Why do some pasta shapes taste so much better than others/
By Wizzywig
@Wizzywig (7847)
March 15, 2010 6:09pm CST
Is there some scientific fact or is it purely a psychological thing? I'm talking about your average supermarket dried pasta not all the fresh varieties which probably have different recipe combinations.
I'm not keen on spaghetti nor fusili nor the big shells.... the tiny shells, bows and spirals just seem to taste so much better. Is it because there is more surface area for the sauce to reach or something like that?
4 people like this
14 responses
@beatrizguiselle (1118)
• Spain
15 Mar 10
I don't think the shape has anything to do with it. Some are made of veggies and other of egg... but shape does nothing to flavor.
2 people like this
@pierone (1894)
• Italy
28 Apr 10
Sorry, I need to disagree with this idea.
The shape of the pasta is really important according to the sauce you use with it.
This because different shapes "keeps" in a different way different souces.
First of all, if you check different kind of pasta, you can see a great difference on the pasta surface. Some are really smooth, others are much more rough.
And shape is important also for how much sauce the pasta keep on it: try to put 100 grams of spaghetti and 100 grams of farfalle (butterflies) in the same quantity of a sauce, expecially if is a cream... you will see the difference. In the dish with the spaghetti, when you finished to eat you will find lot of sauce in the dish, when you will finished your farfalle, there will be pratically no sauce in the dish.
That's why usually for each souce there are few shapes of pasta that are considered the "right ones" for that souce.
Nobody would consider the idea to make the linguine alla matriciana, as well as nobody could imagine to use the bombolotti with a pesto sauce.
At least no italian ;)
@ronaldinu (12422)
• Malta
16 Mar 10
HI Wizzywig , I do think that it has to do with pshycology the way we perceive things. For example I find it quite amusing that some people do not like ravioli but end up eating pastizzi (its pastry with ircotta) the same ingredients as ravioli. Ok the shape is different, ravioli are boiled while pastizzi are baked. But both have the same ingredients.
1 person likes this
@Wizzywig (7847)
•
16 Mar 10
I suppose boiled gives a slightly different tast/texture?? I remember cutting out sandwiches with teddy bear cake cutters for my children when they weren't feeling well - that seemed to make them taste better to them... or maybe they just took some sadistic pleasure in biting his arms and legs off 
luckily, they both turned out ok 
luckily, they both turned out ok 
@BarBaraPrz (45476)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
15 Mar 10
It's probably just psychological, but I do know that whole wheat pasta does tastes different from the regular kind.
1 person likes this
@irishidid (8688)
• United States
16 Mar 10
Funny you should mention that. I hate the shell pasta. I think it's the texture more than anything. My kids prefer the mac and cheese with the shell noodles. They are welcome to them. They taste funny and so does the cheese sauce.
1 person likes this
@haniku17 (112)
•
17 Mar 10
I'm not sure if there's really a scientific reason behind it but I guess it has something to do with preference and the way the pasta has been prepared and cooked. I do love pasta and I'm trying to learn to cook and hopefully I will be able to cook some great pasta too.
1 person likes this
Meanwhile, welcome to myLot. I hope you will enjoy being part of these discussions 
@JoyfulOne (6232)
• United States
16 Mar 10
I've often wondered this exact same thing. While it probably is more psychological than anything else, I seem to notice a difference. Maybe it does have to do with how much sauce touches it? I would much rather eat my spaghetti sauce on elbows or shells than the traditional spaghetti noodles. Same brand, same ingredients, yet I do believe it has a different taste somehow. I notice too with my grandchildren that they don't like the elbows, but will readily eat it if it's bows or wagonwheels or such. It'll be interesting to read others opinions on it lol.
1 person likes this
@irisheyes (4370)
• United States
31 Mar 10
To me, it depends on what you do with the pasta. I think the rotelle tastes best in Pasta Salad. The big shells are the only ones you really can stuff. I'm not crazy about spagetti either and usually use linguini instead. I just don't like angel hair pasta because I can never get the right sauce to coat it but everybody else seems to love it. Heck, I guess it is just psychological.
@hvedra (1619)
•
16 Mar 10
I suspect it is more to do with the surface area or the shape picking up the sauce. I like twists because the sauce seems to get into the spiral. I don't even buy spaghetti any more we just use twists for bolognese - less traumatic trying to eat it too!
@workingmom50 (3091)
• United States
16 Mar 10
I would have to say the thickness and texture. Because basically they do have the same ingredients. Unless you by the vegi kind or something different.
1 person likes this
@natjohn20 (200)
• Philippines
16 Mar 10
I too don't think the shape have to do anything with the taste of the pasta, for me I think of it its more on the person itself have to do anything with it. Some of us has its own different taste and prefers for the pasta for me I think the spiral ones taste better than the wide ones, some people don't like the spirals so its all about the persons prefers. Also the brand has a big impact to the taste also, some brand don't taste good like other good brands even they have the same content to it. ^ ^
@mylila (104)
• Malaysia
26 Apr 10
I think maybe the small size pastas are more chewy than others. And it's very enjoyable to munch on.
