What makes a pasta shape pair with a sauce?
Spaghetti goes well with tomato sauce with ground meat. Fettucini goes well with a creamy sauce. Why? What general principles about the characteristics of the pasta and the sauce make them work well together? When is angel hair superior to spaghetti, and why does macaroni work well with cheese?
This question suggests some related reading; The Geometry of Pasta looks especially interesting. I'm hoping to get science-y answers that will talk about surface area, viscosity, etc.
Best Answer
- Fats adhere to broad or flat areas nicely (fettucini, linguine) and press the creamier sauces against more tongue surface to enhance/emphasize their smoothness
- Pooling sauces needs nested, medium pasta (round or flat) that help to punctuate the sharper and more diverse flavors of a smooth, acidic by alternating between pasta and sauce
- Angel hair and other fine pasta do well with a chunky sauce as it is effective with pick up but doesn't obstruct the sauce's texture once you get it in your mouth
My basis for this is (1) ease and volume of transport, plate to mouth of sauce; as well as (2) how the pasta interacts with the sauce to create mouth feel and churn of sauce against tongue. As for gnocchi and other variously shaped pasta; if it has a cavity, it should have fats, if it has a textured surface acidic sauces will cling nicely.
Obviously, I would shy away from pretending any of these were definitive answers, they are reasoned and seasoned, based on sauce/pasta dynamics and experience preparing them.
- This book has a listing of specific pairings of sauces to pasta.
- This book, upon which Geometry was based, also has a listing of sauces with additional options.
I don't seem to be able to find any good, objective maxims for when to use what; but, considering the variety of pastas and the prolific diversity of sauces (i.e. a different ragu for every house), it seems only appropriate that every person should have an opinion on why a particular sauce works with a particular pasta.
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Quick Answer about "What makes a pasta shape pair with a sauce?"
Serve long, skinny pasta shapes such as spaghetti, linguine, fusilli lunghi, vermicelli with light seafood sauces, cream- or oil-based sauces. Serve long ribbon pasta shapes such as tagliatelle, pappardelle, fettuccine, mafaldine with rich, meaty sauces.Why should pasta shapes be matched with particular sauces?
\u201cIt's important to pair the correct type of noodle with a particular type of sauce so that the sauce can bind to the pasta or allow the pasta to absorb the sauce dependent on its style,\u201d says chef Barry Tonkinson, Director of Culinary Research & Development at the Institute of Culinary Education.What is the best way to match pasta shapes with sauces?
As a general rule, pair the heartier sauces with the wider noodles: Wide ribbons like pappardelle pair well with rich, meaty sauces while the thinner flat noodles, like fettuccine or linguine, are best paired with simple cream sauces like Alfredo or delicate proteins like seafood.What is the purpose of different shaped pasta?
Chefs use different shapes and sizes of pasta for different purposes because certain shapes hold different sauces better than others. Thin pasta, such as angel hair works better with thin oil-based sauce, while thicker sauces work better with thicker, heavier pastas.How does the shape of pasta impact the flavor?
Shape will not affect the taste of pasta. One shape however may be thicker than others, and if not cooked taking that into account, you may have a different taste, but cooked to the same level, no difference.Pasta shapes and their sauces explained
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