Different Pasta types....

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I was recently visiting family for my nephews wedding. We had rented a house, were relaxing after dinner and cocktails when one of those slap-happy conversations started when everyone is really tired but no one wants to go to bed.
Just how many different types of Italian pasta exist?

OK, I'll start.
Angel hair
Linguini
Lasagna
Ravioli

There's 4 for a start. I'm betting we come up with around 120. What do you think?

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@martybarker,

Sure. I see you list them alphabetically, which seems a good idea. There is also the matter that angel hair is capellini in italy.. or.. I need to look it up to double check the spelling.

Being obnoxious, I'd probably put the names in italian and have the english common names in parentheses, at least in the final account.
Complicating things, many other countries have some claim on noodles..

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rotini, fusilli, and farfel (all right, the last is Yiddish, but it's still noodles).

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uh, spaghetti?

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macaroni

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spaghettini (really skinny spaghetti)

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@martybarker,

Not sure if this is memory game type of thing you are after or if you just want the data, so if it's the former I apologize in advance:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pasta

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Fettuccine, Gnocchi, Pappardelle,

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@Robert Gentel,

good start..
Will stare at the list harder tomorrow. Can't immediately find something missing, at least re italian.

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@Robert Gentel,

Robert,

I asked my nephew to google it on his iphone but he didn't come up with the wiki page. I'm going to attach that in an email.

It was so funny because we had no idea where the conversation even got us started on this.

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@martybarker,

I guess the burning question in my mind is, why all the shapes? Is it that ceratin pastas fuse with the sauces best? (Like I love penne with any alfredo sauces like "Carbonara").

Or is it some territorial imperative with these Italians?

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The Cook's Thesaurus gives a comprehensive listing of the basic categories of pasta, their names and images of what it looks like:

http://www.foodsubs.com/Pasta.html

http://www.foodsubs.com/PastaShapes.html

http://www.foodsubs.com/PastaTubes.html

http://www.foodsubs.com/PastaRibbons.html

http://www.foodsubs.com/PastaSoup.html

http://www.foodsubs.com/PastaStuffed.html

http://www.foodsubs.com/PastaRods.html

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@Butrflynet,

Ah, and here are some different ones - I didn't look at all Butrflynet's links, so don't trust me on that - in a new food history book review that includes photos and a recipe..

I didn't know about the coin pastas, very pretty.
So You Think You Know Pasta

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/10/14/dining/14pasta2_650.jpg

Chris Warde-Jones for The New York Times
Pasta made by Oretta Zanini De Vita of Rome

A book I may have to get: Encyclopedia of Pasta by Oretta Zanini de Vita, UC Press -
http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/11106.php

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@ossobuco,

yes but whyyyy all these pasta styles??

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@farmerman,

You were right in your earlier post. Some pastas hold sauce better in their curves. Different textures work better for different results - lasagna sheets are sort of the obvious example.

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@farmerman,

I think the why is somewhat about texture and form, as Beth says (fusilli and such come to mind), and some is down to regional and temporal variations. A single simple dish can vary from village to village, with strong proponents from each place. A certain shape (strozzipreti, for example) could have been - I conjecture - started by one mamma or indeed, one nun, centuries ago. I dunno, I haven't read the book yet, and it is billed as a food history.

An interesting book I read several years ago by Mary Taylor Simeti was about Persephone's Island, Sicily. That got into pastries for different feasts and some of the background for that, if I remember right.

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@ossobuco,

http://www.archimedes-lab.org/pastashape.html

Quote:

Pasta is architecture designed for the taste buds. Every single shape is a brick, different in form, consistency and color, to create an extraordinary construction, both physical and mental, a true expression of taste...

Quote:

In the world of cooking there are around 350 different types of pasta, and probably approximately four times as many names for them. They can be divided into few groups: long shape, flat pasta strands, short shaped and tubular pasta, small pasta for soup, stuffed shape, Asian type. Certain shapes of pasta and sizes are used for specific purposes, while others can be used in several different manners.

this link has some good explanations of the uses of different pastas

http://www.lifeinitaly.com/food/pasta.asp

Quote:

A cousin to spaghetti, angel hair pasta is a thinner and finer, with a limited ability in holding up to thick, heavy sauces. Due to its reduced size, this delicate pasta is typically served with no more than olive oil and fresh herbs

Quote:

Fettuccine holds its shape beautifully under heavy meat or cream-based sauces.

Quote:

As the hollow fusilli cooks, the shape of the pasta expands to large than when dry and uncooked.

Quote:

Orecchiette, "Small ears"

In a shape of a small ear. The most famous are from Bari, it is a coarse surfice pasta that absorbs better the sauce.

Quote:

Most penne pasta is cut on the bias and contains ridges believed by many to aid in the adherence of sauces to the pasta.

there was an article in Cousin Martha's mag a decade or so back that went through this in some detail

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@farmerman,

even CNN has a good resource page on pasta shapes and their various uses

http://www.cnn.com/FOOD/resources/food.for.thought/grains/pasta.chart.html

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@ehBeth,

http://www.archimedes-lab.org/pastashape.html

Quote:

Pasta is architecture designed for the taste buds. Every single shape is a brick, different in form, consistency and color, to create an extraordinary construction, both physical and mental, a true expression of taste...

Sorry, but that one made me roll my eyes. How many people in history who have made their own pasta have thought these sentences? They're making food, not planning an extraordinary construction. Yes, it works out that way, sometimes, but what a pile of palaver. Just like architecture palaver.

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Different Pasta types....

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