Pasta: Does Shape Matter Or Is It All The Same To You?
In my family, we don’t always agree on what to have for dinner. However, if my wife or I put pasta on the table, no one complains. And it doesn’t matter what type of pasta, as long as it isn’t whole wheat or some other alternative pasta. If it’s regular pasta made from durum semolina, everyone is happy. Or are they?
MSN.com recently had a poll about pasta preference. The #1 choice was spaghetti with 45% of the votes. Nothing else came close. Fettuccini was in second place with only a 19% approval rating.
MSN.com Poll: What’s your favorite kind of pasta?
- 45% – Spaghetti
- 19% – Fettuccine
- 11% – Macaroni
- 10% – Rigatoni
- 15% – Other
Maybe the shape of the pasta really does matter. The more I thought about, the more I realized that I have specific pasta preferences depending on the meal. If you’re serving meatballs with pasta, spaghetti is really the best way to go. Rigatoni and meatballs seems wrong. It’s linguine with clam sauce. It’s penne and sausage. It’s fettuccine alfredo.
There are always exceptions to any rule. While most people make mac & cheese with elbow macaroni, that’s a dish that lends itself to a little improvisation. Lately, I’ve been enjoying cavatappi and casarecce, both of which work well in a cheesy pasta dish.
How about you? Do you think all pastas are basically the same or do you only like a specific shape and texture?
