Rice-A-Roni
Encyclopedia
PepsiCo
PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, United States, with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company...
's subsidiary, the Quaker Oats Company. It is a boxed food mix that consists of rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, vermicelli
Vermicelli
Vermicelli is a traditional type of pasta round in section that is thicker than spaghetti.-Vermicelli thickness comparison:In USA, the National Pasta Association, founded in 1904, lists, together with various spelling mistakes, vermicelli as a thinner type of spaghetti.-History in Italy:In...
pasta, and seasonings. To prepare, the rice and pasta are browned in butter, then water and seasonings are added and simmered until absorbed.
History
In 1895, Italian-born immigrant Domenico (a.k.a. Charlie) DeDomenico moved to CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where he set up a fresh produce store. A successful businessman, he married Maria Ferrigno from Salerno
Salerno
Salerno is a city and comune in Campania and is the capital of the province of the same name. It is located on the Gulf of Salerno on the Tyrrhenian Sea....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Back home, her family had owned a pasta factory, so in 1912 she persuaded him to set up a similar business in the Mission District
Mission District, San Francisco, California
The Mission District, also commonly called "The Mission", is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, USA, originally known as "the Mission lands" meaning the lands belonging to the sixth Alta California mission, Mission San Francisco de Asis...
of San Francisco. The enterprise became known as Gragnano Products, Inc. It delivered pasta
Pasta
Pasta is a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine, now of worldwide renown. It takes the form of unleavened dough, made in Italy, mostly of durum wheat , water and sometimes eggs. Pasta comes in a variety of different shapes that serve for both decoration and to act as a carrier for the...
to Italian stores and restaurants in the area.
Domenico's sons, Paskey, Vince
Vincent DeDomenico
Vincent Michael DeDomenico, Sr. was an American entrepreneur, one of the inventors of Rice-A-Roni, and a founder of the Napa Valley Wine Train.-Biography:...
(1915–2007), Tom, and Anthony, worked with him. In 1934, Paskey changed the name to Golden Grain Macaroni Company. Inspired by the pilaf
Pilaf
Pilaf is a dish in which rice is cooked in a seasoned broth . In some cases, the rice may also attain its brown color by being stirred with bits of cooked onion, as well as a large mix of spices...
recipe she learned from Mrs. Pailadzo Captanian
Pailadzo Captanian
Pailadzo Captanian was a survivor of the Armenian Genocide and an author. She is also credited with inspiring the creation of Rice-A-Roni which is based on her own recipe of Armenian pilaf....
, Tom's wife Lois created a dish made up of rice and macaroni, which she served at a family dinner, creating an instant favorite. In 1958, Vince invented Rice-A-Roni by adding a dry chicken soup mix to rice and macaroni. It was introduced in 1958 in the Northwestern United States
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
and went nationwide four years later. Because of its origins, it was called "The San Francisco Treat!" which is a registered trademark.
After a trip to Italy in 1964, Vince returned with the idea for "Noodle Roni Parmesano", based on the classic Noodles Alfredo. As the product line extended with various shapes and sauces it was renamed from Noodle Roni to Pasta Roni in 1995. In 1986 Quaker Oats Company
Quaker Oats Company
The Quaker Oats Company is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago. It has been owned by Pepsico since 2001.-History:Quaker Oats was founded in 1901 by the merger of four oat mills:...
purchased the Golden Grain Company from the DeDomenico family. Since 2001, Rice-a-Roni has been owned by PepsiCo
PepsiCo
PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, United States, with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company...
. American Italian Pasta Company
American Italian Pasta Company
American Italian Pasta Company is a pasta manufacturing company with corporate offices in Kansas City, Missouri and plants in Excelsior Springs, Missouri; Columbia, South Carolina; Tolleson, Arizona and Verolanuova, Italy...
bought the Golden Grain brand in 2003.
Rice-a-Roni is currently marketing low sodium versions of its primary products. The company has also marketed a line of products featuring brown rice.
External links
- Official website
- Birth Of Rice-a-Roni: The Armenian-Italian Treat reported by National Public Radio
- Explanation of the name and the slogan "The San Francisco Treat" at The Straight DopeStraight DopeThe Straight Dope is a popular question-and-answer newspaper column published in the Chicago Reader, syndicated in thirty newspapers in the United States and Canada, as well as being available and archived at the .-Newspapers:...