Fat, pearly, almost round, short-grained risotto rice from Piedmont and the Po valley in northern Italy. Short-grained rice originated in Japan, while long-grained rice varieties originated in India. It is graded as superfino and can absorb a great deal of the cooking liquid without becoming too soft. This is because it is high in amylopectin, the starch that dissolves on cooking. At the same time it is low in amylose, the firm, internal starch. The rice grains are said to absorb as much as five times their volume of liquid during cooking. Arborio is a cross between Vialone and an American strain, Lady Wright.
"Noah's ark." A small shellfish or clam, so-called because the shell is said to resemble Noah's Ark. It is usually eaten raw, when it is quite tough and chewy, or cooked like mussels and included in pasta dishes.
Another name for fusilli, corkscrews, or spiral-shaped pasta. This name comes from Archimedes' screw.
A name in Sicily for a peperoncino, a small red hot chilli from the south of Italy and used much in its cuisine. It is grown in huge quantities in Basilicata, the Marche and Calabria
