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Pasta Glossary

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If you enjoy this Pasta Glossary, we have a food glossary for almost every category of food,  including Italian favorites like cheese, espresso and olive oil. Plus, find reviews of our favorite brands of pasta and sauces, pasta recipes and informative articles about pasta in our Pasta Section.

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SACCHETTE

These sacks, or “beggar’s purses,” are made with a variety of fillings, like ravioli. They are most often boiled and served like regular pasta. However, in the photo at the right, they were deep-fried for two minutes in safflower oil, and served as an hors d’oeuvre with a dipping sauce. Pronounced sah-KAY-tay.
Photo of Nuovo Pasta sacchette by Ryan Clark. Read our full review of Nuovo Pasta.

SAGNE

A specialty of the Puglia region, long cuts of pasta curled like ringlets.
Sagne shown from Pasta Ficare, available from
LaRacolta.com.

NIBBLE TIP Beautiful cuts like the sagne “ringlets,” shown at the left, are conversation pieces as well as delicious and easy-to-make courses. They require no special sauce, because the pasta itself is the center of attention. Italians would use butter or garlic and olive oil. Pick one day each month—the first Monday, e.g., as “specialty pasta night” at your house, and try some of these wonderful cuts.

SARDINIA or SARDEGNA

The second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (Sicily is the largest), Sardinia lies west of Italy and south of Corsica, between Italy, Spain and Tunisia. It is an Italian region with a special autonomous statute. The capital is Cagliari.
Map courtesy of Wikipedia.

SAFFRON-FLAVORED PASTA

Expensive saffron makes an elegant pasta that pairs wonderfully with shellfish, spicy tomato or light and creamy sauces. Several artisanal pasta-makers offer saffron long cuts; Rustichella d’Abruzzo makes a lovely Saffron Fettuccine that is available from SalumeriaItaliana.com.

SEMOLINA

Semolina is the coarsely ground and granular endosperm of durum wheat. These ground golden kernels are the base of most American, and all Italian, dry pasta. Semolina is granular like sugar, not powdery like most other flours. Homemade fresh pasta is generally not made from semolina, but from general-purpose flour that is lower in gluten. Preparing semolina dough requires industrial mixers or several hours of kneading the granular mass.  As a result, homemade pasta cooks much more quickly, often in half the time, and can overcook easily if the pot is not watched. In general, properly-cooked, top-quality commercial artisan pasta is as good or better than what most people can make at home.

SEME DI MELONE

Seme di melone (SEH-may dee meh-LOE-nay) literally, “melon seeds,” are a small pasta used in soups.

SENATORE CAPELLI

A high-protein variety of durum wheat (seh-nah-TOE-ray cah-PEL-lee). The artisanal Italian producer Latini makes spaghetti and pennette out of this flavorful wheat.

SHAPED PASTAS

Shaped pastas are always dried pastas, since it is not feasible for fresh pasta to hold a shape. They are available in many different sizes and specific shapes: bow ties (farfalle), shells (conchiglie), corkscrews (fusilli) and wagon wheels (ruote) are a few of the more popular ones. Most shaped pastas are sturdy enough to be paired with a chunkier sauces. The concept of shaped pasta originated with 13th century German bakers, who made bread dough in symbolic shapes like words, birds and stars.

SHELLS or CONCHIGLIE

The conch shell is one of the more popular shapes of pasta. Jumbo shells can be stuffed with everything from basic ricotta, luxurious crab or fusion flavors like taco or Thai fillings. Small shells are a perfect everyday pasta for sauce, soups, salads or macaroni and cheese (more charming than elbows).

SOUP PASTA

Various smaller and tiny dried pasta shapes, from ditali to orzo to pastina, are used in soups.
Photo courtesy of National Pasta Association.

SPACCATELLI

A specially cut long strand tube pasta. The tube is slit from top to bottom. (Pronounced spah-cah-TELL-lee.)

SPAGHETTI

Spaghetti is the most famous cut of pasta. It is said to be the oldest shape known, and despite fashion for more elegant or unusual shapes, it is still the number one pasta shape in America. Long, thin and round, spaghetti literally means “lengths of cord” (spaghetti is the diminutive of “spago,” meaning cord or string). The thickness of spaghetti varies from region to region (see spaghettini and spaghettoni). A versatile pasta, it can be used in almost any kind of dish and with almost any thickness of sauce. However, it works best with oil- or tomato- based sauces, which are thinner and allow the sauce to cling to the pasta. It is available in plain semolina, colored and flavored with spinach, beets, and bell peppers, and in numerous specialty flavors.

SPAGHETTI (or LINGUINI) A MATASSA

Specialty nested spaghetti. Rather than purchasing straight “sticks” of pasta, it is dried in attractive coils or figure-eights. (Pronounced ah mah-TASS-ah.)
Shown at right: linguini a matassa. Photo courtesy of SXC.

SPAGHETTI TAGLIATI

Spaghetti cut into smaller lengths for soups (tahl-YAH-tee). Alternatively, home cooks simply break long spaghetti into pieces before cooking. (Pronounced tahl-YAH-tee.)
Pasta from PastaGarofolo.it.

SPAGHETTI NERO DI SEPIA

A specialty of Sardinia, the pasta is colored black by cuttlefish (squid) ink, which adds to the texture. It has a slightly tangy, briny flavor that pairs best with seafood sauces: a Frutti di Mare recipe or simply “alle vongole,” with fresh clams in a garlic butter sauce. (Pronounced NAY-roe dee SAY-pee-ya.)

SPAGHETTINI

A very thin spaghetti, but thicker than vermicelli. It is popular in Southern Italy, where it is often served with spicy sauces.

SPAGHETTONI

Thick spaghetti with a more substantial mouthfeel, preferred in central and southern Italy, where they eat their pasta more al dente (firmly cooked) than in northern Italy. It is made into two-foot-long strands that are usually broken up before cooking. In Puglia, it is typically served with olive oil and fresh garlic.

SPAETZLE

German for “little sparrow,” spaetzle is a dish of tiny noodles or dumplings made with flour, eggs, water or milk, salt and sometimes a  dash of nutmeg. The spaetzle dough is either rolled and cut into slivers or forced through a sieve or colander with large holes. The small pieces of dough are usually boiled before being tossed with butter or added to soups or other dishes. In Germany, spaetzle is served as a side dish much like potatoes or rice, and is often accompanied by a sauce or gravy. (Pronounced SPEHTZ-sell.)

SPECIALTY PASTAS

Specialty pastas have added ingredients, such as vegetable colors and flavors, herbs and other seasonings. They also can have specialty shapes. Spinach provides a green color, carrots an orange color, beets or tomatoes a red color, black beans a brownish color and squid ink a black color. Common herbs and seasonings include basil, rosemary, black pepper, garlic, lemon peel and chile. Specialty pastas are available in both dry and fresh varieties. Specialty shapes commemorate every holiday and every icon from cartoon characters and sports equipment to pam trees and dollar signs. (For examples of these, read our review of Pasta Shoppe novelty pastas.)

STRAND PASTA

This is a category that includes the most famous name in pasta—spaghetti—as well as angel hair, capellini, vermicelli and other long rods of pasta. The category is also called long cuts. The strands are generally round but can be squared, and in the case of long fusilli or sagne (see top of page), twisted. The basic difference is the thickness of the strands. Thicker strands work well with heavier sauces while the thinner strands work better with lighter sauces. (Long flat strands of pasta, like linguini and fettuccini, fall into the category of ribbon pasta.) Oil-based sauces like pesto are ideal for strand pastas: They coat the noodles evenly and keep the strands from clumping together. 

STRANGOZZI

Pronounced strahn-GOAT-tsee, a strand egg pasta from Umbria.

STROZZAPRETI or STRANGLOLAPRETI

Literally “priest stranglers” or “priest chokers,” this attractive twisted tubular pasta (pronounced STROAH-tsa-PREH-tee) was named centuries ago when it was common practice in Italy to let priests eat for free in restaurants and homes. According to the story, some restaurateurs wished that the “freeloaders” would choke on the pasta course before they could get to the more expensive meat and fish courses. The apocryphal story is that they rolled a shape that might get lodged in the priest’s throat. Hand-rolled squares of pasta are twisted in one quick motion with open palms in opposing directions. It’s the perfect cut to serve your gluttonous relatives! Strozzapreti handmade by Rustichella d’Abruzzo are available at SalumeriaItalia.com.

STUFFED PASTA

Fresh pasta sheets stuffed with a filling. Filling is placed on a flat sheet of pasta, another sheet is placed on top and the edges are sealed. Stuffed pastas are formed in a variety of shapes—squares, circles, half moons, triangles, “hats”—and are stuffed with almost any kind of filling, either single or combinations of different meats, cheeses, vegetables, seafood and herbs. Tube pasta, for example, can be stuffed with seasoned ricotta cheese, spinach and ricotta, spinach and almonds, mascarpone and walnuts or many other variations. Stuffed pastas are meant to be dressed lightly—with butter or olive oil instead of a constructed sauce—because the filling is the center of attention.

Agnolotti	Ravioli	Tortellini

Stuffed pastas from AlfonsoGourmetPasta.com

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