Pasta lunga
Long strands
Round or square in section, sold at full length. Spaghetti is the model. They want sauces that coat: oil, butter, a smooth tomato, a thin ragu.
- Shapes
- 22, 16 with a full profile
- Measured
- 16 shapes
- Length
- 200 to 350 mm
- Width or diameter
- 0.5 to 5 mm
- Cook time
- 2 to 15 min
- Surface
- 15 smooth, 6 rough
- Hollow
- 3 shapes
- Dough
- 16 semolina, 2 semolina or egg, 2 egg
- Made by hand
- 8 shapes
- Usually fresh
- 4 shapes
- Regions
- Campania (8), Liguria (3), Lazio (2), Veneto (1)
- On a brand page
- 10 shapes
Ranges span every measured member.
What the family takes
Across the 16 profiled shapes, the sauces named most often: Pomodoro (10), Aglio e olio (9), Vongole (5), Meat ragu (4), Amatriciana (4), Cacio e pepe (4).
16 shapes with a full profile
Bigoli
Long strands · Veneto
thick rough round strand, pressed through a bigolaro
Bucatini
Long strands · Lazio
thick round strand with a fine bore through the centre
Capellini
Long strands · Campania
very fine round strand, under 1 mm
Fedelini
Long strands · Liguria
fine round strand, between capellini and spaghettini
Fusilli lunghi
Long strands · Campania
long hollow strand twisted into a loose spiral
Linguine
Long strands · Liguria
flattened oval strand, wider than thick
Perciatelli
Long strands · Campania
thick hollow strand, the Neapolitan bucatini
Pici
Long strands · Tuscany
fat irregular hand-rolled strand
Spaghetti
Long strands · Campania
round solid strand, about 2 mm across
Spaghettini
Long strands · Campania
round solid strand, about 1.5 mm across
Spaghettoni
Long strands · Campania
round solid strand, over 2 mm across
Su filindeu
Long strands · Sardinia
hair-fine threads stretched by hand and laid in three crossed layers on a disc
Tonnarelli
Long strands · Lazio
square-section fresh egg strand
Trenette
Long strands · Liguria
flat narrow strand, slightly wider than linguine
Troccoli
Long strands · Puglia
thick square strand cut with a grooved rolling pin
Vermicelli
Long strands · Campania
round solid strand, thickness varies by country
6 more long strands
Names, origins, and what the sources say. Profiles in progress.
Barbine
Long strands · All of Italy
Thin strands, often coiled into nests
Curzoli
Long strands · Emilia-Romagna
type of pasta of Romagna, Italy
maccaronara
Long strands · Campania
Maccheroni alla molinara
Long strands · Abruzzo
Very thick, long, hand-pulled pasta
Matriciani
Long strands
Similar to perciatelli, but folded over rather than hollowed out
Picchiarelli
Long strands · Umbria
Slightly longer than cavatelli
Classic plates
- Bigoli con l'anatraBigoli
- Bigoli con le sardeBigoli
- Bigoli in salsaBigoli
- Bucatini all'amatricianaBucatini
- Bucatini alla griciaBucatini
- Bucatini con le sardeBucatini
- Capelli d'angelo in brodoCapellini
- Capellini al limoneCapellini
- Capellini with cherry tomatoesCapellini
- Fedelini al pomodoro frescoFedelini
- Fedelini in brodoFedelini
- Fusilli bucati con salsicciaFusilli lunghi
- Fusilli lunghi al raguFusilli lunghi
- Linguine ai frutti di mareLinguine
- Linguine al pestoLinguine
- Linguine alle vongoleLinguine
- Linguine allo scoglioLinguine
- Perciatelli al raguPerciatelli
Read more
Bronze die versus Teflon: why the surface of dried pasta matters
What a bronze die does to the surface of pasta, why a rough shape holds sauce better, and how to tell a bronze-cut box from a Teflon one on the shelf.
Semolina versus egg dough: the two doughs of Italian pasta
The difference between durum semolina pasta and egg pasta: flour, water, eggs, where each is made, how each cooks, and which sauces each dough wants.
Fresh versus dried pasta: neither is better, they are different foods
The difference between fresh and dried pasta: dough, texture, cook time, storage, and which shapes and sauces belong to each.
Sources
- Every figure above is computed from the shape records. Each shape page names the brand page, spec sheet, or measured box behind its own numbers.
- The sauce counts and the classic plates come from the pairings and dishes in the profiled shape records: our editorial judgement, checked against the regional cookbooks named on the shape pages.