Better Than Spaghetti?

From spiral swirls to long spaghetti strands, there are about 350 different shapes of pasta. All have their uses in different recipes. But does one noodle stand above the rest?

That was a question asked by Dan Pashman. He hosts a food podcast called The Sporkful. In 2018, he began thinking about how noodle shapes affect the way people enjoy different pasta dishes. Some pastas hold sauces well. Others are satisfying to bite into or easy to eat with a fork. “Most pastas do one of these things well,” says Pashman.

But could one pasta do all of these things? To find out, Pashman began a search he called “Mission: ImPASTAble.”

There are about 350 different types of pasta. Noodles come in every shape, from swirls to long strands. All have their uses in different recipes. But does one noodle stand above the rest? 

That was a question Dan Pashman asked. He hosts a food podcast called The Sporkful. He began thinking about noodle shapes in 2018. He wondered if pasta shape affected the way people enjoy different dishes. Some pastas hold sauces well. Others are pleasing to bite. Some are easy to eat with a fork. “Most pastas do one of these things well,” says Pashman. 

But could one pasta do all of these things? Pashman began a search he called “Mission: ImPASTAble” to find out.

First, Pashman studied different noodles. He created criteria, or standards, to judge the noodles by. One was “sauceability,” how well sauce sticks to the pasta. Another was “toothsinkability,” how enjoyable it is to sink your teeth into it. The last was “forkability,” how easy it is to stab a noodle with a fork.

Pashman also thought about the pastas he liked best. He loved the ruffles on lasagna edges and the tube shape of ziti. These features hold sauce and make noodles chewy. Pashman decided to create a shape that combined them. 

Pashman spent weeks sketching pasta designs. He showed his ideas to experts at a company called De Mari Pasta Dies. The company makes metal pasta dies, or molds. Pasta dough is squeezed through the molds to make different shapes.

De Mari told Pashman that his first designs were too complicated. After working for months, Pashman finally had a shape De Mari said might work: a long half-tube with two ruffled edges. De Mari got to work creating the die.

First, Pashman studied different noodles. He created criteria. He judged noodles using these standards. One was “sauceability.” It was how well sauce sticks to the pasta. Another was “toothsinkability.” It was how pleasing pasta is to bite into. The last was “forkability.” It was how easy pasta is to pick up with a fork.

Pashman also thought about the pastas he liked best. He loved lasagna’s ruffled edges. He also loved ziti’s tube shape. These features hold sauce and make noodles chewy. Pashman decided to make a pasta noodle with both of these features.

Pashman spent weeks drawing pasta designs. He showed his ideas to experts. They worked at a company called De Mari Pasta Dies. The company makes metal pasta dies, or molds. Pasta dough is squeezed through these molds. That makes different shapes.

De Mari told Pashman that his designs were too complex. Pashman worked with De Mari for months. Finally, they had a shape that might work. It was a long half-tube with two ruffled edges. De Mari got to work making the die.  

Pashman worked with Sfoglini (sfo-LEE-nee), a pasta maker in New York. Sfoglini used De Mari’s die to produce prototype pasta. But when Pashman boiled the noodles, they fell apart! The pasta needed to be shorter and thicker to hold up while cooking.

De Mari created a new metal die to increase the thickness, and Sfoglini cut the dough shorter. The new pasta met all of Pashman’s criteria! He named his creation cascatelli. That’s a play on cascata, the Italian word for “waterfall.”

In 2021, Sfoglini sold 3,700 boxes of cascatelli online in two hours! Today other stores sell the pasta too. “Some food fads are done just to look cool,” says Pashman. “I wanted to make something that was actually good to eat.” Mission accomplished!

Pashman worked with Sfoglini (sfo-LEE-nee). It’s a pasta maker in New York. Sfoglini used De Mari’s die to make prototype pasta. Pashman boiled the noodles. They fell apart! The pasta needed to be shorter and thicker. Then it would hold up while cooking.

De Mari made a new die that made thicker pasta. Sfoglini cut the dough shorter. The new pasta met all of Pashman’s criteria! He named his creation cascatelli. Cascata is the Italian word for “waterfall.”

Sfoglini began offering cascatelli online in 2021. It sold 3,700 boxes in two hours! Today other stores sell the pasta too. “Some food fads are done just to look cool,” says Pashman. “I wanted to make something that was actually good to eat.” Mission accomplished!