What to use instead of tajarin
The pasta is the point, so the sauce is a film: melted butter, truffle, the juices from a roast. Nothing heavier.
The closest swap: tagliolini
The same cut with fewer yolks.
Tajarin is ribbons, 250 to 300 mm long, 1 to 3 minutes in the pot. Tagliolini sits in the ribbons family and cooks in 2 to 4 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 tajarin, 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
Tagliolini
Ribbons · Piedmont
The same cut with fewer yolks (chosen)
- 2
Capellini
Long strands · Campania
A dried thin strand (chosen)
- 3
Maccheroncini di Campofilone
Ribbons · Marche
Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 1 sauce, close in size
- 4
Fettuccine
Ribbons · Lazio
Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 2 sauces
- 5
Tagliatelle
Ribbons · Emilia-Romagna
Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 2 sauces
- 6
Maltagliati
Ribbons · Emilia-Romagna
Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 1 sauce
- 7
Pappardelle
Ribbons · Tuscany
Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 1 sauce
- 8
Stringozzi
Ribbons · Umbria
Same family, also solid, shares 1 sauce, close in size
Match the sauce, not the look
Tajarin 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 porcini: Fresh or dried porcini with butter, garlic, parsley, sometimes cream. Egg ribbons, tajarin, pappardelle.
- Best pasta for in brodo: A clear meat or chicken broth. Pastina or filled pasta, cooked and served in the liquid.
Side by side
The measured difference between tajarin and each swap.