Pasta Tense

We have an Italian shop near us that carries a huge number of dry pastas, many of which I had never heard of. I came across this site that shows 84 different types and thought it might be of interest.

https://springfeeling.com/blog/different-types-of-pasta-the-complete-guide

Worth a look, if, like me, you don't know your Sagnarelli from your Fagottini or Bavette.

And cascatelli, the first new pasta shape in many years.

[Jenise]

Bill, I've bought or had most of those pasta shapes at some point in my life. When I was a child, a favorite kiddie food my mom would make was rotelle cooked in milk and butter--but we called them 'wagon wheels'. Mafaldine was called 'tracks'--in fact, I still see that today sometimes. I've never had Paccheri, though I would be all over them if I found them, as I have a fondness for thick tubes. What they call 'Anelli' is only familiar to most of us as Chef Boy-Ar-Dee Spaghetti-O's!

I used rotini in last night's chicken braised in broth with leeks and carrots. Orzo is traditional for that dish but rotini is a better shape for Bob since he now has Parkinsons-caused dexterity issues. Easy to nab with a fork, but comfortably short enough for eating with a spoon especially if there's broth involved. He used both.

Speaking of which the photo shown for rigatoni is somewhat in error--it's identical to what they also show as tortiglioni, with ridges that are slightly twisted in direction though they can be forgiven as that's pretty much what the Barelli brand sells as rigatoni. The thicker/wider straight-ridged rigatoni produced by others, like Di Cecco, is closer to what I understand to be the ideal. (And what I prefer, because you can slide your entire fork inside the tube and pick it up without poking it.)

I also think this page is slightly deficient in referring to spaghetti as one type, where in fact there is/was a numbering system differentiating the various thicknesses possible. My mom was very particular about buying No. 9, aka 'Thin Spaghetti'. Most brands today don't bother with the numbers but the Ronzoni brand of my childhood did. Regular spaghetti was thicker.

I'm reminded, looking at the pictures, that I have been meaning to try Pici. It was brought to my attention by a friend of a friend, she buys hers on Amazon for like $18/bag. IT'S NOT CHEAP. But she swears by it as the best pasta of all. (Interesting factoid: this woman was David Letterman's original partner/producer on his late night show and known to be a great cook. She now lives in the Seattle area.)

I go crazy buying different shapes at Bosa.

I think Ronzoni #9 spaghetti is also known as spaghettini. Unfortunately each producer has their own numbering system. There is no standard.

-Paul W.