On top of spaghetti , All covered with cheese, I lost my poor meatball, When somebody sneezed.

January 4, 2009 6:44 PM

Looking for a easy to follow chart for pairing of pasta sauces and types/shapes of pasta (preferably a visual guide).

Most of the ones of finding are too general and pasta shapes are usually created with a particular sauce in mind.

posted by MiltonRandKalman to food & drink (5 answers total)

Try this.


Also, this: not a chart, but a short article that should do what you want.
posted by mr_felix_t_cat at 7:03 PM on January 4, 2009

Do you need to be able to print it? I found this, but I'm not sure it will be useful if you want a hard copy.
posted by Evangeline at 7:04 PM on January 4, 2009 [1 favorite]

Thanks! I think Evangeline chart kinda solved it for me. Something to visually link a shape with info. all it would need is a handy sauce key with the picture and I'd be set.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 7:13 PM on January 4, 2009

As a general rule, if you're interested, I think the idea is to pair delicate sizes and shapes with delicate sauces and textures. Like angel hair works with pesto or with light olive oil or butter/garlic. Heavier sauces with meats or sausages work with larger, thicker shapes, like those big tubes of rigatoni. Medium textured sauces, like puttanesca, work with medium sizes/shapes, like mini penne or farfalle (bow ties).

Anyway, that's the way I approach it. But then there's also whether or not they're irritating to eat -- I dislike spaghetti because it's hard to get an amount on my fork that has any good relationship with the size of my mouth. And I don't like shells because they don't spear well unless they're in a macaroni and cheese casserole or something. But mini penne works great for anything.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 5:31 AM on January 5, 2009

As a general rule, if you're interested, I think the idea is to pair delicate sizes and shapes with delicate sauces and textures. Like angel hair works with pesto or with light olive oil or butter/garlic. Heavier sauces with meats or sausages work with larger, thicker shapes, like those big tubes of rigatoni. Medium textured sauces, like puttanesca, work with medium sizes/shapes, like mini penne or farfalle (bow ties).

I've heard this as well. If your sauce is "chunky", you need a pasta shape which can "hold" the "chunks".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:33 AM on January 5, 2009