Lasagna – A Sleep-Inducing Exploration

Tonight, let’s drift off to sleep with a soothing exploration of lasagna. This beloved layered pasta dish has a rich history, from its ancient origins to its modern variations enjoyed worldwide. Whether you prefer a classic Italian recipe or a cheesy American twist, this episode will lull you into relaxation with all the delicious details—minus the calories. So, tuck in, unwind, and let the gentle narration guide you to restful slumber.

Transcript

Welcome to the I Can't Sleep Podcast,

Where I read random articles from across the web to bore you to sleep with my soothing voice.

I'm your host,

Benjamin Boster.

And today's episode is going to be an attempt at working on my Italian to describe articles about lasagna that include different parts of the lasagna,

Beginning with the pasta itself,

The ragu,

The bechamel sauce,

Ricotta,

Mozzarella,

And parmesan.

Lasagna,

Also known as lasagne,

Is a type of pasta,

Possibly one of the oldest types,

Made in very wide,

Flat sheets.

In Italian cuisine,

It is made of stacked layers of pasta alternating with fillings,

Such as ragu,

Ground meats and tomato sauce,

Bechamel sauce,

Vegetables,

Cheeses,

Which may include ricotta,

Mozzarella,

And parmesan,

And seasonings and spices.

The dish may be topped with grated cheese,

Which melts during baking.

Typically cooked pasta is assembled with other ingredients and then baked in an oven,

Al forno.

The resulting baked pasta is cut into single-serving,

Square or rectangular portions.

In ancient Rome,

There was a dish similar to a traditional lasagna,

Called lasagna or lasanum,

Latin for container or pot,

Described in the book Dei Re Coquinaria by Marcus Gavius Apicius,

But the word could have a more ancient origin.

The first theory is that lasagna comes from Greek laganon,

A flat sheet of pasta dough cut into strips.

The word lagana is still used in Greek to mean a flat,

Thin type of unleavened bread baked for the clean Monday holiday.

Another theory is that the word lasagna comes from the Greek lazana or lazanon,

Meaning trivet,

Stand for a pot,

Or chamber pot.

The Romans borrowed the word as lazanum,

Meaning cooking pot.

The Italians used the word to refer to the cookware in which lasagna is made.

Later,

The food took on the name of the serving dish.

Another proposed link or reference is the 14th century English dish Lausanne,

As described in The Form of Curry,

A cookbook prepared by the chief master cooks of King Richard II,

Which included English recipes as well as dishes influenced by Spanish,

French,

Italian and Arab cuisines.

This dish has similarities to modern lasagna in both its recipes,

Which features a layering of ingredients between pasta sheets and its name.

An important difference is the lack of tomatoes,

Which did not arrive in Europe until after Columbus reached the Americas in 1492.

The earliest discussion of a tomato in European literature appeared in a herbal written in 1544 by Pietro Andrea Mattioli,

While the earliest cookbook found with tomato recipes was published in Naples in 1692,

But the author had obtained these recipes from Spanish sources.

As with most other types of pasta,

The Italian word is a plural form,

Lasagne meaning more than one sheet of lasagna,

Although in many other languages,

A derivative of the singular word lasagna is used for the popular baked pasta dish.

When referring to the baked dish,

Regional usage in Italy favors the plural form lasagne in the north of the country and the singular lasagna in the south.

The former plural usage has influenced the usual spelling found in British English,

While the southern Italian singular usage has influenced the spelling often used in American English.

Both lasagna and lasagne are used as singular non-count,

Uncountable nouns in English.

Lasagna originated in Italy during the Middle Ages.

The oldest transcribed text about lasagna appears in 1282 in the Memoriale Bolognese,

In which lasagna was mentioned in a poem transcribed by a Bolognese notary,

While the first recorded recipe was set down in the early 14th century in the Liber de Cochina,

The Book of Cookery.

It bore only a slight resemblance to the later traditional form of lasagna,

Featuring a fermented dough flattened into thin sheets,

Boiled,

Sprinkled with cheese and spices,

And then eaten with a small pointed stick.

Recipes written in the century following the Liber de Cochina recommended boiling the pasta in chicken broth and dressing it with cheese and chicken fat.

In a recipe adapted for the Lenten fast,

Walnuts were recommended.

VARIATIONS PASTA Mass-produced lasagne with a ruffled edge is called lasagna riccia,

Doppio festone,

Ghiabò,

And schiavolo.

In the Veneto,

Factory-produced lasagne are called bardelle or lasagnoni,

Narrower lasagne or mezze lasagne,

And if with a ruffled edge,

Mezze lasagna ricche.

Similar pastas are the narrower lasagnette,

And its longer cousin the lasagnotte,

Capellacci in Liguria,

As well as the sagnae of Salento,

The heel of the Italian boot,

And lagana in the remainder of Apulia.

DISH The lasagna of Naples,

Lasagna di Carnevale,

Is layered with local sausage,

Small fried meatballs,

Hard-boiled eggs,

Ricotta and mozzarella cheeses,

And sauced with Neapolitan ragù,

A meat sauce.

Lasagna al forno,

Layered with a thicker ragù and bechamel sauce,

And corresponding to the most common version of the dish outside Italy,

Is traditionally associated with the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.

Here,

And especially in its capital Bologna,

Layers of lasagna are traditionally green,

The colors obtained by mixing spinach or other vegetables into the dough,

And served with ragù,

A thick sauce made with onions,

Carrots,

Celery,

Finely ground pork and beef,

Butter,

And tomatoes,

Bechamel sauce,

And parmesan cheese.

In other regions,

Lasagna can be made with various combinations of ricotta or mozzarella,

Tomato sauce,

Meats,

Such as ground beef,

Pork,

Veal,

Or chicken,

And vegetables such as spinach,

Zucchini,

Olives,

And mushrooms,

And the dish is typically flavored with wine,

Garlic,

Onion,

And oregano.

In all cases,

The lasagna are baked,

Or in Italian,

Al forno.

Traditionally,

Pasta dough prepared in southern Italy used semolina and water.

In the northern regions,

Where semolina was not available,

Flour and eggs were used.

In modern Italy,

Since the only type of wheat allowed for commercially sold pasta is durum wheat,

Industrial lasagna are made from durum wheat semolina.

Nonetheless,

In the north,

And especially in Emilia-Romagna,

The tradition of egg-based dough remains popular for artisanal and homemade productions.

In Italian cuisine,

Ragù is a meat sauce that is commonly served with pasta.

An Italian gastronomic society,

Accademia Italiana della Cucina,

Documented several ragù recipes.

The recipe's common characteristics are the presence of meat and the fact that all are sauces for pasta.

The most typical is ragù alla bolognese,

Bolognese sauce made with minced beef.

Other types are ragù alla napoletana,

Neapolitan ragù,

Made with a variety of pork and beef meats,

Which may include sausage.

Ragù alla barese,

Ragù from Bari,

Sometimes made with horse meat,

Ragù alla veneta,

Ragù from Veneto,

A traditionally tomato-less duck ragù,

And so on.

In northern Italian regions,

Ragù typically uses minced,

Chopped,

Or ground meat cooked with sautéed vegetables in a liquid,

Which traditionally included liquidized tomatoes,

But also exist in tomato-less versions referred to as ragù in bianco,

White ragù.

The meats may include one or more of beef,

Chicken,

Pork,

Duck,

Goose,

Lamb,

Mutton,

Veal,

Or game,

Including their offal.

The liquids can be broth,

Stock,

Water,

Wine,

Milk,

Cream,

Or tomato,

Often in combination.

If tomatoes are included,

They are typically limited relative to the meat,

Making it a meat stew rather than a tomato sauce with added meat.

In southern Italian regions,

Ragù is often prepared from substantial quantities of large,

Whole cuts of beef and pork,

And sometimes regional sausages cooked with vegetables and tomatoes.

After a long braise or simmer,

The meats are removed and may be served as a separate course without pasta.

Examples of these dishes are ragù alla Napoletana and carne al ragù.

The term comes from the French ragout,

Spelled R-A-G-O-U-T,

And reached the Emilia-Romagna region in the late 18th century,

Perhaps following Napoleon's 1796 invasion and occupation of those northern regions.

The first ragù as a sauce,

Ragù per i macaroni,

Was recorded by Alberto Avizi,

The cook to the Cardinal of Imola.

At the time,

Macaroni was a general term for pasta,

Both dried and fresh.

The recipe was replicated and published as Il ragù del Cardinale,

The Cardinal's Ragout.

Avizi was inspired by the famous French ragout,

Which became popular in Italy when Napoleon's soldiers brought it during their invasion in 1796.

Wealthy and aristocratic Italians were fascinated by French culture and food,

So they happily embraced the opportunity to include classic French dishes such as ragout in their culinary traditions.

After the early 1830s,

Recipes for ragout appeared frequently in cookbooks from the Emilia-Romagna region.

By the late 19th century,

The cost of meat saw the use of heavy meat sauces on pasta reserved to feast days and Sundays,

And only among the wealthier classes of the newly unified Italy.

Independent search by Caspar and Davide indicates that,

While ragout with pasta gained popularity through the 19th century,

It was largely eaten by the wealthy.

However,

Technological advances that came with the Industrial Revolution at the end of the 19th century made pasta flour more affordable for the less affluent.

The adoption of pasta by the common classes further expanded in the period of economic prosperity that followed World War II.

According to Davide,

Before World War II,

80% of the Italian rural population ate a Pasta was reserved for special feast days and was then often served in a legume soup.

Bechamel sauce is one of the mother sauces of French cuisine made from a white roux,

Butter and flour,

And milk,

Seasoned with ground nutmeg.

There are many legends regarding the origin of bechamel sauce.

For example,

It is widely repeated in Italy that the sauce has been created in Tuscany under the name Salsa Cola and brought to France with Castor and de' Medici,

But this is an invented story,

And archival research has shown that in the list of service people who had dealt with Castor and de' Medici since her arrival in France and until her death,

There were absolutely no Italian chefs.

Both the bechamel recipe and its name have been adopted,

Even adapted,

In many languages and culinary traditions.

Bechamel,

Although not with this name,

Was already described in Italian texts of the Renaissance.

In particular,

In the Book of Cuisine of the Fourteenth Century by Anonimo Toscano,

The recipe for a dish called Bianco Mangiare is cited.

The Fourteenth Century recipe required sifting the rice flour,

Then diluting it with goats,

Sheeps,

Or almond milk,

And finally boiling it in a pan.

To this sauce was then added a finely chopped chicken breast,

White lard,

Sugar,

And almonds.

Bechamel can be used as the base for many other sauces,

Such as Mornay,

Which is bechamel with cheese.

In Greek cuisine,

Bechamel is often enriched with egg.

Bechamel is used in dishes such as the Italian lasagna al forno and cannellones,

Catalan,

Castilian,

Cannellones,

A Catalan version of Italian cannelloni.

It was introduced to Greek cuisine by the chef Nicolaus Zalamentis in the 1930s,

Notably in moussaka and pastizio.

The Carolean-finished sepati is smoked,

Cubed,

And sautéed pork belly in white sauce base,

And cannemuna castica is boiled and sliced eggs in a white sauce base.

These are typically eaten as main dishes with potatoes.

Ricotta is an Italian whey cheese made from sheep,

Cow,

Goat,

Or Italian water buffalo milk whey left over from the production of other cheeses.

Like other whey cheeses,

It is made by coagulating the proteins that remain after the casing has been used to make cheese,

Notably albumin and globulin.

Ricotta,

Literally recooked or refined protein,

Can be harvested if the whey is first allowed to become more acidic by additional fermentation by letting it sit for 12-24 hours at room temperature.

Then the acidified whey is heated to near boiling.

The combination of low pH and high temperature denatures the protein and causes it to flocculate,

Forming a fine curd.

Once cooled,

It is separated by passing the liquid through a fine cloth,

Leaving the curd behind.

Ricotta curds are creamy white in appearance and slightly sweet in taste.

The fat content varies depending on the milk used.

In this form,

It is somewhat similar to texture to some fresh cheese variants,

Though considerably lighter.

It is highly perishable.

However,

Ricotta is also made in aged varieties,

Which are preservable for much longer.

The production of ricotta in the Italian peninsula dates back to the Bronze Age.

In the 2nd millennium BC,

Ceramic vessels called milk boilers started to appear frequently and were apparently unique to the peninsula.

These were designed to boil milk at high temperatures and prevent the milk from boiling over.

The fresh acid-coagulated cheeses produced with these boilers were probably made with whole milk.

The production of rennet-coagulated cheese,

Though,

Overtook the production of fresh whole milk cheeses during the 1st millennium BC.

Bronze cheese graters found in the graves of the Etruscan elite proved that hard-grating cheeses were popular with the aristocracy.

Cheese graters were also commonly used in ancient Roman kitchens.

Unlike the fresh acid-coagulated cheese,

Aged rennet-coagulated cheese could be preserved for much longer.

The increased production of rennet-coagulated cheese led to a large supply of sweet whey as a byproduct.

Cheese makers then started using a new recipe,

Which used a mixture of whey and milk to make the traditional ricotta as it is known today.

Mozzarella is a semi-soft,

Non-aged cheese prepared using the pasta felata,

Stretched curd method,

With origins from southern Italy.

It is prepared with cow's milk or buffalo milk,

Taking the following names.

Fresh mozzarella is white,

But the occasional yellow or brown color of mozzarella comes from the enzyme R110.

Due to its high moisture content,

It is traditionally served the day after it is made,

But can be kept in brine for up to a week or longer when sold in vacuum-sealed packages.

Fresh mozzarella can be heard to make a distinct squeaky sound when it is chewed or rubbed.

Low-moisture mozzarella can be kept refrigerated for up to a month,

Although some shredded low-moisture mozzarella is sold with a shelf life of up to six months.

Mozzarella is used for most types of pizza and several pasta dishes or served with sliced tomatoes and basil in caprese salads.

Mozzarella,

Derived from the southern Italian dialects spoken in Apulia,

Calabria,

Campania,

Abruzzo,

Molise,

Basilicata,

Lazio,

And Marche,

Is the diminutive form of mozza,

Cut,

Or mozzare,

To cut off,

Derived from the method of working.

The term is first mentioned in 1570,

Cited in a cookbook by Bartolomeo Scappi,

Reading,

Milk cream,

Fresh butter,

Ricotta cheese,

Fresh mozzarella,

And milk.

An earlier reference of Monsignor Alecandri is also often cited as describing mozzarella,

Which states that in the 12th century,

The monastery of San Lorenzo in Capo Campania,

Alecandri offered pilgrims a piece of bread with mozza.

Fresh mozzarella,

Recognized as a traditional specialty guaranteed TSG since 1996 in the European Union,

Is available usually rolled into a ball of 80 to 100 grams,

Or about 6 cm in diameter,

And sometimes up to 1 kg or about 12 cm in diameter.

It is soaked in salt water,

Brine,

Or whey.

If citric acid is added and it is partly dried,

Desiccated,

Its structure becomes more compact.

In this last form,

It is often used to prepare dishes cooked in the oven,

Such as lasagna and pizza.

Parmigiano,

Italian parmigiano-reggiano,

Is an Italian hard granular cheese produced from cow's milk and aged at least 12 months,

Or,

Outside the European Union and Lisbon Agreement countries,

A locally produced imitation.

Parmigiano-reggiano is named after two of the areas which produce it,

The Italian provinces of Parma and Reggio Emilia.

Parmigiano is the Italian adjective for the city and province of Parma,

And reggiano is the adjective for the province of Reggio Emilia.

It is also produced in the part of Bologna west of the River Reno,

And in Modena,

All of the above being located in the Emilia-Romagna region,

As well as in the part of Mantua,

Lombardy,

On the south bank of the River Po.

The names parmigiano-reggiano and parmesan are protected designations of origin PDO for cheeses produced in these provinces under Italian and European law.

Outside the EU,

The name parmesan is legally used for similar cheeses,

With only the full Italian name unambiguously referred to PDO parmigiano-reggiano.

It has been called the king of cheeses and practically perfect food.

Parmigiano-reggiano is made from unpasteurized cow's milk.

The whole milk of the morning milking is mixed with the naturally skimmed milk of the previous evening's milking,

Resulting in a part-skim mixture.

This mixture is pumped into copper-lined vats,

Which heat evenly and contribute copper ions to the mixture.

Starter whey containing a mixture of certain thermophilic lactic acid bacteria is added,

And the temperature is raised to 33-35 degrees Celsius.

Calf rennet is added,

And the mixture is left to curdle for 10-12 minutes.

The curd is then broken up mechanically into small pieces around the size of rice grains.

The temperature is then raised to 55 degrees Celsius with careful control by the cheesemaker.

The curd is left to settle for 45-60 minutes.

The compacted curd is collected in a piece of muslin before being divided in two and placed in molds.

There are 1,

100 liters of milk per vat,

Producing two cheeses each.

The curd making up each wheel at this point weighs around 45 kilograms.

The remaining whey in the vat was traditionally used to feed the pigs from which prosciutto di Parma was produced.

The barns for these animals were usually just a few meters away from the cheese production rooms.

The cheese is put into a stainless steel round form that is pulled tight with a spring-powered buckle,

So the cheese retains its wheel shape.

After a day or two,

The buckle is released,

And a plastic belt imprinted numerous times with the Parmigiano-Reggiano name,

The plant's number,

And month and year of production is put around the cheese,

And the metal form is buckled tight again.

The imprints take hold on the rind of the cheese in about a day,

And the wheel is then put into a brine bath to absorb salt for 20-25 days.

After brining,

The wheels are then transferred to the aging rooms in the plant for 12 months.

Each cheese is placed on wooden shelves that can be 24 cheeses high by 90 cheeses long,

Or 2,

160 total wheels per aisle.

Each cheese and the shelf underneath it is then cleaned every 7 days,

And the cheese is turned.

At 12 months,

The Consortio del Formaggio Parmigiano-Reggiano inspects every wheel.

The cheese is tested by a master grater who taps each wheel to identify undesirable cracks and voids within the wheel.

Wheels that pass the test are then heat-branded on the rind with the Consortio's logo.

Those that do not pass the test used to have their rinds marked with lines or crosses all the way around to inform consumers that they are not getting top-quality Parmigiano-Reggiano.

More recent practices simply have these lesser rinds stripped of all markings.

Traditionally,

Cows are fed only on grass or hay,

Producing grass-fed milk.

Only natural whey culture is allowed as a starter together with calf rennet.

The only additive allowed is salt,

Which the cheese absorbs while being submerged for 20 days in brine tanks saturated to near total salinity with Mediterranean sea salt.

The product is aged a minimum of one year and an average of two years.

An expert from the Consortio typically conducts a sound test with a hammer to determine if a wheel has finished maturing.

The cheese is produced daily and it can show a natural variability.

True Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese has a sharp,

Complex,

Fruity,

Nutty taste with a strong,

Savory flavor and a slightly gritty texture.

Inferior versions can impart a bitter taste.

A typical Parmigiano-Reggiano wheel is about 18-24 cm high,

40-45 cm in diameter and weighs 38 kg or 84 lbs.

All producers of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese belong to the Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano-Reggiano literally Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese Consortium,

Which was founded in 1928.

Besides setting and enforcing the standards for the PDO,

The Consorzio also sponsors marketing activities.

As of 2017,

About 3.

6 million wheels of Parmesan are produced every year.

They use about 18% of all the milk produced in Italy.

Most workers in the Italian dairy industry,

Bergamini,

Belong to the Italian General Confederation of Labour.

As older dairy workers retire,

Younger Italians have tended to work in factories or offices.

Immigrants have filled that role.

In 2015,

60% of the workers in the Parmesan industry were immigrants from India,

Almost all Sikhs.

Parmigiano-Reggiano is commonly grated over pasta dishes,

Stirred into soups and risottos,

And eaten on its own.

It is often shaved or grated over other dishes such as salads.

The cheese's natural yellow hue,

A visual hallmark of its authenticity,

Adds an inviting vibrancy to these dishes.

This rich color,

Derived from the carotenoids in the milk of grass-fed cows,

Also deepens with age,

Symbolizing the careful maturation process that defines Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Slivers and chunks of the hardest parts of a crust,

Also called the rind,

Are sometimes simmered in soups,

Broths,

And sauces to add flavor.

They can also be broiled and eaten as a snack,

If they have no wax on them,

Or infused in olive oil or used in a steamer basket while steaming vegetables.

According to legend,

Parmigiano-Reggiano was created in the course of the Middle Ages in the Comune municipality of Bibiano,

In the province of Reggio Emilia.

Its production soon spread to the Parma and Modena areas.

Historical documents show that in the 13th and 14th centuries,

Parmigiano was already very similar to that produced today,

Which suggests its origins can be traced to far earlier.

Some evidence suggests that the name was used for Parmesan cheese in Italy and France in the 17th to 19th century.

It was praised as early as 1348 in the writings of Boccaccio,

In the Decameron he invents a mountain all of grated Parmesan cheese,

On which dwell folk that do not else but make macaroni and ravioli,

And boil them in Capon's broth,

And then throw them down to be scrambled for,

And hard by flows of rivulet of vernazza,

The best that ever was drunk,

And never a drop of water therein.

During the great fire of London of 1666,

Samuel Pepys buried his Parmesan cheese as well as his wine and a few other things to preserve them.

In the memoirs of Giacomo Casanova,

He remarks that the name Parmesan was a misnomer common throughout an ungrateful Europe in his time,

Mid-18th century,

As the cheese was produced in the Comune municipality of Lodi,

In Lombardy,

Not Parma.

Though Casanova knew his table and claimed in his memoir to have been compiling a never-completed dictionary of cheeses,

His comment has been taken to refer,

Mistakenly,

To a Grana cheese similar to Parmigiano,

Grana Padano,

Which is produced in the Lodi area.

October 27th is designated Parmigiano-Reggiano Day by the Consortium of Parmigiano-Reggiano.

This day celebrating the King of Cheeses originated in response to the two earthquakes hitting the area of origin in May 2012.

The devastation was profound,

Displacing tens of thousands of residents,

Collapsing factories,

And damaging historical churches,

Bell towers,

And other landmarks.

Years of cheese production were lost during the disaster,

About $50 million worth.

In order to assist the cheese producers,

Modena native chef Massimo Battura created the recipe Riso Cacio e Pepe.

He invited the world to cook this new dish along with him,

Launching Parmigiano-Reggiano Day,

October 27th.

Reviews

I've listened to this one on a few different nights and haven't got to the end of it yet 😴

I want to listen again because I fell asleep so soon.

Lucky thing I had linguine for dinner, so I wasn’t hungry, otherwise this one might’ve been hard to listen to. 😋😋😋Still managed to be put to sleep 😴😴😴Thanks Ben.

I do love me some lasagna! And I woke up hungry….🙄😂😂😂