What to use instead of caramelle
Butter and sage, or a light cream, or a few roast juices. The twisted ends catch a little sauce.
The closest swap: tortelli
Tortelli con la coda, the braided Piacenza parcel.
Caramelle is stuffed, 50 to 70 mm long, 3 to 5 minutes in the pot. Tortelli sits in the stuffed family and cooks in 3 to 6 minutes. Match the cook time first. A swap that is right in shape and wrong in time still ends up wrong on the plate.
Every swap for caramelle, ranked
A substitute must behave the same way with the sauce you are making. The ones marked as chosen are hand-picked. The rest score on family, cavity, surface, size, and shared sauces.
- 1
Tortelli
Stuffed · Emilia-Romagna
Tortelli con la coda, the braided Piacenza parcel (chosen)
- 2
Ravioli
Stuffed · All of Italy
The square parcel (chosen)
- 3
Tortellini
Stuffed · Emilia-Romagna
Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 2 sauces, close in size
- 4
Mezzelune
Stuffed · Trentino-Alto Adige
Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 3 sauces
- 5
Agnolotti
Stuffed · Piedmont
Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 2 sauces
- 6
Anolini
Stuffed · Emilia-Romagna
Same family, also solid, also smooth, close in size
- 7
Cappelletti
Stuffed · Emilia-Romagna
Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 2 sauces
- 8
Tortelloni
Stuffed · Emilia-Romagna
Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 2 sauces
Match the sauce, not the look
Caramelle is listed against 3 sauces. Pick the swap that holds the one you are cooking.
- Best pasta for butter and sage: Brown butter with crisped sage leaves. The filled-pasta sauce. It stays out of the way of the filling.
- Best pasta for cream sauce: Panna with cheese, mushrooms, ham, or peas. Heavy and clinging. Ridges and cups keep it on the pasta.
- Best pasta for porcini: Fresh or dried porcini with butter, garlic, parsley, sometimes cream. Egg ribbons, tajarin, pappardelle.
Side by side
The measured difference between caramelle and each swap.