Different kinds of Pasta and Food Fun Quiz

Pastas have fascinated me. Though they are all made basically from the same dough, they have different names based on their shapes just like our dosa, uthappam, idly etc. There are so many types but let me tell you the well known categories. They are categorised 7 ways:

• long extruded noodles:

Spaghetti, Spaghettini(thin spaghetti), Vermicilli, Bucatini(hollow spaghetti), Fusili(coiled rod shaped), Pici(very thick, long hand rolled) belong in this variety.

• ribbon cut noodles:

Fettucine(broader approx 6.5 mm wide), Lasagne(wide noodles with fluted edges), Linguine(flattened spaghetti), Stringozzi(like shoelaces) fall under this one.

• short-cut extruded pasta: Calamarata(wide ring shaped pasta), Cannelloni(large stuffable tubes), Gomito(bent tubes), Manicotti(large stuffable ridged tubes), Macaroni, Penne(hollow ridged tube of medium length cut diagonally at both ends), Penne rigate(penne with ridged edges), rigatoni(large and slightly curved tube), Ziti(long narrow hose-like tubes) are together under this group.

• decorative shapes:

Conchiglie(seashell shaped), Croxetti(flat coin-shaped discs with coat of arms stamped), Farfalle(bowtie shaped), Fiori(flower shaped), Radiatore(radiator shaped), Rotelle(wagon wheel shaped), Rotini(spiral shaped) are some which stick together.

• minute pasta:

Alfabeto(pasta shaped as alphabets), couscous(grain like pasta), Fregula(bead like), Orzo(rice-shaped), Risi(smaller version of orzo), stelle(star shaped) fit together.

• stuffed pasta:

Cannelloni(rolls of pasta stuffed), ravioli(stuffed square shaped), Tortelloni(stuffed round or retangular shaped), Tortellini(ring shaped) are those that flock together under the stuffed category.

• irregular shapes:

Gnocchi(round shaped made with flour and potatoes), Spatzle(German pasta round shaped) can be found together.

So many shapes, so many names. One thing is for sure: Italians loved their pasta. They named them like we would name our kids.

For more fun, take a little test that we came across by clicking Pasta F(P)un. Food is Fun.