Talk:Noodle

Nomenclature

Etymology

"The word noodle derives from German "Nudel", meaning pasta." That`s incorrect, it derives from the Latin word Nodus!

Actually, both are right - it's Latin via German. I've corrected this. Rd232 12:22, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

My edition of the Oxford English Dictionary does not show the latin nodus root and but says the root is unclear. It does give the German "nudel". Can someone give us a roman use of nodus relating to some food? I found the history of pasta very interesting. While cooked noodles can look like a knot, it's English roots are not clear. --Rcollman 12:47, 26 August 2007 (UTC)

Terminology

1

My ex-wife used to claim vehemently that "noodles" were a food distinct from "spaghetti", and got all jumping up and down whenever anyone spoke of "spaghetti noodles". I have no way of knowing the basis for her assertion, but thought that Wikipedia might shed some light. The existing article appears to contradict, but I wonder whether anyone else has information to confirm or deny my ex's passionately held belief. Dbhelphrey 21:27, 15 November 2006 (UTC)

I was taught that it's not a "noodle" unless egg went into making it - if there wasn't egg, such as in spaghetti, it's "pasta." However, this notion doesn't seem like it extends well to the very wide diversity of noodles beyond Italian pasta. Nerwen 08:07, 22 July 2007 (UTC)

Nope. Noodle refers to the shape, so spaghetti are one kind of noodle but lasagna isn't.116.231.247.249 (talk) 04:17, 9 August 2013 (UTC)

In terms of coverage, isn't the term "pasta" subordinate to "noodle"? Lynyrdjym (talk) 05:30, 12 April 2010 (UTC)

Nope. Pasta includes foods that aren't noodles, like lasagna.116.231.247.249 (talk) 04:17, 9 August 2013 (UTC)

2

So far this articles evokes the impression that noodles are an exclusively Asian type of food. The list of types states only Asian ones. This is highly inaccurate. Noodles exist in many different countries. Especially Italian noodles ("pasta") are known throughout the world.

Reading this article, one might think that 'noodle' is an Asian dish, and 'pasta' an Italian one. Of course, this is not so. "Pasta" is merely the Italian word for "noodle". The abundance of Italian noodles (350 varieties) justify a separate Pasta article. But this should not lead to the Noodle article dealing with Asian noodles only.

I have removed the statement that pasta is an Italian type of noodle dish for of the aforementioned reasons, and instead added pasta to the list of Wheat types of noodles. I have also added the German "spätzle" to that list. The whole article ought to be rewritten, though. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.177.155.119 (talk) 18:30, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Noodle is not an Asian food, as such. But nor is the term used for spaghetti or pasta. Noodles are really a sub-type of pasta, aren't they?124.197.15.138 (talk) 06:32, 5 July 2012 (UTC)

Noodles are a shape grouping including many foods that are not pasta. Pasta are a locale grouping including several foods that aren't noodles.116.231.247.249 (talk) 04:17, 9 August 2013 (UTC)

In common use (see below), noodle is precisely a term for Asian food and "Italian noodles" are just pasta (even though they happen to also be noodles). Sorry you're so confused on the point, but talk to more native speakers and check the sources and it'll help out. (At the same time, pasta should be mentioned as "an Italian style of noodles".)116.231.247.249 (talk) 04:20, 9 August 2013 (UTC)

3

Is there a difference between noodles and pasta? Or is it just that people use different words for the same thing? Personally, I think that noodles are thinner and more curvy than pasta, and spaghetti is pasta simply because the Italians made it.90.230.80.104 (talk) 20:22, 11 September 2008 (UTC)

From the way I see it, all pastas are noodles but not all noodles are pastas? --Philip Laurence (talk) 00:24, 14 February 2009 (UTC)

Most pastas (but not bowtie pasta or lasagna, e.g.) are noodles but many noodles aren't pastas.116.231.247.249 (talk) 04:17, 9 August 2013 (UTC)

I think the word "noodle", at least in American English, is more commonly used to refer to something that has a long stringy shape that can wind around a fork. Couscous, for example, is pasta, but I NEVER hear it called "noodles". 12.31.187.178 (talk) 22:00, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

4

The article says "In American English, noodles is a generic term for unleavened dough made from many types of ingredients." So what are noodles in other varieties of English? Wakablogger2 (talk) 22:35, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

In British English, noodles refer to asian noodles, and pasta refers to "noodles" made in the Italian style. It would be extremely unusual to describe pasta as noodles in British English. 2.25.14.7 (talk) 23:23, 20 November 2011 (UTC)

Would you happen to have a reliable source for your statement? Otherwise we cannot implement it into the article as it would be wp:OR, meaning your personal opinion on it.TMCk (talk) 01:50, 21 November 2011 (UTC)

TMCk, the Encyclopaedia Britannica makes a clear distinction between pasta and noodles along the British lines. BBC Food organises noodles as a subsection of pasta, and Macmillan Dictionary classes noodles as a type of pasta. While you call for reliable sources, there is no reference to a reliable source anywhere which describes pasta as a subset of noodles on this page. But because that's American usage, it's considered correct without citations. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 188.221.99.110 (talk) 13:22, 14 July 2012 (UTC)

Even in American English, spaghetti are usually called pasta; they just also happen to be noodles. (And that's true in British English as well, per the dictionaries above.) At the same time, noodles are not a "generic term for unleavened dough": it has to be formed into strips or strings of some sort. Matzo balls or crackers are not noodles in any sense.116.231.247.249 (talk) 04:17, 9 August 2013 (UTC)

italy=pasta and asia=noodles is the common usage in the Scandinavian countries too. alfi — Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.49.214.23 (talk) 15:43, 1 July 2012 (UTC)

5

There's a great state of confusion here. Let's make it clear that Noodle has nothing to do with Pasta. Pasta is Pasta and Noodle is an English word used by Anglo-saxon speakers to name the chinese pasta. You can't call pasta as noodle because they are two completely different things. Pasta is every product made from Flour that is cooked in the italian style period. Noodle is every other product that is not made on the italian style way. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.35.59.181 (talk) 12:43, 18 February 2012 (UTC)

Nope, sounds like you got it mixed up. "Noodle" is now an English word used by English speakers to describe every noodle out there, including pasta. "Pasta" is an Italian noodle that comes in lots of different shapes and sizes. Boneyard90 (talk) 14:24, 18 February 2012 (UTC)

That's American English only, but good job being patronising. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.18.206.201 (talk) 01:14, 22 April 2012 (UTC)

Boneyard90 is wrong. Alfi — Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.49.214.23 (talk) 15:45, 1 July 2012 (UTC)

Looks like we have more opinions than we do sources. Boneyard90 (talk) 20:33, 13 February 2013 (UTC)

Nah. Look at the first sentence of pasta or wikt:noodle. You could multiply out the dictionary links, but forgive me for going the easy route and just linking to google queries for define:pasta and define:noodle. In short, noodle refers to a shape and pasta to a locale, so that they are mostly (but not completely) overlapping ideas related to cooking unleavened dough in easily-consumed portions. Most forms of pasta are noodles (and should be mentioned here), but lasagna and bowtie pasta aren't.116.231.247.249 (talk) 04:05, 9 August 2013 (UTC)

I could go along with that. Boneyard90 (talk) 16:33, 9 August 2013 (UTC)

History

Inventors

You cant say, that Italian people claim to have invented noodles! They only claim, that they have taken over this tradition from Etruscans and Greeks. Its also wrong to say, the Chinese can claim for this invention, because at that time there was no such thing as "China" in any form. The people of the Quijia-Culture are also believed to be under the first groups in this region to have produced bronce, wich came relatively late to Asia from the West. So maybe the art of making noodles came alongside with the art of making bronce, or maybe it didnt. Nationalism and cuisine sucks anyway. -- 62.178.137.216 21:16, 5 November 2005 (UTC)

Mention may be made of Marco Polo who brought spaghetti back to Italy from China. The Travels of Marco Polo supposedly backs this up and I will download from Gutenberg to investigate. At the very least it is a common legend among the Italian people.

He couldn't have brought back "spaghetti" from China. They created their own versions of noodles from the Chinese ones. 66.91.211.32 09:09, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

Where is the evidence for the Marco Polo connection??? Gotofritz (talk) 20:50, 13 September 2011 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure they claim the invention of noodles, since the Italians were at the height of European civilization. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.38.205.160 (talk) 23:18, August 25, 2007 (UTC)

In case this discussion is still of interest, there is a good article on this on Itriya was also known by the Aramaic speakers under the persian sphere and during the islamic rule referred to small soup noodle prepared by twisting bits of kneaded dough into shape. . It explains why the theory of Marco Polo bringing Pasta to Italy from China is not logical. --CuriousHypatia 22:28, 15 August 2012 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Curioushypatia (talk • contribs)

The origin of noodles is uncertain, and has been alternatively attributed to people of Arabian, Mediterranean or East Asian origin. But it is clear that noodles were not invented in People's Republic of China, as the article now implies. If at all, they were invented by people who lived in an area that is today part of this country, which came to existence only in 1949.TippTopp (talk)

Old noodles

I don't think this quote is correct: "The 4,000-year-old noodles appear to have been made from noodles and broomcorn millet." Shouldn't it read, "The 4,000-year-old noodles appear to have been made from broomcorn millet."? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.188.210.43 (talk) 05:13, 2 January 2009 (UTC)

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/10/1012_051012_chinese_noodles.html — Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.109.82.120 (talk) 10:02, 12 October 2011 (UTC)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4335160.stm

http://www.livescience.com/402-world-oldest-noodles-alter-view-ancient-diet.html

http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-5894174-7.html — Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.109.82.120 (talk) 10:05, 12 October 2011 (UTC)

Types of noodle dishes

I went along with this subheading. There was not a basic or simple noodle. There are so many ways to make them. I would like to see less pasta examples and more diverse cultural examples of the used of unleavened dough that are called noodles in english. Thinking about linking and the category(s) or template around noodle. Another day. --Rcollman 13:00, 26 August 2007 (UTC)

I think its wrong to omit Italian noodles since they have been influential in creating many of the varieties mentioned in this article. They are also responsible for other types not mentioned in this article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.124.162.54 (talk) 09:23, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

Acorn noodle?

Is the "acorn noodle" really made with marmalade?? Mbuyum (talk) 22:12, 19 December 2008 (UTC)

Vandalism

This page is constantly being vandalised = are there any steps we can take on Wikipedia to protect it? Kunchan (talk) 17:44, 18 November 2007 (UTC)

There are but I wouldn't say there has been a sufficient abuse of editing priviledges to warrant a lock RaseaC (talk) 17:04, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

Production methods

I was hoping to find information on how to make noodles. Evidently there is a pulling method, hinted at in the description of lamian. Is that the same as stretching? Other aspects of production perhaps include mixing, kneading and hanging, though I'm just guessing. Wakablogger2 (talk) 22:38, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

Here are some links to production equipment and steps: [[1]] Taiwan LIH Tay, [[2]] Dashanjiang Machine Works, [[3]] Nanjing City Yangzi Grain and Oil Food Processing Machinery. Wakablogger2 (talk) 23:01, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

What makes noodles noodles and not bread.

Why do noodles retain form while soup turns bread and crackers to mush?

If you have the time.

Thanks for the article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.210.155.182 (talk) 00:33, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

Great question. Wish I could answer with more authority on the subject, but here's how I understand it: noodles are unleavened dough; bread and crackers are both leavened with yeast (cracker dough gets an extra step before baking, see Saltine cracker), therefore bread and crackers are porous, so liquids can infiltrate the soft portion of the bread/cracker, further breaking down the structural integrity. Unleavened breads are not porous; ever eat soup in one of those bread-bowls at Panera deli? Unleavened bread: it resists a soaking. Boneyard90 (talk) 14:18, 1 March 2012 (UTC)

Egg Noodles

"Egg noodles" redirects to this article, and there is even a picture of egg noodles shown, but no mention of them in the article text. I was searching for egg noodles, wondering what they were actually made of and why there were commonly called "egg noodles", and found no answers on wikipedia. siafu (talk) 19:16, 13 February 2013 (UTC)

This, exactly. Did someone misedit the article or something?116.231.247.249 (talk) 03:56, 9 August 2013 (UTC)

me too, got here via search for "egg noodles". I think this wikipedia entry spends too much energy on where a particular noodle 'dialect' originates from and too little on what's in them. Not one note of (I assume jewish?) egg noodles in the whole article but buckwheat soba and whole wheat udon get a mention. 24.177.200.27 (talk) 06:58, 22 October 2013 (UTC)

{{Noodle}} navbox

Merge request here. Templates {{Pasta}} and {{Chinese noodles}} have been proposed to be merged into {{Noodle}}. --Cold Season (talk) 05:09, 23 September 2013 (UTC)

Itriya

Balashon - Hebrew Language Detective: itriya. It's sort of like a pasta, but here's the etymology. Komitsuki (talk) 06:15, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

Grammar

There's something wrong here. The first two words of this article are "Noodle are". The plural of noodle is noodles. It should be either "Noodle is" or "Noodles are".86.138.212.131 (talk) 11:37, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

 Done - Boneyard90 (talk) 13:01, 22 June 2015 (UTC)