Did you know?
Bologna’s Chamber of Commerce, located inside the Palazzo della Mercanzia, which was once the merchants’ square, guards the traditional recipes of the city, registered with notary deeds (we’re not kidding here).
Among them is a type of pasta that is synonymous with the city: Tagliatella bolognese. Actually, the first official recipe registered with the Chamber of Commerce, on April 16, 1972, was precisely that of the tagliatella.
The recipe for the dough calls for:
(ingredients for four people)
- 400 grams flour
- 4 eggs
- A pinch of salt
- ½ spoon of flour to work the dough
But the official recipe also specifies the width that the authentic tagliatelle should have: 8mm (0.314 inch) when cooked, or the 12,270th part of the height of the Asinelli Tower, a Bologna landmark. How do you get to that measurement? It has to be between 6½ and 7 mm (0.255-0.275 inch) when you cut the dough in strips depending on how hard the dough has turned out.
This measurement has even been reproduced in a golden tagliatella sample
To read more visit: ItalyMagazine.com
