Ever since it was discovered that you could press dough through a special mould, or die, full of holes to produce long thin tubes of pasta, spaghetti, that glorious mainstay of Italian food, has travelled the world. Like pizza, however, it hasn’t always been treated with the dignity it deserves. Spaghetti Bolognese, for example, is no more an authentic Italian dish than chicken tikka masala is traditionally Indian – as any Italian will tell you, a heavy Bolognese sauce is better suited to more substantial types of pasta, such as short, tubular penne or flat tagliatelle, which will hold the sauce more effectively.

What is dried spaghetti made from? Real Italian dried pasta must be made from durum wheat flour, which is the hardest variety. Its endosperm breaks into tiny, amber-coloured chips, or semolina, when it is ground. It is high in gluten, which helps the pasta retain its special al dente bite when properly cooked. However, you might find that cheaper spaghetti from other countries includes other flours, and the pasta may be disappointingly flabby.

What else makes a good dried spaghetti? Top quality pasta will usually be more expensive, because it is made from specially grown wheat and dried slowly to retain its flavour and structure. Some spaghetti will look shiny and smooth, the result of the pasta having been extruded through Teflon-coated dies; others will have a rougher surface because the pasta has been formed using traditional bronze dies, which give the coarser texture that makes it more able to hold thicker sauces. The master of Italian food, Giorgio Locatelli of Locanda Locatelli in London, prefers this style of pasta for what he calls “split” sauces, “quite thin and loose, maybe made with oil or fish stock and ingredients that stand out, like prawns and anchovies”, rather than a thick, full-flavoured sauce such as tomato, for which, he says, shiny-surfaced pasta is perfect because “it keeps the tastes and textures of the sauce and pasta distinct”.

What are spaghettoni and spaghettini? Larger and smaller versions of spaghetti. Spaghetti has a diameter of 1.8-2mm – spaghettini is thinner, spaghettoni is bigger.

Should you put olive oil in the cooking water? Most Italians would say no. Locatelli swears he never saw anyone do it in Italy. The secret, he says, is simply plenty of space. Use a big pan and 1 litre of water to 100g pasta, so that the spaghetti can swirl around while it cooks, without sticking (make sure you move it around quickly when it first hits the water).

Readers’ queries

Where can I find good gluten-free sausages?

The Well Hung Meat Company’s organic pure meat, gluten-free range includes its hefty garlicky sausage, chipolatas, breakfast sausage (£9.49 per kg) and pork and apple (0845 2303131; www.wellhungmeat.com ).

If you have a food query, e-mail food.detective@thetimes.co.uk

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