Half a Century of Recipe Books

Formidable means of communication that speak to families and that contribute to the affirmation of trends, to the strengthening of habits and to the knowledge of products in a rapid and almost "random" way, recipe books are a true object of collection in all families and real enrichment of personal culinary culture ever since. The credit of having contributed to broadening the knowledge of regional cuisines and to spreading the appreciation of our cuisine in the world for some years now must be given to them, together with the various cookbooks and specialized magazines.

Tastes and trends in the field of nutrition are constantly evolving; recipe books and food publications were and still are chroniclers and witnesses to that.
The leader of pasta must be a master of cooking, and since the ‘60s Barilla has been distributing recipe books for pasta, and surprising, refined pasta recipes find space in the contemporary advertising communication in the periodicals. The collaboration with the Italian Academy of Cuisine is important in this regard.

In these same years the Barilla Cuisine Service makes available The Recipes for cooking pasta to their consumers, first in the edition of forty dishes and then, in 1964, in the richest collection of sixty preparations.

These are classic recipes of cooked pasta and pasta in broth with a chapter dedicated to the choice of wine and other useful news. The amounts of ingredients per recipe are in line with daily habits. 500 grams of dry pasta for four servings are recommended with the seasoning proportionally adequate.

The following recipe books, Le Idee Barilla – still in different editions of 50 (1969) and 120 (1971) preparations – collect the dishes generously presented in the back of the packages by Marina de Roberti, illustrated by effective photos and completed by simple instructions. Properly cut out from the cardboard of pasta packages, these cards used to be collected by consumers and then became a convenient, appreciated manual by popular demand. They keep the same quantities per portion as the previous ones, but already present photos of dishes with a more refined slant.

The choice of recipes and the range of ingredients is wider. Recipes for pizzas, tips for using rusks and breadsticks, recipes for desserts and subdivision of recipes according to the preparation time start appearing in those recipe books. For spaghetti with smashed tomatoes just 10 minutes, Vermicellini pasta “alla Scarpara” (Vernazza style) need 40 minutes while Tagliatelle Maragià take more than 90.

Meanwhile, some overseas trends are landing in Italy: the American Dr. Hauser imposes raw and unprocessed foods: wheat germ, bran, pasta and wholemeal bread. The Japanese Georges Ohsawa - doctor and philosopher - emphasizes macrobiotic cuisine, with the obligation to know how to classify every food as yin or yang.
In line with the times, Barilla publishes 'Only in this way is nature... treat it well to have the best.' Among the topics the battle against sophistication and cholesterol, nature in the kitchen, the cold seen as a friend and cooking to feed better.

Other fashions reach restaurants: after the period of Emilian and Tuscan cuisine, the nouvelle cuisine soars.
In the early Nineties Barilla uses the Food Pyramid of the Human Nutrition Information Service of the United States Department of Agriculture as a reference for their communication. Recipe books, whether they are aimed at housewives or athletes, contain all the necessary nutritional information. The intake of proteins, carbohydrates and fats is always properly balanced.

Another evolution takes place in the kitchens of restaurants and in household habits. Maximum care in choosing the products, which are fresh and purchased at the market based on what the territory offers and according to the season. Forgotten ingredients are rediscovered: they are recovered and enhanced.

Barilla communication adapts: the recipe books have elegant graphics, exhaustive information, the focus is on the quality of the products and for all tastes. They are signature recipes developed in collaboration with the best Italian chefs, with the main specialized magazines and exclusively for Barilla formats.

Some titles of the new recipes: Pasta: Classic and creative recipes, Delicious pasta, Barilla recipes: every day the pleasure of quality, The pleasure of Tradition, Great Pleasures to Discover, Le Emiliane, to rank first at the table, Put the Pleasure on the table, Me and pasta, Fantasy and Tradition, ... Among the proposals La Pasta alla Norma, which is side by side with the round butterflies pasta in Borlotti bean cream with prawns with the scent of rosemary.

The new course is dictated by a general, greater food culture, conditioned by technological innovations and the increasing influence of ethnic cuisines.
The task of Barilla recipes continues. In step with the times, in the Italian tradition, in all markets and in all languages, in books, on packaging or via the Internet.