Editing Noodle (section)

==History==

===Origin===
The earliest written record of noodles is found in a book dated to the [[Han dynasty|Eastern Han]] period (25–220 CE).<ref name="Roach">{{cite journal |last=Roach |first=John |title=4,000-Year-Old Noodles Found in China |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/10/1012_051012_chinese_noodles.html |journal=[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]] |date=12 October 2005 | pages=1–2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051020031536/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/10/1012_051012_chinese_noodles.html | archive-date=20 October 2005}}</ref> Noodles made from wheat dough became a prominent food for the people of the [[Han dynasty]].{{sfn|Sinclair|Sinclair|2010|page=91}} The oldest evidence of noodles was from 4,000 years ago in China.<ref name="Roach" /> In 2005, a team of archaeologists reported finding an earthenware bowl that contained 4,000-year-old noodles at the [[Lajia|Lajia archaeological site]].<ref name="mill-noo">{{cite journal |last1=Lu |first1=Houyuan |last2=Yang |first2=Xiaoyan |last3=Ye |first3=Maolin |last4=Liu |first4=Kam-Biu |last5=Xia |first5=Zhengkai |last6=Ren |first6= Xiaoyan |last7=Cai |first7=Linhai |last8=Wu |first8=Naiqin |last9=Liu |first9=Tung-Sheng| title=Culinary archaeology: Millet noodles in Late Neolithic China| journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]| date=13 October 2005| volume=437|issue=7061|pages=967–968 | doi=10.1038/437967a | display-authors=3 | pmid=16222289|bibcode=2005Natur.437..967L |s2cid=4385122 }}</ref> These noodles were said to resemble [[lamian]], a type of Chinese noodle.<ref name="mill-noo" /> Analyzing the husk [[phytolith]]s and [[starch]] grains present in the sediment associated with the noodles, they were identified as millet belonging to ''[[Panicum miliaceum]]'' and ''[[Setaria italica]]''.<ref name="mill-noo" /> However, other researchers cast doubt that Lajia's noodles were made from specifically millet: it is difficult to make pure millet noodles, it is unclear whether the analyzed residue were directly derived from Lajia's noodles themselves, starch morphology after cooking shows distinctive alterations that does not fit with Lajia's noodles, and it is uncertain whether the starch-like grains from Laijia's noodles are starch as they show some non-starch characteristics.<ref name="exp-star">{{cite journal | last1 = Ge | first1 = W. | last2 = Liu | first2 = L. | last3 = Chen | first3 = X. | last4 = Jin | first4 = Z. | year = 2011 | title = Can noodles be made from millet? An experimental investigation of noodle manufacture together with starch grain analyses | url = | journal = [[Archaeometry (journal)|Archaeometry]] | volume = 53 | issue = 1| pages = 194–204 | doi = 10.1111/j.1475-4754.2010.00539.x| doi-access = free | bibcode = 2011Archa..53..194G }}</ref>

The general consensus among food historians is that pasta originated somewhere in the Mediterranean region:<ref name="nationalgeographic">{{cite news|last1=López|first1=Alfonso|date=8 July 2016|title=The Twisted History of Pasta|publisher=National Geographic|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/magazine/2016/07-08/daily-life-pasta-italy-neapolitan-diet/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214163410/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/magazine/2016/07-08/daily-life-pasta-italy-neapolitan-diet/|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 December 2019|access-date=13 December 2019}}</ref> a homogenous mixture of flour and water called ''itrion'' was described by 2nd-century Greek physician [[Galen]],{{sfn|Serventi|Sabban|2002|page=17}} among 3rd to 5th-century Jews ''itrium'' was described by the [[Jerusalem Talmud]]{{sfn|Serventi|Sabban|2002|page=29}} and ''itriyya'' (Arabic cognate of the Greek word), referred to string-like shapes made of [[semolina]] and dried before cooking - as defined by the 9th-century physician and lexicographer [[Isho bar Ali]].<ref>"A medical text in Arabic written by a Jewish doctor living in Tunisia in the early 900s" (Dickie 2008: 21).</ref>

===Historical variations===
====East Asia====
{{See also|Chinese noodles}}[[File:Bun thit nuong.jpg|thumb|right|A bowl of [[Bún thịt nướng]]]]
 
There are over 1,200 types of noodles commonly consumed in China today.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Noodles in Contemporary China: Social Aspects underlying the Noodle Evolution (Qiulun Li) – Noodles on the Silk Road |date=29 June 2018 |url=https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/noodles/2018/06/29/noodles-in-contemporary-china-social-aspects-underlying-the-noodle-evolution-qiulun-li/ |access-date=2022-07-01 |language=en-US}}</ref> They vary widely according to the region of production, ingredients, shape or width, and manner of preparation. Due to the vast diversity of Chinese noodles, there is no single Chinese word equivalent to the Western concept of "noodles," nor is the notion of "noodles" as a unified food category recognized within [[Chinese cuisine]].

In [[Standard Chinese|Standard Mandarin]], ''miàn'' (simplified Chinese: 面; traditional Chinese: 麵) means "dough" but can be used to refer to noodles made from wheat flour and grains such as millet, sorghum, and oats. While ''fěn'' (粉) means "powder" but can be used to refer to noodles made from other starches, particularly rice flour and [[mung bean]] starch.<ref>{{Cite news |last=RAICHLEN |first=STEVEN |date=January 30, 1992 |title=Noodle nomenclature |work=Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The (GA) |pages=W/6}}</ref>  

Wheat noodles in Japan (''[[udon]]'') were adapted from a [[Chinese cuisine|Chinese]] recipe as early as the 9th century. Innovations continued, such as noodles made with [[buckwheat]] (''[[naengmyeon]]'') were developed in the [[Joseon]] Dynasty of [[Korea]] (1392–1897). [[Ramen]] noodles, based on southern Chinese noodle dishes from [[Guangzhou]] but named after the northern Chinese [[lamian]], became common in Japan by 1900.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Japanese Noodles (No. 4) |url=https://www.kikkoman.com/en/foodforum/the-japanese-table/32-4.html |access-date=2022-07-20 |website=Kikkoman Corporation |language=ja}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Part 1: China Origin |url=https://www.ramen-culture.com/history-pt1 |access-date=2022-07-20 |website=Ramen Culture |language=en-US |archive-date=20 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220720132155/https://www.ramen-culture.com/history-pt1 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Media |first=USEN |title=Indespensable Knowledge For Every Ramen Lover! A Glossary with Shop Recommendations |url=https://savorjapan.com/contents/discover-oishii-japan/indespensable-knowledge-for-every-ramen-lover-a-glossary-with-shop-recommendations/ |access-date=2022-07-20 |website=SAVOR JAPAN |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=榨菜肉丝面的南北差异及制作方法 |url=https://www.sohu.com/a/321290259_120158353 |website=[[Sohu]]}}</ref>

====Central Asia====
[[Kesme]] or erişte noodles were eaten by [[Turkic peoples]] by the 13th century. 

====West Asia====
[[Ash reshteh]] (noodles in thick soup with herbs) is one of the most popular dishes in some middle eastern countries such as Iran.

====Europe====
[[Image:Vermeer van Utrecht Man eating noodels.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Jan Vermeer van Utrecht]]'s painting of a man eating unspecified noodles ([[National Museum, Warsaw|National Museum]], [[Warsaw]]).]]
In the 1st century [[BCE]], [[Horace]] wrote of fried sheets of dough called ''[[lagana (dough)|lagana]]''.{{sfn|Serventi|Sabban|2002|pages=15–16 & 24}} However, the cooking method does not correspond to the current definition of either a fresh or dry [[pasta]] product.{{sfn|Serventi|Sabban|2002|pages=15–16}}

==== Italy ====
The first concrete information on [[pasta]] products in [[Italy]] dates back to the [[Etruscan civilization]], the [[Testaroli]]. The first noodles will only appear much later, in the 10th or 11th centuries,{{sfn|Serventi|Sabban|2002|page=10}} and there is a popular legend about [[Marco Polo]] bringing the first pasta back from China. Modern historians do not give much credibility to the story and rather believe the first noodles were imported earlier from the Arabs, in a form called ''rishta''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Toscana |first=Cucina |date=2017-07-12 |title=The International Origins of Pasta {{!}} Cucina Toscana Salt Lake City |url=https://toscanaslc.com/blog/international-origins-pasta/ |access-date=2023-05-18 |website=Cucina Toscana |language=en-US}}</ref> Pasta has taken on a [[List of pasta|variety of shapes]], often based on regional specializations.

==== Germany ====
In [[Germany]], documents dating from 1725 mention ''[[Spätzle]]''.  [[Medieval]] illustrations are believed to place this noodle at an even earlier date.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uk.diplo.de/Vertretung/unitedkingdom/en/01/2City-Profiles/Stuttgart/Stuttgart.html |format=[[PDF]] |publisher=[[Embassy of Germany, London]] |location=London |title=City Profile: Stuttgart |quote=Spätzle is a city specialty. |access-date=26 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170727080926/http://www.uk.diplo.de/Vertretung/unitedkingdom/en/01/2City-Profiles/Stuttgart/Stuttgart.html |archive-date=27 July 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==== Armenia ====
An Armenian variety of noodle, [[Arishta]], is prepared from wheat, water and salt. It is thick and is usually eaten with [[matzoon]], clarified butter and garlic.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Phoenix |date=2022-11-05 |title=Arishta - Traditional Armenian Homestyle Pasta |url=https://phoenixtour.org/blog/arishta-traditional-armenian-homestyle-pasta/ |access-date=2024-11-13 |website=Phoenix Tour Armenia |language=en-US}}</ref>

====Ancient Israel and diaspora====
The Latinized word ''itrium'' referred to a kind of boiled dough.{{sfn|Serventi|Sabban|2002|page=17}}  Arabs adapted noodles for long journeys in the fifth century, the first written record of dry [[pasta]]. [[Muhammad al-Idrisi]] wrote in 1154 that ''itriyya'' was manufactured and exported from [[Sicily#Norman Sicily (1038–1198)|Norman Sicily]].  ''Itriyya'' was also known by the [[Persian Jewish|Persian Jews]] during early Persian rule (when they spoke [[Aramaic]]) and during Islamic rule.  It referred to a small soup noodle, of Greek origin, prepared by twisting bits of kneaded dough into shape, resembling Italian [[orzo]].{{sfn|Rodinson|Perry|Arberry|2001|page=253}}

=====Polish Jews=====
''Zacierki'' is a type of noodle found in [[Polish Jewish|Polish Jewish cuisine]].<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Hippocrene Books| isbn = 978-0-7818-1124-8| last1 = Strybel| first1 = Robert| last2 = Strybel| first2 = Maria| title = Polish Heritage Cookery| date = 2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UtA6-pyGJmMC&pg=PA456}}</ref>
It was part of the rations distributed to [[Holocaust|Jewish victims]] in the [[Łódź Ghetto]] by the [[Nazis]].
(Out of the "major ghettos", Łódź was the most affected by hunger, starvation and malnutrition-related deaths.)
The diary of a young Jewish girl from Łódź recounts a fight she had with her father over a spoonful of ''zacierki'' taken from the family's meager supply of 200 grams a week.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Yale University Press| isbn = 978-0-300-20599-2| last = Zapruder| first = Alexandra| title = Salvaged Pages: Young Writers' Diaries of the Holocaust| date = 2015 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NDJOCgAAQBAJ |pages=226–242}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Rowman Altamira| isbn = 978-0-7591-1986-4| last = Heberer| first = Patricia| title = Children during the Holocaust| date = 2011-05-31 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=asCq3ZD0ObQC&pg=PA137}}</ref>