Types of Pastas

Pasta is a traditional Italian food that is usually made from durum or semolina wheat flour, eggs and water, cut into noodles, boiled and combined with a sauce to be eaten. Pasta noodles can be of various shapes and sizes and can contain various ingredients to give the pasta vibrant colors and flavors. It can be dried or fresh. The dried pasta has a long shelf life and the fresh pasta has a better flavor.

Pasta Shapes

There are thousands of pasta shapes. Noodles can be long and skinny, hollow, flat and wide, short and rice-like, rigged and shaped any way you can imagine. The shape of the pasta corresponds with the sauce it is supposed to be paired with for the optimum amount of sauce to cling to the pasta. Pastas are named for what they look like. Linguine means, "little tongues," in Italian because the rounded flat noodle resembles a tongue. Couscous, a Middle Eastern pasta whose granules are so small it is often mistaken for a grain, is made by rubbing the dough between your hands until tiny balls form. Gnocchi, is not just pasta made with potatoes; it too is named for its shape and means, "lumps," in Italian.

Pasta Flavors

Pasta can come in a variety of flavors and colors. Popular flavors include a green spinach pasta, a red tomato pasta and a black squid ink pasta. Retailers sell dried pasta flavors that run the gamut from spicy jalapeno to wild mushroom. These pastas are made by mixing ground or pureed ingredients into the dough. Pastas can also be supplemented with fresh herbs, chopped fine and mixed directly into the dough.

Non-wheat Pastas

For those with gluten allergies, pasta can be made in any shape with non-wheat ingredients. Buckwheat pasta is a popular gluten-free choice. Pasta can also be made with other grains such as rice and non-grains like quinoa.

Healthy Pastas

Because it is comprised mostly of flour, pasta is high in carbohydrates and has a high glycemic index. Whole wheat pastas, however, are made from whole wheat flour which is ground whole grain containing the bran, endosperm and germ. Whole wheat pastas are higher in fiber as well as containing valuable vitamins and minerals that regular durum or semolina pastas do not.

Filled pastas

In addition to being covered or stewed with a sauce, pastas can be filled with flavorful mixtures and sealed before boiling. The filling usually contains a mixture of ricotta cheese, herbs and other classic Italian ingredients. Contrary to popular belief, ravioli is not the only kind of filled pasta. Like regular pasta, they are named for their shape. Agnolotti is another popular shape of filled pastas as is mezzaluna, meaning "half moon."

Resources

• Pasta Shapes
• Flavored Pasta