| THE PASTA PARADE - A Glossary of pastas |
|---|
| NAME | DESCRIPTION
|
| ACINI DI PEPE | Tiny "peppercorn" pastas for any soup; among dozens of tiny soup pastas generally called pastina |
| AGNOLOTTI | "Fat little lambs"--plump semicircular or square ravioli. |
| ALPHABETS | Alphabet soup would be illiterate with tiny pasta letters. |
| ANELLI | Little "rings" for your soup; very tiny rings are called anellini. |
| ANOLINI | Round or ring-shaped ravioli |
| AVE MARIA | Short little tubular beads, shaped like rosary beadsfor soups |
| BEAN THREADS | Also called cellophane noodles or shining noodles. Popular throughout the Orient,
these strands are made from mung beans. In the package, they look like nylon fishing line, but they turn transluscent
and slippery when boiled. They also can be deep-fried |
| BOW TIES | In Italian, called farfallem they come in small, medium and lalrge; in yellow, red and green.
Can be made with eggs or just flour and water. |
| BUCATINI | Thin spaghetti with a hole through the middle; use like spaghetti |
| CANNELLONI | "Large reeds", usually made from 4 to 6 inch pieces of fresh pasta. They're rolled around a filling,
then sauced and baked. |
| CAPELLINI | "Fine hairs" to be used in soup or with sauce. Often sold coiled. Same as fideo or fidelini.
Angel hairs, capelli c'angeli, are even finer. |
| CAPPELLETTI | "Little hats" can be made with fresh dough an stuffed or they can be bought dried. Use like manicotti |
| CHUKA SOBA | Quick-cooking wheat flour strands from Japan are fine and crinkly. Often packaged in instant Oriental soup mixes.
Use in soups or salads. |
| CONCHIGLIE | "Conch shells" (also called maruzze)come in a variety of sizes, from minute shells for soup to giant shells for
stuffing. They can be smooth or ridged. |
| CRESTE DI GALLI | Handsome "cockscombs" can be used in place of medium-size elbow macaroni |
| DITALI RIGATI | Short "thimbles" with ridges; can be sauced, used in salads, or baked. Tiny thimbles are called ditalini |
| EGG ROLLS | Chinese appetizers made from egg roll wrappers rolled cylindrically around a variety of fillings and depp-fried |
| ELBOW MACARONI | Short, curved tubes of pasta, available in many colors and sizes from tiny elbos for soup to 1-inch elbows for casseroles. |
| FETTUCCINE | "Little ribbons" about 1/4-inch to 3/8-inch wide. Often made fresh, but also available dried, straight or in coils.
Interchangeable with tagliatelle |
| FIDEO | Or fidelini (See Capellini) |
| FUNGHINI | Intricate baby-size "mushrooms" for soup |
| FUSILLI | Strands of spaghetti that appear to have been twisted on a spindle. Also called Rotelle. |
| GEMELLI | "Twin" strands of spaghettie about 3 inches long, twisted like embroidery thread. |
| GNOCCHI | Homemade "lumps" look like dumplings; made with mashed potatoes, cornmeal, ricotta cheese, or semolina. |
| KREPLACH | Jewish won ton that can be fried or served in broth |
| LASAGNE | Wide ribbons from 1 to 2 inches wide, with curly edges used in baked dishes |
| LINGUINE | Oval shaped "litle tongues" halfway between a flat ribbon and cylindrical strand; used like spaghetti |
| LUMACHE | "Snails" come in small and medium size; used in salads, baked dishes, and sauced; use like elbow macaroni |
| MACARONI | U.S. pasta industry's generic term for any dried, wheat pasta product; means dried pasta tubes of assorted sizes like elbow macaroni |
MACCHERONI
A LA CHITARRA | Noodles that are made on a noodle-cutting instrument that is strung with wires like a guitar |
| MAFALDI | Long noodles about 3/4 inch wide, rippled on both edges; use like spaghettie or fettuccine |
| MANICOTTI | "Little muffs" are one of the larger tubes of pasta; stuff, sauce and bake them |
| MARGHERITA | Means "daisy" but doesn't look much like flowers; has one curly edge |
| MONTI | Armenian ravioi that look like little boats |
| MOSTACCIOLI | Two-inch long ridged "mustaches" with diagonally cut ends; looks like quilled pens, therefore also called "penne" |
| OCCHI DE LUPO | "Wolf's eyes" are thick 1-1/2 inch long tubes; good with robust sauces |
| ORZO | Tiny rice-shaped pasta for soups; sometimes used in place of riace |
| PANSOTTI | Triangular ravioli popular around Genoa; means "potbellied" |
| PAPPARDELLE | One-inch wide, thin long noodles, often homemade, with pinked edges |
| PATERNOSTER RIGATI | Small ridged pastina for soup, named after beads of the rosary |
| PELMENI | Russian ravioli shaped in half circles; good with sour cream or in soup |
| PENNE | "Quill pens"; see Mostaccioli |
| PERCIATELLE | Fat spaghetti with a hole in the middle. Fun to eat; springs off the fork; use like spaghetti |
| POT STICKER | Chinese turnovers with brown bottoms; made with a variety of fillings. Serve as appetizers or entree |
| RAVIOLI | Square, stuffed pasta, served with sauce or in soup; best when homemade |
| RICCI | Adjective indicating a curled edge on the pasta |
| RICCINI | "Little curls" about 1-1.2 inch long; use like medium-size macaroni |
| RICE STICKS | Brittle strands of rice flour that look like nylon fishing line; from the Orient. Also called mai fun or rice noodles |
| RIGATONI | Large 1-1/2 inch long tubes with ridges; good with assertive chunky sauces |
| ROTELLE | "Little wheels" look more like corkscrews or spirals; also called fusilli; use like medium macaroni |
| RUOTE | "Wheels" that really look like wheels; use like medium macaroni |
| SOBA | Japanese buckwheat noodles; slender strands like spaghetti; used for soup |
| SOMEN | Very thin straight Japanese wheat noodles, used in soups and salads |
| SPAETZLE | Little droplets of egg pasta made by rubbing a thick batter through a colander; popular in central Europe, espeically Germany. |
| SPAGHETTI | "Little strangds" are the best-know pasta, ciming in many sizes |
| SPRING ROLL WRAPPERS | See won on wrappers |
| STELLINI | "Miniature ears", pastina shaped like stars for soup |
| TAGLIATELLE | Means "to cut"; are little cut noodles; interchangeable with fettuccine |
| TORTELLINI | "Little twists" rumored to have been modeled after Venus' navel; filled and sauced or served in soup |
| TRIPOLINI | Named to honor Italy's conquest of Tripoli; 1/2 inch pasta for soups ro salad |
| UDON | Japanese wheat noodles, in various widths, used in soups; found fresh in Oriental groceries |
| VERMICELLI | "Little worms" named for fine strands of spaghetti; come straight or in coils |
| WON TON WRAPPERS | Three-inch squares of dough, stuffed and rolled, then fried; similar to spring rolls and egg rolls |
| ZITI | "Bridegrooms" are medium-large tubular macaroni; use like mostaccioli |