Rice-A-Roni is a pilaf-like boxed food mix that consists of

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

vermicelli Vermicelli (; , , also , ) 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 typically thicker. The term ''vermicelli'' is also used to ...

pasta, and seasonings. To prepare, the rice and pasta are browned in butter, then water and seasonings are added and simmered until absorbed. It is a product of

Quaker Oats Company The Quaker Oats Company, known as Quaker, is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago. It has been owned by PepsiCo since 2001. History Precursor miller companies In the 1850s, Ferdinand Schumacher and Robert Stuart founded oat mills. Sc ...

, a subsidiary of PepsiCo.

History

In 1890, Italian-born immigrant Domenico DeDomenico moved to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, where he established a fresh produce store. A successful businessman, he married Maria Ferrigno from Salerno,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Back home, her family owned a pasta factory, so in 1912 she persuaded him to establish a similar business in the

Mission District The Mission District (Spanish: ''Distrito de la Misión''), commonly known as The Mission (Spanish: ''La Misión''), is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. One of the oldest neighborhoods in San Francisco, the Mission District's name is ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. The enterprise was "

Gragnano Gragnano, a hill town located between a mountain crest and the Amalfi Coast, is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in southern Italy's Campania region, located about southeast of Naples city. Gragnano borders the fo ...

Products, Inc." It delivered

pasta Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Rice flour, or legumes such as beans or lentils, ar ...

to Italian stores and restaurants in the area. DeDomenico's sons, Paskey,

Vince Vince is a given name, it is the anglicisation and shortened form of the name Vincent, as well as a surname. It may refer to: Given name People * Vince Agnew (born 1987), American football player * Vince Cable (born 1943), British politician ...

(1915–2007), Tom, and Anthony, worked with him. In 1934, Paskey changed the name to "Golden Grain Macaroni Company". Tom's wife, Lois, was inspired by the pilaf recipe she received from Armenian immigrant Pailadzo Captanian, to create a dish of rice and macaroni, which she served at a family dinner. 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 The Northwestern United States, also known as the American Northwest or simply the Northwest, is an informal geographic region of the United States. The region consistently includes the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. ...

and went nationwide four years later. Because of its origins, it was called "The San Francisco Treat!". After a trip to Italy in 1964, Vince returned with the idea for "Noodle Roni Parmesano", based on the classic Noodles

Alfredo Alfredo (, ) is a cognate of the Anglo-Saxon name Alfred and a common Italian, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish language personal name. People with the given name include: * Alfredo (born 1946), Brazilian footballer born as Alfredo Mostarda F ...

. As the product line extended with other shapes and sauces it was renamed from Noodle Roni to Pasta Roni in 1995. In 1986,

purchased the Golden Grain Company from the DeDomenico family. In 2001, the Quaker Oats Company was purchased by PepsiCo. American Italian Pasta Company bought the Golden Grain brand in 2003, but the sale did not include Rice-a-Roni, which remained with the Quaker Oats division of PepsiCo. Rice-a-Roni is marketing low-sodium versions of its primary products. The company has marketed a line of products with brown rice.

References

External links

*
Explanation of the name and the slogan "The San Francisco Treat"
at

The Straight Dope "The Straight Dope" was a question-and-answer newspaper column written under the pseudonym Cecil Adams. Contributions were made by multiple authors, and it was illustrated (also pseudonymously) by Slug Signorino. It was first published in 1973 in ...

Consumer Reports
{{PepsiCo Quaker Oats Company brands Products introduced in 1958 Rice dishes Food and drink in the San Francisco Bay Area Mission District, San Francisco Food and drink companies based in California

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links