Different Types of Pastaposted in Pasta, Rice and Grains by Kathy MaisterWhat's with all those pasta shapes? Looking on the shelves of the supermarket, the range of different shapes of pasta can be really overwhelming.
Pasta is one of the most popular foods in the world today. Available in an amazing range of shapes (and even flavors,) it is incredibly versatile and can be served in lots of different ways. For most of us, pasta comes dried and in packets from the supermarket. It is often as good as the fresh kind that you see nowadays in some Italian delicatessens and supermarkets, and dried pasta has always been highly regarded in Italy. A few packets of dried pasta kept in the cupboard can be the basis for a wide range of easy-to-produce meals. Which pasta with which sauce? The best thing about pasta is that there are no hard and fast rules, but a few guidelines for matching your sauce to a particular pasta can be helpful. Long Pastas - like tagliatelle, spaghetti and linguine - needs lots of lubrication, so they work best with olive-oil-based sauces which coat the pasta completely without drowning it. Thicker strands, like fettuccine and tagliatelle, can stand up to cream sauces and ragùs (also known as bolognaise). When cutting vegetables or herbs for long pasta, cut them string-like rather than in cubes to help them blend better.
SpaghettiShaped pastas such as fusilli (twists) and conchiglle (shells) go well with all sort of sauces, but especially those with texture (lumps!). If you think about it those lumps of meat, vegetable, or bean are going to get caught up in the crevices and twists. (Which is a GOOD thing!)
Fusilli
ConchiglietteShort, tubular pastaslike rigatoni, penne or cavatappi go well with sauces that are thick or chunky. Keep the size of the ingredients in mind: tiny macaroni won't hold a chickpea, while rigatoni may feel too large for a simple tomato sauce, where penne would work better. Ridged pastas provide even more texture for sauces to cling to.
Penne
CavatappiThere is really only one type of broad, flat pasta used for baking in the oven (al forno) and that is lasagna. These sheets are designed to be baked between layers of sauce in the oven.
LasagnaIf you want to look at pictures of loads of different sorts of pasta, Archimedes' Laboratory is pretty cool. With over 500 different types of pasta out there, there's loads of fun to be had with this versatile dish. I'll be looking at cooking pasta (take a look at our video to find out how) soon but in the meantime do let me know what your favorite pasta dish is.
If you are new to startcooking, or are a regular visitor here, please consider subscribing for free. 19 commentsmona | posted on Aug 22, 2006 hi shaula, thanks for visiting my site. i wanted to return the nice gesture of you leaving a comment and i love your pasta article. i’m italian but still feel like i know NOTHING about all the pastas. i’ve just added your site as a favorite AND that other page you directed us to with all the pictures. i love it! my favorite is cavatelli. mmmm!! Kathy (Maister) | posted on Aug 23, 2006 Hi Mona, Welcome to startcooking! We get to NYC several times a year. I now know where to look for great restaurants recommendations. Cheers! Sheila Maister | posted on Aug 29, 2006 Hi Kathy Just read the first part of your excellent website – it’s full of good advice! Especially for students And I know whereof I speak there… My favourite pasta dish is from ‘Real Fast Food’ by Nigel Slater, an English food writer. His book has good recipes that take less than 30 minutes. The dish combines penne or any shell-shape pasta with a sauce of chopped olives, anchovies, mushrooms, garlic and parsley. It’s fantastic and EASY. I’ll bring you a copy of Real Fast Food when see you in March. Love Sheila Kathy (Maister) | posted on Sep 2, 2006 Hi (cousin) Shelia! Welcome to my blog! Thanks for jumping in. I love being introduced to new cookbooks. This one sounds like a real find. I love the idea of fast food that actually tastes good and is fast to make. Nothing better than a personal recommendation! Dave | posted on Nov 12, 2007 I like to boil rotini (the corkscrews) for 10 min., drain it, and just give it some butter, pepper, and a can of drained, minced clams. MMMMMM Kathy Maister | posted on Nov 12, 2007 Great idea Dave! It sounds easy and delicious! charlene | posted on Nov 13, 2007 What type of macroni do you use to make macroni pudding? Kathy Maister | posted on Nov 13, 2007 Hi Charlene, I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "macroni pudding"? rochelle | posted on Nov 15, 2007 the name of the pasta is not very clear because u dont know if it the picture above the writting or below the writing Kathy Maister | posted on Nov 15, 2007 Ah! First the picture then name of pasta below the picture. I do see how it can be a bit confusing! Sorry about that! bob | posted on Dec 6, 2007 i like lasagne!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!AND PIEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Kathy Maister | posted on Dec 10, 2007 Hi Bob, I've done a Lasagna (video) and both pumpkin and peacan pie! Enjoy! :) KGWagner | posted on Feb 3, 2008 One of the considerations in picking the appropriate pasta is surface area. For instance, if you're making a pasta salad, chances are the dressing is going to be a bit thin. So, you want a pasta that has a lot of surface area, such as a rotini or fusili. The noodles look small, relative to say lasagne noodles, but all those nooks and crannies add up to a lot of surface which all holds a coating. Another thing to think about is structure and texture. You wouldn't want to build a lasagne out of macaroni noodles. It would be tough to layer, and tough to meter out servings. And if you want something meaty under a bold sauce, the heaviness of a penne or rigatoni is a good choice. Shell noodles are gread in soups, as they carry some soup along with them. The really large ones can be stuffed, as can manicotti, although I've always thought of that kind of thing as a bit pretentious and so should be reserved for showing off <grin> The rest of the fanciful shapes I think are more marketing tricks than anything else. But, a great deal of eating happens with the eyes, so a fancy appearance can be a Good Thing. Mylene Villaluz | posted on Feb 14, 2008 I love to cook pasta, but i really dont know the name of it.. its very thank full for me.. more power cloe | posted on Mar 27, 2008 hi my name is cloe whats your nmae ? Cherize Phillips | posted on Aug 4, 2008 hey... Im doing a school project... we hav to make a dessert out of pasta. so i wanted to make kataifi, but i want to know if pastry is basicly the same as pasta? KGWagner | posted on Aug 4, 2008 At their very roots, pastas, pastries, and breads are all the same thing - flour. The difference is pasta is basically flour and water, pastry is basically flour and fat/oil, and breads/cakes add yeast and sugar to make bubbles so they're fluffy. How they're handled is different, and of course there may be other ingredients. But, for school, they may not be willing to let you split hairs about what something "basically" is. So, for an interesting pasta dessert, how about this Orange Pasta? Kathy Maister | posted on Aug 6, 2008 Cherize, if you Google "dessert pasta" there are about 1/2 million recipes to choose from. I recently saw on the Food Network a recipe for Chocolate Hazelnut Ravioli which looked really great -it was made from won ton skins. KGW's recipe link to Orange Pasta looks terrific! Good Luck with your school project! Post a Comment0 trackbacksTrackback URL:http://startcooking.com/trackback.php?id=45 |
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Pam | posted on Aug 22, 2006
I am learning something new everyday about cooking. How did I ever get along up to now in my kitchen? Love the blog about pasta, one of my favorite foods. Son much information, as you would say Who knew?