Vermicelli
Vermicelli is a traditional type of pasta round in section, similar to spaghetti. In English-speaking regions it is usually thinner than spaghetti, while in Italy it is thicker. It is typically made with semolina.
Thickness comparison
As defined in Italy, the diameters of spaghetti-like pasta are:;vermicelli: between, with little variation between different producers.
;spaghetti: between.
;vermicellini: between.
;fedelini: between.
;capellini or capelli d'angelo: between.
In the United States, the National Pasta Association lists vermicelli as a thinner type of spaghetti.
The Code of Federal Regulations of the United States of America defines spaghetti and vermicelli by diameter:
;vermicelli: less than.
;spaghetti: between.
History
In 14th-century Italy, long pasta shapes had varying local names. Barnabas de Reatinis of Reggio notes in his Compendium de naturis et proprietatibus alimentorum that the Tuscan vermicelli are called orati in Bologna, minutelli in Venice, fermentini in Reggio, and pancardelle in Mantua.The first mention of a vermicelli recipe is in the book De arte Coquinaria per vermicelli e maccaroni siciliani, compiled by Martino da Como, unequalled in his field at the time and perhaps the first celebrity chef, who was the chef at the Roman palazzo of the papal chamberlain, the Patriarch of Aquileia. In Martino's Libro de arte coquinaria, there are several recipes for vermicelli, which can last two or three years when dried in the sun.