What is Pasta?
Pasta is a type of noodle typically made from an unleavened dough of durum wheat flour mixed with water or eggs and formed into sheets or various shapes
Pasta is a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine, with the first reference dating to 1154 in Sicily.
What is Pasta Made From?
Pasta is made from durum wheat semolina or all-purpose flour mixed with water, which is then kneaded and formed into various shapes.
Sometimes pasta may contain other ingredients such as the flour of certain other grains, eggs, or vegetables.
These ingredients can be mixed to form the dough before it is dried, like in the case of egg pasta, or they can be added as a filling, in the case of filled pasta like ravioli.
2 Categories of Pasta:
Fresh Pasta: Fettuccine, Pappardelle, Lasagna skin, Ravioli, Tortellini, etc.
Dried Pasta: Spaghetti, Penne, Rigatoni, Linguine, Orecchiette, Fusilli, Orzo, etc.
6 Shapes of Pasta Categories
Unique Shapes
- Fusilli, Farfalle, Gemelli, Orecchiette, Gnocchi, Lumache, Creste Di Gallo, Radiatori, Strozzapreti, Rotelle, etc.
Tubular Shapes
- Tubular pasta is any pasta that is hollow through the center, forming a tube.
- They are available in many different sizes and shapes. Some tubes are long and narrow while others are short and wide.
- Bucatini, Maccheroni, Penne, Rigatoni, Ziti, Cannolicchi, Cannelloni, Canneroni, Garganelli, Tortiglioni, Paccheri, Manicotti, etc.
Strand Shapes
- Pasta strands are long rods of pasta, which are generally round, but they are available in a square rod also.
- Spaghetti, Spaghettini (thin spaghetti), Fusili lunghi, Fedelini, Vermicelli, Capellini, Angel hair, Ciriole, Barbina, etc.
Ribbon Shapes
- Ribbon pasta, which is flat strands of pasta, is available in different lengths, widths, and thicknesses.
- Fettuccine, Fettuce, Bavette, Bavettine, Lasagne, Lagsagnette, Linguine, Pappardelle, Tagliatelle, Taglierini, Mafaldine, Riccia, etc.
Micro Shapes
- Micro pasta are really small pieces / grains of pasta.
- Orzo, Anelli, Risi, Stelle, Israeli Couscous, Conchigliette, Funghini, Stortini, Pearl pasta, etc.
Stuffed Shapes
- Stuffed pasta consists of fresh pasta sheets that are stuffed with a filling. After the filling has been added, the pasta sheets are folded over and sealed, or another sheet is placed on top and the edges are sealed. Some sheets are folded over the filling and then twisted to form special shapes.
- Stuffed pasta is formed from sheets of different shapes, such as squares, rectangles, and triangles.
- Agnolotti, Cappelletti, Mezzaluna, Pansotti, Ravioli, Ravioloni, Ravioletti, Manti, Tortellini, Tortelloni, etc.
