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Vermicelli (pronounced /ˌvɜrmɪˈtʃɛli/ in English, Arabic: شعريه, from Italian /veɾmiˈtʃɛlːi/ lit. “little worms”) is a type of pasta, round in section and somewhat thinner than spaghetti. Vermicelloni ((pronounced /ˌvɜrmɪtʃɛ'ləʊni/), “thick vermicelli”) is less commoncitation needed, and about the same size as fedelini (also hard to find)citation needed. Both are thinner than spaghettini (“thin spaghetti”).
Strictly speaking, the term vermicelli ought only be applied to the food-stuff made after the Italian art of forming (usually) long and thin strands (as above) from pasta, probably more strictly only to that made in the Toscana region (see below.) In this document, it is liberally applied to refer to other food-stuffs from other parts of the world (i.e. other than Italy) made from different ingredients and via differing methods. In most cases, these food-stuffs would not have been referred to as "vermicelli" (although "little worms" may still be an accurate translation of the proper term) and ought really to be referenced by their proper names. That said, it is obviously acceptable to refer to them as vermicelli-like, rather than explicitly and distinctly as vermicelli.
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History in Italy
In 14th-century Italy, extra-fine spaghetti had varying local names. "Master Barnaba da Reatinis from Reggio Emilia notes that Tuscan vermicelli are called orati in Bologne, minutelli in Venice, fermentini in Reggio and pancardelle in Mantua."1
The first mention of a vermicelli recipe is in the book De arte Coquinaria per vermicelli e maccaroni siciliani (The Art of Cooking Sicilian Macaroni and Vermicelli), compiled by the famous Maestro Martino da Como, unequalled in his field at the time and perhaps the first "celebrity chef," who was the chef at the Roman palazzo of the papal chamberlain ("camerlengo"), the Patriarch of Aquileia. In Martino's Libro de arte coquinaria, there are several recipes for vermicelli, which can last two or three years (doi o tre anni) when dried in the sun.
History in Asia
In South Asia, the vermicelli used is different from what is used in Italy. Here, it is made from semolina, unlike the Italian, which is made from durum wheat. In Asia it is known variously as shemai (সেমাই) in Bengali, seviyan in Hindi and Urdu, "sev" in Gujarati, shavige in Kannada sevalu or semiya in Telugu and semiya in Tamil, all probably modified form of 'mian xian' in Mandarin. The noodles are used in a number of dishes including a variation of kheer, a sweet dessert similar to rice pudding. Vermicelli is used in many parts of India to make a popular dish called upma. To prepare it, one boils the dry oil-roasted vermicelli with a choice of vegetables.
In East Asia, the term rice vermicelli is often used to describe the thin rice noodles (米粉) popular in China, also known as bee hoon in Hokkien, mai fun in Cantonese, kyar-zun in Burmese and bún in Vietnamese. The term vermicelli may also refer to vermicelli made from mung bean, which is translucent when cooked, and can be differentiated from rice vermicelli, which turns whitish when cooked. Mung bean vermicelli is commonly used in Chinese cuisine. Conversely, 面线 (Hokkien: mee sua, Cantonese: min seen, Mandarin Chinese: mian xian) is vermicelli that is made of wheat instead of rice. While superficially similar to bee hoon it has a very different texture, and different culinary uses as well.
History in the Americas
The fideo is a type of noodle, popular in Mexican and Latin American cuisine, often referred to in English as "vermicelli." It is commonly used in chicken soup and in sopa seca, a type of side dish.
In the United States, vermicelli is usually the pasta found in Rice-A-Roni, a pilaf-style rice-and-pasta side dish manufactured by The Quaker Oats Company.
History in the Middle East and Northeast Africa
It is used in one of the most common ways of cooking rice in Egypt. The vermicelli is browned by frying with oil or butter, then rice and water are added. Vermicelli is called She'reya (شعريه) in Arabic.
The Persian reshteh also resembles vermicelli.
In Somalia, it is used in a sweet dish called Cadriyad. The vermicelli is browned by frying with butter, then water, sugar and cardamom is added until the vermicelli has softened slightly. It is similar to the Indian kheer. However, no milk or cream is added. It is usually eaten as a dessert or eaten as a side dish with Somali spiced rice dishes.
See also
References
External links
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- This page was last modified on 17 October 2008, at 16:04.
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