Favorite pasta shape for mac & cheese?

[bcla]

Just wondering. I never really got the appeal of those tiny little tubes for standard Kraft mac & cheese.

My kid likes medium shells. I guess the standby is regular elbows, but they seem kind of boring. Once I found something called Cellentani, which are just corkscrews. I'd seen them at some restaurants, but I could only find them in stores from Barilla.

I always wondered why noodles weren't common for mac & cheese.

 

[mjkacmom]

Shells. My grocery store has dozens of shapes of pasta (an aisle), but I like shells the best.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Any sturdy pasta with lots of "nooks and crannies" for the sauce to fall into:

elbow macaroni
shells
cavatappi
farfelle come to mind (be sure the sauce isn't too thin so the pasta clings together).
A trip down the pasta aisle will bring other choices .

 

[usnuzuloose]

I like small elbow , or the small bowtie

 

[xipotec]

Spirals

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Favorite pasta for Macaroni and cheese?
Uh there is only one answer it could be because if it isn't "Macaroni" it really isn't "Macaroni" and cheese. Hence the name, Macaroni and cheese. Without the Mac(aroni) It would be something else and cheese.

Spirals would be Spi and cheese.
Bowties would be Bow and Cheese.
Noodles would be noo and cheese.
etc.

 

[The Foolish Mortal]

Spider. Its not easy to find

 

[mjkacmom]

Favorite pasta for Macaroni and cheese?
Uh there is only one answer it could be because if it isn't "Macaroni" it really isn't "Macaroni" and cheese. Hence the name, Macaroni and cheese. Without the Mac(aroni) It would be something else and cheese.

Spirals would be Spi and cheese.
Bowties would be Bow and Cheese.
Noodles would be noo and cheese.
etc.

Here macaroni means pasta, they are interchangeable, and never called noodles.

 

[bcla]

I looked it up. Cavatappi is generally the same as Cellentani.

 

[bcla]

Spirals

What kind of spirals? I think some call the corkscrew shape spirals, but I've also heard of spirals meaning rotelle.

 

[mjkacmom]

I looked it up. Cavatappi is generally the same as Cellentani.

My grocery store has four brands of cavatappi but only one brand of celletani.

 

[Jennasis]

Try orrechiette, fusilli, or radiatore. Fun and great for saucy dishes.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Another pasta that is fun if you can find it is radiatori . Check out this vid for a short explanation of how the name came into being and it's possible antecedents (around 30 secs into the vid located in the middle of the page):

https://www.nickstellino.com/recipe/pasta-with-sweet-sausage-ragu/

Just a FYI: this link is a great source of info about many world cuisines and ingredients and their substitutions; I bookmarked it back in the 90s and it's served me well since:

http://www.foodsubs.com/PastaShapes.html

 

[RedAngie]

Rotini, rotelle, shells, orrechiette, practically anything EXCEPT elbows.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Here macaroni means pasta, they are interchangeable, and never called noodles.

Macaroni is a specific kind of pasta. But not all pasta is macaroni. As for noodles, there is some overlap between pasta and noodles but not all pasta is noodles and not all noodles are pasta.
In any case, Bowties, the various spiral pastas, and noodles, are not Macaroni.

 

[littlejimmy]

Favorite pasta for Macaroni and cheese?
Uh there is only one answer it could be because if it isn't "Macaroni" it really isn't "Macaroni" and cheese. Hence the name, Macaroni and cheese. Without the Mac(aroni) It would be something else and cheese.

Spirals would be Spi and cheese.
Bowties would be Bow and Cheese.
Noodles would be noo and cheese.
etc.

you are so right about this, but you know you will probably be reported because someone will think you are beng mean. hahaha

 

[xipotec]

I looked it up. Cavatappi is generally the same as Cellentani.

This.....

 

[RedAngie]

An aunt told me a story from when she was at a restaurant with a friend. The friend ordered some chicken dish and also requested "macaroni cheese." The waiter thought she also wanted a side of macaroni & cheese and brought it. The friend said "no, macaroni cheese, you know, the kind you sprinkle on food." The friend apparently calls grated Parmesan "macaroni cheese."


Addendum: Someone mentioned further down that at one time, to him or her, all pasta except spaghetti was known as "macaroni." That's how this friend in the story grew up too.

 

[msjprincess]

Here macaroni means pasta, they are interchangeable, and never called noodles.

I was going to say the same thing. They're interchangeable to me.

And if I say or hear noodles I think egg noodles.

 

[mjkacmom]

https://slate.com/human-interest/20...nguistics-of-the-italian-american-dinner.html
I was reading this article and had to laugh at the last sentence (the sauce/gravy debate is a hot one here).