Midolline

Flat teardrop shaped pasta (similar to Orzo but wider).

What it is

Midolline are tiny flat drops of dried semolina pasta. Wikipedia compares them to orzo, but wider, with a teardrop outline. Barilla sells them as shape number 24 and describes them as flattened drops. Children liken them to melon seeds or earring pendants. A retailer listing for the Barilla product gives a cook time of 10 minutes.

No source names a region of origin. Retail descriptions say the shape is found across Italy. It is a soup pasta. Barilla suggests it in broth, minestrone and vegetable purées, finished with olive oil and Parmesan. The small size gives quick, even cooking.

What it is served with

Pairs with: In brodo · Minestrone · Pasta e fagioli

Nutrition

Per 100 g of dry semolina pasta. The shape does not change these numbers. The dough does, so a whole wheat or egg version of this shape reads differently. See every dough.

Per 100 g	Energy	Protein	Carbohydrate	Fibre	Fat	Sodium	Iron
Dry	371 kcal	13.0 g	74.7 g	3.2 g	1.5 g	6 mg	3.3 mg
Cooked	158 kcal	5.8 g	30.9 g	1.8 g	0.9 g	1 mg	1.3 mg

One portion. 100 g dry becomes about 235 g cooked, 371 kcal and 13 g of protein. Pasta takes on 2.3 times its weight in the pot.

No midolline? Use these

Ranked by how they behave with sauce, not how they look.

Quadrucci

Pastina · Lazio

Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 3 sauces

Acini di pepe

Pastina · All of Italy

Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 2 sauces

Alphabet pasta

Pastina · All of Italy

Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 2 sauces

Sources

Wikipedia: List of pasta (profile: origin, form, use)
Cicalia: Barilla n.24 Midolline (profile: origin, form, use)
Little Italy Ltd: Barilla Midolline n.24 (profile: origin, form, use)
justcooking.in: Midolline (profile: origin, form, use)
Photograph: Midolline.jpg, Elcochan (talk) (Uploads), CC0.
USDA FoodData Central (nutrition per 100 g, by dough: FDC 169736, Pasta, dry, enriched; FDC 169737, Pasta, cooked, enriched, without added salt), public domain. The cooked yield is derived from the two energy figures.
Midolline, Wikipedia (names, origin), CC BY-SA 4.0
Dimensions: brand spec sheets and measured boxes. Blank fields are unmeasured, never guessed.