CCE
(Keyrock the unfrozen caveman lawyer; your world frightens & confuses me)
78
Interesting. To the extent I have noticed differences, I’ve often seen the opposite. But a lot of times they’re very similar.
I think a lot of the stuff I see in US markets might be considered of “non-standard” size. One brand will have fettucine barely wider than another brand’s linguine etc. Then someone has something labeled “thin linguine” or “linguine fini”…
ETA
LoL this, yes. I just counted. I have 62 jars of “extra” spices waiting to replace my usual most commonly used bunch of about 30. All bought because either McCormick or Spice Island were on half-price sale.
“Vermicelli” labeling for Asian noodles is frequently misused imho. The rice kind used to be labeled “rice sticks” of varying widths (the skinny ones had no qualifier, pad thai and wider got “medium”, “wide”, and “extra-wide”) until someone must have decided English-speakers wouldn’t buy “sticks” :. I’ve also seen mung bean threads / glass noodles called “vermicelli” of late.
Here are the skinny noodles I mean when I say vermicelli – both wheat and rice. And capellini for comparison (probably twice as thick? though I haven’t measured with calipers ).
CCE
(Keyrock the unfrozen caveman lawyer; your world frightens & confuses me)
81
Thanks, that’s helpful. I went back and looked, and one of my very thin Asian style noodles is labeled as vermicelli, but it’s more of a balled up mass vs nice, straight lines of the stuff.
My comment about relative thicknesses as between vermicelli and angel hair was when I was stuck in Italian style mode and had already forgotten about my Asian style rice verm.
if I go to the trouble of making “fresh” - it gets eaten “fresh”
dried pasta I can buy.
(actually… some “fresh” is sometimes available . . . . but . . . )
A friend of mine in a cooking group I host does. I suppose if one has endless storage options to dry the pasta - especially long-strand shapes, I’d say go for it.
For me, it’d kinda defeat the purpose of having fresh pasta.
Fun question - I made a serious effort last year to use up the overstock. But there are still currently 15 kinds in my cupboard , 1 in freezer. Uses/recipes noted.
Tri-color rotini - all purpose – salads, soups, sauced
Tortellini – fresh/frozen – all purpose – salads, quick chicken veggie soup, one-pan-sausage stew
Wide egg noodles – ground ham hotdish, chicken soup, bacon/alfredo/tomato skillet
Fettuccini – alfredo, shrimp scampi
Angel hair / thin spaghetti – sauced, quick bacon & spaghetti, garlic chicken/spinach/tomato skillet
Spaghetti – all purpose – pilaf w rice, under oriental stir fry, sauced
Elbow macaroni – Mac & cheese, salads
Lasagna noodles – regular and oven ready, for lasagna soup, chicken rollups
Bow ties – mini-lasagna casserole, BBQ ranch chicken casserole, Easy Greek salad w chicken
Small rings - chicken/green grapes/mandarins salad
Orzo – for side dishes
Shells – medium and large – bought for specific recipes – stuffed taco shells, salad, casserole
Pad Thai rice noodles - specific recipe - aging in place now, likely to get tossed
Cellophane rice noodles - ditto, likely to get tossed
Ramen – for Oriental Chicken Salad
Often, but not now – for specific recipe - Penne – mustardy steak/green beans, small shells - salad
I would have to count. It would be more than 10 and fewer than 30 in each of two houses. I maintain a “strategic pasta reserve”–a large plastic tub–I draw from.
I tend to buy what interests me at the point of sale, which usually means that the shape suggests something to cook. It may or may not be used for that dish.
I’ve grown away from staight, solid “string” pastas like spaghetti, linguini and the like, in favor of shapes that better capture sauces and hold looser shapes. If I want that long look, I now almost always choose #6 bucatini.
Probably 75% of my pasta dishes are hot and sauced, or casseroles. Maybe 20% salads, 5% stuffed.
I like having many shapes around to choose from, rather than having to totally dream up a dish and then go searching for what may never be found.
:. I’ve also seen mung bean threads / glass noodles called “vermicelli” of late.
).
