How did pasta get so many shapes and names? Italy is the current champion of pasta, but the oldest archaeological finding of pasta was in China with grain that was grown more than 7,000 years ago.
Penne and fusilli can hold more sauces because of their hollow shapes. That makes sense. But then other choices are due to tradition and habits. Wikipedia's display follows the shape and purpose categories. Long-and medium length pasta, short-cut pasta, soup pasta, pasta with filling, and finally gnocchi and gnocchetti.
I have to admit that when I consider pasta, it is all about how much sauce it can hold. And Eataly's website encourages that perception with beautiful pictures of pasta covered in sauce and grated cheese.
Now that we have a Toronto Eataly, we can check out pasta there. The website home page invites us into the story of La Pasta Di Gragnono and its history and traditions. The stories of pasta traditions are charming and interesting - my sense is that one should steep oneself in the history and traditions of Italy's regions, and then pasta will come to life rather than being a selection of shapes and sizes on a shelf.
An entirely different option is to check out the really cute pasta jokes:
What do you call a fake noodle? An impasta!
Did you hear about the Italian chef who died? He pasta way!
Where does pasta go to dance? The meatball!
What’s the dress code at the pasta convention? Bowtie!
My wife thinks I’m an idiot because I’m building my own car out of spaghetti, macaroni and fusilli. She won't be laughing when I drive pasta!
Here are a few pictures from our visit to the Butterfly Conservatory in Niagara Falls.
