What's the best pasta shape?

Ok cool I like triangles doesn't take away from the point about culinary science behind the shapes. Like genuinely we are not beating the accusations when it comes to food with threads like this.

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CareerMilk@reddit

Even on the most simplistic level your favourite pasta shape may be influenced by how it functions.

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bcitrus@reddit

The only correct answer to this question. Case closed.

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hopium_od@reddit

Right, but it's a UK subreddit and a question about food so of course we will get downvoted despite the fact that we are talking culinary sense.

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HarryPopperSC@reddit

Italians would cringe at me... rigatoni bolognese, rigatoni carbonara... You know... the better pasta dishes.

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Business-Major-3226@reddit

So wrong. Conchiglie is the best pasta shape hands down as long as you know how to cook it properly

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AudioLlama@reddit

Paccheri is fucking belta. It's like massive rigatoni

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Thi13een@reddit

Fuckin rights. Only uncovered the delights of paccheri recently myself. It’s the very best of

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willard_price@reddit

You never really see paccheri in the UK, yet nearly every restaurant in Italy seems to serve at least one dish with it.

Paccheri seems to be like an Italian footballer in that it seems great in its own country but doesn't seem to do well when transferred abroad.

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Don_Alosi@reddit

Schiaffoni (or paccheri) with seafood - Italian recipes by GialloZafferano

you have good taste, hope you like seafood too!

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flat7moomin@reddit

I may still be in my child like era, but fusilli, surely! Lots of twisty room for the sauce to stick to :D

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RathVelus@reddit

Much of the top comments feature spiral shapes under different names. Fusilli, spiralli, rotini (what we call it here).

Spiral. We want the spiral.

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imtheorangeycenter@reddit

I can never get the core cooked beyond pre-pre-pre-al dente without the fins turning to mush:(

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glyn1997@reddit

Bring the water to a boil first, then add your pasta to the pan

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MrsCosmopilite@reddit

Gigli (campanelle). Fancy frilly cone things, they’re lovely and excellent for sauce containing.

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fozziwoo@reddit

yes! this is the best, hands down my favourite, and they're so pretty

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fozziwoo@reddit

yeah! i love the massive pastas, massive fusilli was good too

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Scared_Spinach8853@reddit

Why would you ask this? There is enough conflict in the world we don't need the pasta wars too

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WeeklyThroat6648@reddit

Strozzapretti. Priest stranglers. Love that word.

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JedAndWhite@reddit

Macaroni.

Or

Orrechione, because you can fit an entire meatball inside one

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fiendofecology@reddit

Elbow or straight macaroni? I can never find elbow macaroni anymore and it makes me sad.

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dreamribbons@reddit

Rigatoni, though maybe it's because I come from a penne family and it's just the upgraded version

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Agreed. Anything that's long like spaghetti or tagliatelle etc. Is so awkward to eat idk why people enjoy it. I mean it forces you to eat slower or get it all down your chin and shirt lol. I hate it. Rigatoni is sooooo good.

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PipalaShone@reddit

It's all in the wrist action hun

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bic_lighter@reddit

And you get mini cannoli type bites of pasta and sauce

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BobTheFrog69420@reddit

real

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QuantitySharp2662@reddit

I come from a stubborn auld coo, and she's basically a culinary filistine with how she eats. "I don't like that kind" she says about different shapes of pasta 😂

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BoopingBurrito@reddit

Very much the same. Rigatoni is, for me, like penne but better.

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Fresh2Desh@reddit

Rigatoni Pasta bake is just sublime

Especially the crunchy cheese top layer pieces

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PipalaShone@reddit

I love long pasta - spaghetti not so much, but linguine, tagliatelle, bucatini all good! Pappardeĺe with a ragu sometimes.

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CandieDahling@reddit

Radiatore. Designed by computer to absorb the most sauce with the largest surface area.

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0ttoChriek@reddit

Penne or rigatoni. The easiest pasta to pick up with a fork.

I'll tell you what's the worst - bucatini. Like really inflexible spaghetti that you have to cut into small pieces before you can eat it.

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PipalaShone@reddit

Bucatini is great for a lovely slowcooked ragu - it needs to be thoroughly mixed so it sucks up all of the sauce in the middle and the meat sticks to the exterior. Definitely requires the ragu to be *just right.

You need to get your twirl on, hun!

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RoleMysterious8756@reddit

You’re wrong. Bucatini is the king of the long pasta, spaghetti will forever live in its shadow.

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Mglfll@reddit

This!

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fsuk@reddit

Farfalle (bows) is my preference, thin edges and thick centre.

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surreptitiousglance@reddit

My least favorite! There’s a shape for everyone, though. 🤌🏽🤌🏽

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j__knight638@reddit

I can't disagree more, either edges are over done with the centre cooked, or the edges are cooked with the centre being underdone. Rigatoni all the way, for sauce transfer and how it looks

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Lassitude1001@reddit

You're absolutely right about how the bows cook.

... And yet, for some reason, they're still my favourite. No clue why.

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grokebomb@reddit

I love a farfalle.

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DeliciousUse7585@reddit

Action man bow tie

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Vikingbruv@reddit

Mafaldine. The ribboney-ness of pappardelle, with some added texture for sauce retention. Elite pasta.

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Bitter_Tradition_938@reddit

Best shape for what?! It all depends on the sauce. For example spaghetti are perfect for aglio e oglio, while something like zozonna would require rigatoni.

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LIRFC@reddit

Sorry, but you have all missed the perfection that us the Dinosaur.

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CareerMilk@reddit

I think they call it Dinosauro

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feckarse-drinkgirls@reddit

The one they invented in the 1950's inspired by the shape of an industrial radiator

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5point806g@reddit

With the impossible-to-remember Italian name - Radiatori…

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heliskinki@reddit

Totally depends on the dish.

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hopium_od@reddit

Italians are crying at OPs question. The shapes are to accompany certain dishes based on texture and viscosity, not for OP to pick their favourite.

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Cautious_Frosting_24@reddit

Tortellini.

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sterne83@reddit

trofie, pici, orecchiette and.... since you like conchiglie... we Italians have a smaller version called Gnocchetti Sardi that is generally used for pesto

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Bran04don@reddit

Good old swirls. Cant go wrong. Can come multi coloured too.

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Familiar9709@reddit

Ravioli

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kaest@reddit

Ditalini.

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Constant_Lie_1888@reddit

Gigli

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Visible-Management63@reddit

Orichiette.

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MercuryJellyfish@reddit

Lidl occasionally do fusilli gigante, which as the name suggests is like a huge fusilli, each about three inches long and an inch across. So good for pasta bakes.

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TeamPangloss@reddit

Depends on the sauce. But rigatoni.

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AromaticVacation3077@reddit

Anyone who says anything other than spaghetti is un-British.

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TheViscountRang@reddit

Welp, time to lose what little karma I gained today.

All pasta shapes are exactly the same and are entirely interchangeable

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imtheorangeycenter@reddit

Surely lasagne sheets get an exemption. You can't have a bowl of two sheets tossed with some seafood, tomato and a touch of chilli!

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blarfblarf@reddit

No, it's a pasta shape like any other.

Yes you can.

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TheViscountRang@reddit

I'm not counting lasagne sheets as a pasta 'shape', same with spaghetti or orzo. They're pasta genres.

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-You_Cant_Stop_Me-@reddit

Yeah I'm not fussed, I was low on conchiglie so I did half and half with penne for dinner today.

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BobBobBobBobBobDave@reddit

I am sure a fusilli people will agree with you.

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ApprehensiveRun1382@reddit

Man, how has nobody said Tagliatelle yet?

Am I in the minority here?!

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souffle16@reddit

I was beginning to get worried until you spoke up

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mtmp40k@reddit

Depends what you are making.

Rigatoni is shit for making a lasagna

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AnonymousTimewaster@reddit

Depends what it's with? Generally with nice sauce like Carbonara you want to collect the cheesy goodness so penne is good.

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Odd-Leopard4388@reddit

The twists!

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Angrboda95@reddit

Pappardelle, every day! (They’re all great though, except capellini)

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Fwoggie2@reddit

Dad of a 5yo here. Fusilli is the easiest for her to stab with a fork.

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Robocop-1987@reddit

Penne 🤌🏻

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Footner@reddit

Spirelli

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BlackBacked_Jackal@reddit

Radiatori by Garofalo is the best, short but chunky, gets a good al dente crunch, retains a lot of sauce.

Mafalde for long pasta

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LuDdErS68@reddit

Depends on the sauce!

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nderflow@reddit

It depends on what sauce you're using.

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PetersMapProject@reddit

Spirali

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BeanOnAJourney@reddit

Conchiglie for me, just love the texture across the top of them.

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Joseph_HTMP@reddit

There’s one in the States called cascatelli, that is amazing. It looks like a chunk cut out of an inner tire. My girlfriend always brings me a few boxes of it when she visits.

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ButteredReality@reddit

It depends.

If you're having ragú, then spaghetti is a terrible choice. If you're having aglio e olio, then spaghetti is a fine choice.

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LegalDistribution595@reddit

Penne

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Jonny7421@reddit

It depends what you're having but I agree conchiglie are also my favourite that I use for red sauces.

I love a spaghetti carbonara or Mac n cheese also

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