Pasta Shapes and Sauces

Italian culinary tradition ascribes specific sauces to specific pasta shapes, the result of centuries of regional traditions and local ingredients. In contemporary cooking, it is not always necessary to follow these traditions, but it is important to understand the spirit and thinking behind them so that intelligent substitutions can be made. The sauce is always meant to be eaten in the same mouthful as the pasta it accompanies. Therefore, it is important that the sauce adhere correctly to the pasta. Different types and shapes of pasta absorb and hold sauce in different ways. As a general rule of thumb: