The system of cooking the pasta in milk is the legacy of the Medieval Times when cooking pasta, prepared only by hand, was a fine dish reserved for those who had many servants. The first macaroni were usually cooked in a rich and fatty broth meat, which in the days of abstinence was replaced by milk or water and butter. Among the most ancient Italian recipe book The Art of Coquinaria Maestro Martino da Como, manuscript of 1450, which contains the first historical recipes for macaroni, here"s one to make vermicelli: Vermicelli - distemper pasta and filial breaking in thin pieces with fingers as a vermicelli, and put it to dry in the sun, and they will survive two or three years. And when you want to cook it do it in meat broth, or chicken fat for one our time. And then do the soup with grated parmesan and spices. If it’s not meat time you can cook it with milk of goat.