Penne, bucatini, spaghetti, orzo and linguine are just some popular types of pasta. Each one with its own unique shape. I’m sure you’ve tried most of these, and maybe it got you wondering; is the different shape affecting the taste?
Now you might think, “Oh, everyone can agree that they taste the same” or vice versa, but surprisingly, people are pretty split on the subject. There are some things we need to consider.
Different pasta shapes hold different amounts of sauce. This could easily come into effect, more sauce usually means more flavor. But does it make enough of a difference for chefs to consider it? We asked ex-chef Jeff Cunjak about the matter.
“Yes,” said Cunjak, who was a chef for 47 years before becoming a teacher, “the pasta will stick differently to certain shapes than others.”
Although a chef’s opinion is important, so are the restaurant goers’. With that in mind, we asked students their thoughts on the subject.
Zachery Perez, band major, 7, says he eats pasta almost every day, and has tried over a dozen different shapes.
“I don’t think the pastas taste any different, unless it’s different ingredients,” said Perez. His favorite type is Orzo with butter. But when asked if the sauce holding ability comes into effect, he agreed, saying “yeah, because it carries more flavor.”
Bella Kravoski’s favorite pasta is spaghetti.
When asked if pasta shapes taste different, she answered, “Not really, but like it’s fun to eat them with different shapes.”
If the shape is does not alter the taste, then perhaps it is the sauce. Krasovski thinks differently. “I don’t think the sauce really affects the taste, I mean, if you have more sauce, yeah a little, but not really.”
ELA teacher Christine Amico is a bit of a connoisseur, and she likes to make her own pasta.
“It’s not the shape, it’s the type of flour you use,” she explains. “Sometimes when I make pasta I use semolina flour, it all depends on what kind of pasta I’m making, but definitely the taste is in the flour I use.” According to Mrs. Amico, the shape changes the texture of the pasta but not the taste. “I do not like the curly, spiral pasta. I like flat pastas like rigatoni, ziti, or penne.”
When she was asked about the sauce holding ability of the shapes she replied, “So what holds the sauce is the starch on the pasta, so a lot of people rinse their pasta after they drain it. But what’s happening is their rinsing off all the starch. That holds the gravy [sauce] to it. It’s not the shape, it’s not the type of pasta. It’s the starch, so after I drain my pasta I never rinse it.”
In the end, the debate rages on, whether it’s more sauce or different flour it truly is all about personal preferences. So, all you have to do is, “mangiare!” Eat!
