How did macaroni get its name?

MsKreant

Macaroni is a borrowing of the Italian maccheroni (plural of maccherone, , meaning "squashed "). Its etymology is debatable. Some think it comes from Italian ammaccare, "to bruise or crush" (referring to the crushing of the wheat to make the noodles), which comes, in turn, from Latin macerare,[1] meaning 1) to soak in liquid, to soften, or 2) to torment, to mortify, to distress (the term also giving us the English macerate), while for others it might be the Arabs who invented macaroni in the Middle Ages.[2] However the academic consensus supports that the word comes from Greek ?? (makaria),[3] a kind of barley broth which was served to commemorate the dead http://www.ask.com/wiki/Macaroni Apparently, macaroni got its own name because it was made from a drier hard wheat . What is historically important about the invention of macaroni,, is that it is made with a particular type of wheat flour, Triticum durum Desf. (now designated Triticum turgidum var. durum). This wheat, which apparently evolved through cultivation from emmer wheat is mixed with liquid to form an alimentary paste that is dried, then stored for long periods of time and cooked by boiling or (less commonly) steaming in or over water or broth. This particular kind of wheat, commonly known as hard wheat, semolina, or durum wheat, is unique because of its high gluten and low moisture content, which distinguishes it in a significant way from soft wheat or bread wheat (Triticum aestivum), the major wheat known by the ancient Greeks and Romans. These characteristics of hard wheat are important because, first, it prevents the stretching and breakage of pasta during the curing and drying process and, second, because it maintains its texture and taste better during the cooking process than does soft wheat. http://www.cliffordawright.com/caw/food/entries/display.php/id/50/ Jul 01 11, 7:02 PM