For Gary about fusilli

Yes fusilli can be long and then they look like thick curled spaghetti or short .... but the short are sometimes called also eliche as they look more like long boat propellers than short fusilli. The short ones can also have an hole inside (I never use this ones).

From the web of my favorite pasta brand (Pasta Garofalo), here is the long ones

[img]http://www.pastagarofalo.it/img/pasta_it/fusillilunghi.jpg[/img]

and the short ones

[img]http://www.pastagarofalo.it/img/pasta_it/fusilli.jpg[/img]

Ciao

Francesco

[Jenise]

Hmmm....the bottom picture is more what I'd call rotini. If that's fusili instead, what is rotini?

I was thinking the same thing Jenise...the bottom pic is definitely rotini here in the US. Our fusilli looks like the top pic except is just shorter.

like this:

[img]http://www.hormel.com/images/glossary/p/pasta_fusilli_bucati.jpg[/img]

I wonder if my Mother-in-law (who is a Brit) has been talking about rotini this whole time when she speaks of fusilli....hmmmm.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rotini is a type of pasta, related to Fusilli, but with a tighter spiral.

The name derives from the Italian for twists.

Rotini originate from Northern Italy and the tight twists help them retain a wide variety of sauces better. They are often used in pasta salads with pesto or tomato based sauces.

Grazie, Francesco! But where I grew up we only had the long fusilli. No one would even think that there were short ones. I'm in the same boat as Maria. Live and learn though. So I guess there are two valid pasta types, i.e. rotini and short cut fusilli.

The Ronzoni website indicates this difference: Cut Fusilli

[Jenise]

I was thinking the same thing Jenise...the bottom pic is definitely rotini here in the US. Our fusilli looks like the top pic except is just shorter.

like this:

[img]http://www.hormel.com/images/glossary/p/pasta_fusilli_bucati.jpg[/img]

I wonder if my Mother-in-law (who is a Brit) has been talking about rotini this whole time when she speaks of fusilli....hmmmm.

Maria, I've seen both long and short fusilli, though the long are uncommon except among lesser-known import brands (the ones you don't usually find in the grocery store). I think the material difference between fusilli and rotini is what Francesco pointed out about hollow tube vs. solid noodle. The fusilli I've bought (long or short) has always been hollow-tubed. The rotini, of course, is not a tube at all.

Maria, I've seen both long and short fusilli, though the long are uncommon ...

And maybe that's difference between growing up on the Left Coast and the Right Coast or perhaps growing up anywhere but NJ. Before I came to CA, I lived in NJ, VT, and TX as well as Germany, France, and Italy. The very first time I ever saw short cut fusilli was here in CA. To be honest, I thought it was a bad joke. Had I not switched coasts, my impression would be diametrically opposed to yours. Live and learn!!!!

Can't be an NJ thing Gary because I have never seen long fusilli...only the short cut ones (with the holes). I have never bought, nor been served long fusilli. And you and I grew up just a few towns away!

I will have to ask my parents what they think fusilli is...it was never served in our house. We ate quite a bit of ziti and rotini though. I only bought fusilli a few times in my life as an adult. Interesting!

I'm with you on this one, Gary. The fusilli out here are mostly long. I never did get the knack of rolling them out using the long side of a coat hanger like my Nana could do. They looked like this and were typically around 6-10" long.

And you and I grew up just a few towns away!

Yes, Maria, but you need to remember exactly how um... mature our Gary is!

In Italy rotini does not exists ...

I best use all the photos to explain how we would call the pasta in Italy ... and mind that names are changed for export (I discovered it myself now than I live abroad).

1) The real thing .... but normally we call them fusilli al ferro since they are made by rolling a stripe of pasta dought with a squared thick wire. It is the grandma's pasta and it is really nice. Best is made at home and it takes time to make. I make it seldom.



2) We all agree this is the long fusilli. Good. It is true that we tend to call these ones fusilli.

[img]http://www.pastagarofalo.it/img/pasta_it/fusillilunghi.jpg[/img]

3) Short fusilli or Eliche. I guess you call them rotini. In Italy they are called also fusilli or short fusilli. The most used variety actually!

[img]http://www.pastagarofalo.it/img/pasta_it/fusilli.jpg[/img]


4) This is an interesting one .... fusilli bucati. Well, this oen exists for pracical reason since in the old days we would just break the long ones to get to this shape. In fact, I never buy this one and I rarely see it on the shelves since I simply buy the long and break them.

[img]http://www.hormel.com/images/glossary/p/pasta_fusilli_bucati.jpg[/img]

It is really a pity names are changed when exported. I cannot imagine what woudl happen if we would start talking about all the shapes called penne (there are many!).

Well, hope this info helps ... ciao

[Robin Garr]

4) This is an interesting one .... fusilli bucati.

Just to complicate things a little more, Francesco (arriving late in this thread)< this shape is sold in the U.S. by Barilla as "<b>Fusilli bucati corti.</b>"

As others have pointed out, I think, Rotini are solid, like a wood screw; fusilli (long or cut) are an open helix like a corkscrew.

So last night I asked my husband (he is from the UK) about pasta shapes in the UK. I showed him a box of rotini and covered up the name...I then asked him what shape this pasta is called and he said "fusilli". So I guess it's only here in the US that the name is changed to rotini.

I am so glad that there was this post because my Mother-in-law talks about fusilli often, and all this time I thought she was talking about fusilli bucati!

This is for US only I learnt from the site of Pasta Garofalo (fantastic pasta!). In general in Italy we call fusilli what you call rotini. The fusilli bucati corti are not much used since not very handy to eat since they cannot be rolled like the long ones.

So, if an Italian calls for fusilli ... use rotini instead!

Here is an example also from the barilla site (but italian version) for a nice fusilli recipe (just look at the photo):

http://it.primopiatto.barilla.com/lacucinaitaliana/lericettebarilla/htm/ric4_IT.htm

Gosh! I did not expect all this differences when I answered to Gary's question from my blog!

Ciao

PS: Anybody has seen radiatori in US as a shape?

I would weigh in by agreeing that both rotelle and rotini are Americanizations.

When we spoke of fusilli we spoke of the long fusilli, and Maria, I'm surprised you didn't find it in Jersey - well selling brands like DeCecco and La Molisana featured it.

Fusilli wasn't a cut we used much, in any case, so it was actually a treat if my Mom made it.

And yes, Francisco, I've seen (and I sell) radiatore - it's mostly used out here in CA for pasta salads.

Try and use radiatore instead of rotini .... very nice!

Ciao

When we spoke of fusilli we spoke of the long fusilli, and Maria, I'm surprised you didn't find it in Jersey - well selling brands like DeCecco and La Molisana featured it.

John,

I am sure that I can get the long version at the grocery store...but I never had it served to me. I know when I have bought fusilli pasta salad at stores and delis (both in NJ, Boston, and Chicago), it was made with fusilli bucati. But we definitely carry a lot of imported pastas, so I am sure we have it...now I will have to look for it...LOL! I have bought DeCecco brand pastas, but not their fusilli.

All 4 of my grandparents were from Italy and they always made homemade pasta, but it was either, ravioli, cavatelli, or gnocci. If they served dried pasta it was spaghetti, linguini or ziti.

So I went the local grocery store to see what they had in way of fusilli. I saw no commercial brands that listed fusilli (ie, Ronzoni, Barilla). Barilla had a fusilli bucati corti shape but it was called "Cellentani". Ronzoni and Barilla both had Rotini.

The imported brands all had Rotini shaped pasta but it was called fusilli. Only one brand, Trinio (I think), had the long fusilli, and it was called "Long Fusilli". The De Cecco did not have any long fusilli.

Ronzoni used to make the long fusilli but now on their website they only list cut fusilli.

Probably broken pieces of true fusilli

What is Ronzoni?

What is Ronzoni?

"Ronzoni sono buoni means Ronzoni is so good," is their slogan. Ronzoni was a large, local pasta manufacturer in the NY/NJ area who was then bought out by a larger company and hence lost its local color. I know because the larger company was a customer of mine.

In general, Francesco, it is interesting to see how local customs, region, and age demographic influences what we know and how we name things. I've lived in Europe and the U.S. and one thing that has taught me is to shut up and listen because 10 different people with 10 different viewpoints can all be right from their own particular perspective.

[Robin Garr]

Aha! Now that I'm home, I can contribute to this thread! I bought some fusilli just recently, and it was much harder to find it than I thought it would be.

Background: Mary loves fusilli bucati corti, which is only available from Barilla around here as far as I know. (John T can probably confirm this, but I *think* Barilla, although an Italian company, produces vast quantities of pasta at plants in the U.S. It's pretty good pasta, though.)

She didn't know that fusilli was a long pasta until I mentioned it in passing, whereupon it became my assignment to find some. It turns out that it's available here but not common: I could find it only at one store, Lotsa Pasta, a great food-specialty shop which, as the name implies, has a huge selection of pasta. They turned out to have exactly one brand, and it's Italian: Divella, made by F. Divella S.p.A. in Rutigliano (BA). Where's BA? Bari in Puglia? There's a Website on the cello package:
http://www.divella.it

Anyway, the shape designation on the package is Fusilli col Buco 83, and Mary is delighted with it even though the shape isn't quite identical to fusilli bucati corti - the helix is pulled out more, like a corkscrew; the cut version is tight like a spring.

It's a good shape, though. I love bucatini (especially in all'Amatriciana), and this is close enough to suit, and it goes especially well with the small shreds of meat in Tuscan ragu.

[Robin Garr]

Here's something curious ... when you go to the Divella Website and look around, it turns out that the shape they call "fusilli" on the Italian-only Website is a short pasta similar to our rotini but more stretched out. I couldn't find a fusilli col buco on the Italian site in a quick skim, although I may have missed it. Maybe they make it for the American market?

No, wait, found it! It's under <I>spacialita di semola</i>:
Fusilli col buco

It's a good site, by the way ... even if you only have food-and-wine Italian, you can probably work through the pasta shapes and recipes sections. I'm getting hungry for pasta for breakfast!

I *think* Barilla, although an Italian company, produces vast quantities of pasta at plants in the U.S. It's pretty good pasta, though.

FWIW, all the packages in my cupboard say "Product of USA." Good stuff, especially at the on-sale price.