the highest amounts of noodles.
1. Spaghetti. Perhaps one of the most popular pasta types in the world, spaghetti consists of long, thin noodles which can be paired with a wide variety of sauces.
Known as the 'Città della Pasta' (City of Pasta), the sleepy coastal town of Gragnano in Italy's Campania region became famous in the late 1700s for its 'white gold', or macaroni.
Canadians eat a lot of mac and cheese (a lot!)
Out of the 7 million boxes sold weekly around the world, Canadians purchase 1.7 million of them.
The International Dairy Federation estimates that France holds the title for the most cheese consumed in a year per capita, but Italy boasts a close second.
Italian cuisine is world's most popular.
People in France tend to spend the most time eating and drinking per day on average at 2 hours and 13 minutes. Their neighbors in Italy and Spain aren't too far behind, averaging more than two hours per day.
While some historians believe pasta originated in Italy, most are convinced Marco Polo actually brought it back from his epic voyage to China. The earliest known pasta was made from rice flour and was common in the east. In Italy, pasta was made from hard wheat and shaped into long strands.
The best Australian Durum Wheat (some even say the World's best!) is grown in the "Golden Triangle" area of Northern NSW – between Moree, Narrabri, and Inverell. Vetta Pasta sources all of its durum wheat from selected growers in that area.
According to the Statista Global Consumer Survey, 55 percent of respondents from the U.S. say they eat pasta regularly. But that's nothing compared to the European home of pasta, Italy, 81 percent of which regularly have pasta on their daily menu.
Alessandro Spadini, Plant Director, Barilla headquarters and production facility in Parma, Italy – the world's largest pasta production facility.
Germany alone lays claim to over 1,300 basic varieties of breads, rolls, and pastries, as well as having the largest consumption of bread per capita worldwide.
Global rice consumption 2021/22, by country
As the most populous country in the world, China also consumes more rice than any other country, with about 154.9 million metric tons consumed in 2021/2022. Following China, India is ranked second with 103.5 million metric tons of rice consumption in the same period.
Whole-Wheat Pasta
Whole-wheat pasta is an easy-to-find nutritious noodle that will bump up the nutrition of your pasta dish. Made from whole grains, every cup of cooked pasta (140 grams) boasts 3 grams of fiber and 8 grams of protein per serving, per the USDA.
1) Barilla Pasta
Top of the list there's Barilla. The company was founded by Pietro Barilla in 1877 as a bakery in Parma, Italy.
The earliest pasta shape was a simple sheet, which was treated more like bread dough. It probably didn't have the toothsome quality – known as “al dente” – associated with Italian pasta today, and would have been similar to unleavened matzo bread with sauce on it.