Pasta is not just a food, it is the way the Italians live. It’s out rightly synonymous with the Italian way of living life and why not? This versatile food item is a pantry staple at not just Italian homes but homes around the world. In fact, it is akin to a religion for most children and teens. While each region has its unique way of pairing and preparing this dish, it is done most simply in Italy. Specifically, pasta is just unleavened dough of durum wheat semolina and water but what makes it so versatile is also its shape, which is a lot to be tamed in numbers. Pasta comes in a surprising number of shapes not easy to remember all. Each Italian region has its own unique shape that spells the story of the era it belongs. Let’s understand the origin of your favourite pasta shapes:
1. Penne The capital of pasta, Campania was the first one to host the first ever pasta machine and four-legged fork. This enabled the production of pasta for masses from Naples and also this unique shape penne. This shape is quite similar to the nib of an old-fashioned pen and thus the name. There are two types of penne available: Rigate and Lisce. Penne Rigate, as the name suggests has a rigged surface i.e. grooves on their surface while the Lisce has a smooth texture. The fact that they are long and tubular with space inside, allows the sauce to get inside its pieces and the rough texture allows the sauce to sit on its surface. Penne is a popular choice among heavy tomato and cream based sauces or for baked pasta dishes.
2. Farfalle Commonly known as bow-tie pasta, this shape similarizes a butterfly and found its origin in the regions of Emilio-Romagna. While its larger shape has the name given as Farfalloni, the smaller shape is called Farfalline. Long pasta sheets are cut into rectangular or oval shapes. The centre is pinched together to imitate the shape of a bow tie and two adjacent sides are trimmed into ruffled edges. This shape makes it most suitable for cream or tomato based sauces. In fact, farfalle is great paired for cold salads.
3. Spaghetti
Spaghetti may have become a household staple throughout the world now but not many know, it originated initially from Naples. A kid’s favourite and adult’s ultimate choice, spaghetti is increasingly produced by pasta suppliers in India like Gustora Foods to meet the ever-increasing demand. These long strands of unleavened durum wheat dough are a great mood up lifter. These thin pasta take about 7-8 minutes to cook and can be paired easily with light, heavy, soupy etc. kind of sauces. Wrap the strands around your fork and let it slide in your throat.
4. Fusilli Long, curly spirals, the word fusilli literally means spindle wherein a spindle rod is rolled over the thin pasta strips to form these spiral shapes. This shape pairs up greatly with creamy sauces or salads where the twisted shape holds more of the dressing for an extra punch of flavour. Interestingly, Gustora’s fusilli is available in a variety of colours. Beetroot or Tomatoes are added for the red colour, spinach for green, saffron for orange etc. for a fancy dinner, try a packet of Gustora’s healthy trio of Fusilli.
5. Amori
Spiral and tubular in appearance, this pasta shape is a modern and fancier version of the ageold macaroni. Inspired by the image of a cock screw, Amori has various names Cavatappi, Spirali, Cellentani etc. With its distinguishing shape, it is able to embrace and capture simply too complex sauces. Pair it with pesto or olive oil or have it the classic way of mac & cheese, this shape is known for its versatility.
6. Conchiglie A perfectly shell-shaped pasta, Conchiglie displays unique features. They have a smooth interior and rugged exterior allowing its inside to be filled with the gravy or sauce while holding the sauce from the surface. This shape ensures that every bite you take is bursting with flavour enriching your dining experience. The best Conchiglie pasta is the one made from durum wheat just like Gustora’s as it holds up well during cooking and baking. Baked Conchiglie pasta dish makes for a perfect dinner main course. In fact, small conchigliette are widely used in soups and salads. Be it the college students or the gourmet food experts, pasta has found its shining presence in everybody’s plate. This ancient Italian dish has left a strong mark on the world map and shall continue to do so. After going through this pasta encyclopaedia, I am tempted enough to try a different shape, are you too?