Why are there so many shapes of pasta? If you’ve ever wondered into the Italian isle at your local grocery store, you may have found yourself staring, bewildered by the seemingly endless array of pasta options. Which one to choose? And where did they all come from?

Shapes of Pasta

Seriously. The shapes of pasta are endless and can fall into a plethora of categories. Ranging from familiar shapes like spaghetti, spaghettini, penne, farfalle, fusilli, linguini, various shell sizes, lasagna, ravioli, tortellini to less known shapes like paparadelle, tagliatelle, anelli, cappelleti and gigli. So what’s the point of having so many shapes? When does a noodle need to differ from another? I’m glad you asked!

One of the major reason there’s so many different shapes of pasta has to do with the way the sauce is held on – or in – the noodle. Like the noodles themselves, some people like lots of sauce while others prefer just a hint. A good way to think about it is, the bigger the pasta, the heartier and heavier a sauce can be; Likewise, the smaller the pasta, the lighter the sauce should be. Tubular pastas or anything with a lot of crevices are especially good at grabbing onto bits of tomato, meat or other flavor enhancers, while smooth pastas benefit from an equally textural sauce like cream based, pureed or olive oil. Relatedly…

Pasta shapes vary – not so simply – because of cultural differences. Or in other words, different strokes for different folks. It’s been said that North Americans prefers more standardized pasta (i.e. the above mentioned “familiar” shapes), while Italians like more unique ones. Though this could largely be attributed to what constitutes pasta in the mainstream food culture. Often in North America, pasta is seen as a quick dinner fix, while in Italy pasta is often made by hand and is a more “slow food” endeavor, garnering more of a pasta experience than simply something to eat.

Innovation. At some point, someone tried something new. Be it with the shapes of pasta, the sauce or serving, someone got creative. Which really, is perhaps the biggest lesson we should remember when it comes to making a pasta dinner – or any dinner! There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to food; There’s only what works and what doesn’t. So while the sauce to pasta ratio has often be deterministic of which sauce goes with which pasta, we should feel excited and empowered to break the rules!

Serve a spaghetti with cream sauce or a paparadelle noodle with olive oil is A-OK by me! Throw in some new flavorings, dare to be different! Who knows, you might just come up with the next greatest flavor or texture innovation in pasta!

Do you cook pasta? Make your own noodles? What’s the best pasta you’ve ever had? The worst? Any pasta cooking tips or tricks? Share your comments below or join us on the Facebook Page!

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