Spaghetti Sucks
April 15, 2021 6:44 AM Subscribe
It started with a dream and ended with a brand new pasta shape. Follow Dan Pashman of The Sporkful on his three-year journey documented in a five-part series, "Mission: ImPASTAble", as he tries to develop the perfect pasta.
Cascatelli is designed to maximize the three qualities by which Dan believes all pasta shapes should be judged:
Sauceability: How readily sauce adheres to the shape
Forkability: How easy it is to get the shape on your fork and keep it there
Toothsinkability: How satisfying it is to sink your teeth into it
In the five episodes, Dan interviews pasta experts and MeFi favorites, including Samin Nosrat, Bill Nye, and Claire Saffitz.
Eaters are hooked.
Special cameos with Dan's parents in Part 5:
Dad: The first one we made, mom just put butter and cheese on it.
Mom: Reggiano Parmigiano. I didn't want to mess up the..
Dad: That the pasta might hold.
Mom: The tasting.
Dad: And then just to try something different, Mom opened a jar of jarred...
Mom: Don’t say that on the air.
Dad: He can edit this.
Mom: Don't say I opened a jar of tomato sauce, for God's sakes.
Dad: Mom whipped up this…. very quickly.
Cascatelli is designed to maximize the three qualities by which Dan believes all pasta shapes should be judged:
Sauceability: How readily sauce adheres to the shape
Forkability: How easy it is to get the shape on your fork and keep it there
Toothsinkability: How satisfying it is to sink your teeth into it
In the five episodes, Dan interviews pasta experts and MeFi favorites, including Samin Nosrat, Bill Nye, and Claire Saffitz.
Eaters are hooked.
Special cameos with Dan's parents in Part 5:
Dad: The first one we made, mom just put butter and cheese on it.
Mom: Reggiano Parmigiano. I didn't want to mess up the..
Dad: That the pasta might hold.
Mom: The tasting.
Dad: And then just to try something different, Mom opened a jar of jarred...
Mom: Don’t say that on the air.
Dad: He can edit this.
Mom: Don't say I opened a jar of tomato sauce, for God's sakes.
Dad: Mom whipped up this…. very quickly.
My wife listens to The Sporkful and was so excited about this new shape that she accidentally ordered five pounds of it.
posted by repute at 7:19 AM on April 15, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by repute at 7:19 AM on April 15, 2021 [3 favorites]
It looks like pasta as imagined by HR Giger.
posted by wreckingball at 7:23 AM on April 15, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by wreckingball at 7:23 AM on April 15, 2021 [5 favorites]
Sfoglini pasta is very expensive and very delicious. Sadly I cannot buy it in Germany, but this looks like a beautiful sauce vehicle. Maybe one day.
We're so grateful for the incredible response to our new pasta shape! Due to overwhelming demand, orders placed now for Cascatelli will ship in approximately 12 weeks.
Looks like no one's getting it right now though.
My wife listens to The Sporkful and was so excited about this new shape that she accidentally ordered five pounds of it.
"accidentally"
posted by Alex404 at 7:28 AM on April 15, 2021 [6 favorites]
We're so grateful for the incredible response to our new pasta shape! Due to overwhelming demand, orders placed now for Cascatelli will ship in approximately 12 weeks.
Looks like no one's getting it right now though.
My wife listens to The Sporkful and was so excited about this new shape that she accidentally ordered five pounds of it.
"accidentally"
posted by Alex404 at 7:28 AM on April 15, 2021 [6 favorites]
My entry in the "what does this look like" survey: some kind of shrimp
That said, I totally want to try it.
posted by Caxton1476 at 7:30 AM on April 15, 2021
That said, I totally want to try it.
posted by Caxton1476 at 7:30 AM on April 15, 2021
Here is one of my favorite newsletters, Dirt, on the topic, commentating on the inevitable success of this pasta project.
posted by Dmenet at 7:33 AM on April 15, 2021 [10 favorites]
posted by Dmenet at 7:33 AM on April 15, 2021 [10 favorites]
It looks like radiatore with fewer vanes, and a slightly looser curve
posted by aubilenon at 7:33 AM on April 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by aubilenon at 7:33 AM on April 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
It looks like pasta as imagined by HR Giger.
Because my brain is terrible, cascatelli reminds me of [CW: developmental birth defect] rachischisis.
posted by zamboni at 7:50 AM on April 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
Because my brain is terrible, cascatelli reminds me of [CW: developmental birth defect] rachischisis.
posted by zamboni at 7:50 AM on April 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
I don't know if this is answered in any of the links, but does anyone know if Pashman is claiming any kind of copyright/IP on the noodle shape? I think the true test of a great noodle is peer reproducibility, so I hope that he's shared his findings on an open-source basis so other pasta makers can try it out for themselves. Ultimately, the goal should be for every supermarket pasta brand to embrace this new ideal noodle and have their own version on shelves everywhere. If it is as big of a breakthrough as Pashman claims, it would be just plain unethical to not share it as widely as possible, instead of forcing people to pay $17+shipping and wait 12 weeks(!) to experience it just once.
posted by Strange Interlude at 8:29 AM on April 15, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Strange Interlude at 8:29 AM on April 15, 2021 [3 favorites]
Kenji produced a review of cascatelli a few weeks back. TL;DR: he is pro.
posted by mmascolino at 8:36 AM on April 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by mmascolino at 8:36 AM on April 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
It's good that an American was able to remedy all of Italy's errors regarding it's national dish. He should check if the Indians or Chinese have been eating something without it being first optimized by a dumb podcast.
posted by Keith Talent at 8:38 AM on April 15, 2021 [14 favorites]
posted by Keith Talent at 8:38 AM on April 15, 2021 [14 favorites]
I'm not impressed with this dude's research. He seems not to have grasped a fundamental concept of Italian pasta, that a pasta shape determines its sauce. You don't make ajo, ojo e pepperoncino with ditalini, or pasta e fagioli with spaghetti. He's missing that the mouthfeel comes from the interaction of the sauce with the pasta shape. I'd also venture to say that the whole sauceability thing hinges on a very non-Italian concept of proper sauce-to-pasta ratios.
posted by romakimmy at 8:42 AM on April 15, 2021 [21 favorites]
posted by romakimmy at 8:42 AM on April 15, 2021 [21 favorites]
It's good that an American was able to remedy all of Italy's errors regarding it's national dish. He should check if the Indians or Chinese have been eating something without it being first optimized by a dumb podcast.
That's probably the next project!
The Dirt newsletter article that Dmenet shared is great, cuts right to the inherent everything-is-marketing nature of the whole thing. I'm sure the pasta itself is pretty good--small batch, fresher-made pasta is always pretty good! But "spaghetti sucks" is just we-need-an-opening-bang-to-drive-Engagement dumbspeak. Angel hair is easily overcooked to mush, yes--so don't overcook it! (I await a podcast series on how vegetables suck because steaming can lead to bad results.) Etc.
posted by Drastic at 8:52 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
That's probably the next project!
The Dirt newsletter article that Dmenet shared is great, cuts right to the inherent everything-is-marketing nature of the whole thing. I'm sure the pasta itself is pretty good--small batch, fresher-made pasta is always pretty good! But "spaghetti sucks" is just we-need-an-opening-bang-to-drive-Engagement dumbspeak. Angel hair is easily overcooked to mush, yes--so don't overcook it! (I await a podcast series on how vegetables suck because steaming can lead to bad results.) Etc.
posted by Drastic at 8:52 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
This is essentially a truncated Radiatori. It's not like it's untread territory here.
posted by Ferreous at 8:59 AM on April 15, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Ferreous at 8:59 AM on April 15, 2021 [3 favorites]
Keith Talent, Pashman has gotten flak before for suggesting a “better way” to make bibimbap. I think it’s one of those situations where he isn’t trying to be inflammatory and does have good intentions, but is very adept at putting his foot in his mouth. Not to say he’s blameless, but I don’t think he’s inherently racist and I think he has the capacity to listen when told he’s wrong.
posted by Night_owl at 9:02 AM on April 15, 2021
posted by Night_owl at 9:02 AM on April 15, 2021
It's good that an American was able to remedy all of Italy's errors regarding it's national dish.
Trying to do anything new or interesting around people who embrace this attitude is so goddamn exhausting. The number of people in the world who are in any way diminished by there being a new pasta shape in the world is zero. It is exactly zero.
posted by mhoye at 9:30 AM on April 15, 2021 [33 favorites]
Trying to do anything new or interesting around people who embrace this attitude is so goddamn exhausting. The number of people in the world who are in any way diminished by there being a new pasta shape in the world is zero. It is exactly zero.
posted by mhoye at 9:30 AM on April 15, 2021 [33 favorites]
I don’t understand the hate for angel hair. I buy standard grocery-store packages angel hair, boil water, put in the pasta for five minutes. Never had an issue.
posted by Slinga at 9:33 AM on April 15, 2021 [7 favorites]
posted by Slinga at 9:33 AM on April 15, 2021 [7 favorites]
Now I'm going to listen to the podcast (episode one) while I make dinner.
I have heard about this on other food media, and am not very enthusiastic, but also not hating. Everyone knows Italian-American food is not the same as Italian food. It's OK. Maybe they have a problem with spaghetti because their sauce is different. I, for one, love spaghetti.
The purpose of angel hair is for plain broth. In that, it is lovely. Angel hair served as if it is spaghetti is weird to me, but again, to each their own.
posted by mumimor at 9:42 AM on April 15, 2021
I have heard about this on other food media, and am not very enthusiastic, but also not hating. Everyone knows Italian-American food is not the same as Italian food. It's OK. Maybe they have a problem with spaghetti because their sauce is different. I, for one, love spaghetti.
The purpose of angel hair is for plain broth. In that, it is lovely. Angel hair served as if it is spaghetti is weird to me, but again, to each their own.
posted by mumimor at 9:42 AM on April 15, 2021
Why does everybody want to be so angry? It's just pasta. I found this bit of news interesting, but I don't particularly care for pasta.
I certainly appreciate Dan Pashman's enthusiasm for pasta, even if I don't share it. I like when people are enthusiastic.
posted by rocketman at 9:47 AM on April 15, 2021 [6 favorites]
I certainly appreciate Dan Pashman's enthusiasm for pasta, even if I don't share it. I like when people are enthusiastic.
posted by rocketman at 9:47 AM on April 15, 2021 [6 favorites]
> The number of people in the world who are in any way diminished by there being a new pasta shape in the world is zero. It is exactly zero.
This is true, on the face of it. But there are external costs: cast off artifacts from the prototyping process, old pasta shapes rotting on the compost pile of "progress" (at any cost!), the development of new web pages and marketing material, etc. All of this activity pumping blood through the destructive machinery of late stage capitalism.
So much time wasted arguing about new pasta shapes we could have spent appreciating what we have. We're all diminished by this relentless chase of the novel at the expense of what is already present and good in our lives.
In other words, I'm eagerly waiting to try this shape. I'm hoping it goes well with a high quality jarred red sauce, as pasta is pretty much a pantry backed meal for my family. I think I'm getting three pounds of it? It was popular enough that my order keeps getting delayed.
posted by Anonymous Function at 9:56 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
This is true, on the face of it. But there are external costs: cast off artifacts from the prototyping process, old pasta shapes rotting on the compost pile of "progress" (at any cost!), the development of new web pages and marketing material, etc. All of this activity pumping blood through the destructive machinery of late stage capitalism.
So much time wasted arguing about new pasta shapes we could have spent appreciating what we have. We're all diminished by this relentless chase of the novel at the expense of what is already present and good in our lives.
In other words, I'm eagerly waiting to try this shape. I'm hoping it goes well with a high quality jarred red sauce, as pasta is pretty much a pantry backed meal for my family. I think I'm getting three pounds of it? It was popular enough that my order keeps getting delayed.
posted by Anonymous Function at 9:56 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
This is like either short mafaldine or quadrefiore that doesn't come around far enough to make a tube in the middle. I don't know what I expected, as it's not like it was going to be five dimensional or something.
I'll check out the podcasts after work, but until then, does he research the history of pasta, hang out with people who make traditional pasta or unusual shapes? Does he go to Italy at least?
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:27 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
I'll check out the podcasts after work, but until then, does he research the history of pasta, hang out with people who make traditional pasta or unusual shapes? Does he go to Italy at least?
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:27 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
Tired: Twelve dimensional chess.
Inspired: Five-dimensional pasta.
posted by mhoye at 10:37 AM on April 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
Inspired: Five-dimensional pasta.
posted by mhoye at 10:37 AM on April 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
That's 4.18 euros for 400 grams of dry pasta (sorry european pleb here)? Spaghettis might suck but they're cheap and if it's good enough for Italians it's good enough for me. And bucatinis rule.
You're not convincing me by insulting rival pasta shapes.
My lawn you get off now and take forkeability with you...
posted by SageLeVoid at 10:50 AM on April 15, 2021
You're not convincing me by insulting rival pasta shapes.
My lawn you get off now and take forkeability with you...
posted by SageLeVoid at 10:50 AM on April 15, 2021
Tired: Twelve dimensional chess.
Inspired: Five-dimensional pasta.
Wired: Newtonian fluid sauce
posted by good in a vacuum at 10:53 AM on April 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
Inspired: Five-dimensional pasta.
Wired: Newtonian fluid sauce
posted by good in a vacuum at 10:53 AM on April 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
With the right grains, the sauce can engage farromagnetic properties.
posted by Drastic at 11:03 AM on April 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Drastic at 11:03 AM on April 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
It's good that an American was able to remedy all of Italy's errors regarding it's national dish. He should check if the Indians or Chinese have been eating something without it being first optimized by a dumb podcast.
See, I think "improved" pasta shapes are not really a referendum on a national dish because Italy already has a lot of pasta shapes designed for different purposes. If he said "I'm going to make a better orzo because existing orzo is too small and slippery and should be replaced" or "this totally new gnocchi method is better than anything they do in Italy", that would be different. Pasta shapes are already being developed/redeveloped over time, there's already a lot of argument about how to shape them and what they're best for, some people already flat out hate certain shapes (that big tube spaghetti that has been fashionable, for instance - hotly controversial!!!)
Also there's a pretty robust tradition of Italian-American food which bears only a loose relation to Italian-Italian food - you go to a lot of red-sauce restaurants in the upper Midwest and frankly you'd be begging for someone to optimize quite a lot of the output. Italian-American cooking has a really different place in US culture than, say, Korean cooking.
posted by Frowner at 11:07 AM on April 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
See, I think "improved" pasta shapes are not really a referendum on a national dish because Italy already has a lot of pasta shapes designed for different purposes. If he said "I'm going to make a better orzo because existing orzo is too small and slippery and should be replaced" or "this totally new gnocchi method is better than anything they do in Italy", that would be different. Pasta shapes are already being developed/redeveloped over time, there's already a lot of argument about how to shape them and what they're best for, some people already flat out hate certain shapes (that big tube spaghetti that has been fashionable, for instance - hotly controversial!!!)
Also there's a pretty robust tradition of Italian-American food which bears only a loose relation to Italian-Italian food - you go to a lot of red-sauce restaurants in the upper Midwest and frankly you'd be begging for someone to optimize quite a lot of the output. Italian-American cooking has a really different place in US culture than, say, Korean cooking.
posted by Frowner at 11:07 AM on April 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
There is a disappointing lack of geometric nerdery going on in this thread. Come on, MeFi, throw a dog a (Klein bottle-shaped) bone.
posted by Flexagon at 11:12 AM on April 15, 2021
posted by Flexagon at 11:12 AM on April 15, 2021
Come on, MeFi, throw a dog a (Klein bottle-shaped) bone.
OK, what if someone came up with Mandelbrotini?
posted by LionIndex at 11:19 AM on April 15, 2021 [4 favorites]
OK, what if someone came up with Mandelbrotini?
posted by LionIndex at 11:19 AM on April 15, 2021 [4 favorites]
Wouldn’t Mengerspongini* be impossible to not overcook?
* I can’t be having with either nut based or twice baked novel pasta shapes. One variable at a time for me.
posted by clew at 11:30 AM on April 15, 2021
* I can’t be having with either nut based or twice baked novel pasta shapes. One variable at a time for me.
posted by clew at 11:30 AM on April 15, 2021
I showed the new pasta to my daughter and first she said that it looked like shrimp and then that we should try it and ended with "but spaghetti is the best". I bought a box of bucatini after the thread on that and no one was impressed so maybe we're just set in our ways.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 11:45 AM on April 15, 2021
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 11:45 AM on April 15, 2021
That's 4.18 euros for 400 grams of dry pasta
NPR's Planet Money did a story that effectively a truncated version of the whole effort to make the pasta. Contained within the story is this bit:
posted by mmascolino at 11:54 AM on April 15, 2021
NPR's Planet Money did a story that effectively a truncated version of the whole effort to make the pasta. Contained within the story is this bit:
KETCHUM: Right now, I'm at $4,338. And the actual run today is another 8,000.So between the R&D on the bronze die and the limited run of the pasta they ran up $22k in expenses...thus a higher than usual price for a box to recover costs. If successful (and it sounds like they easily sold out their first run) then subsequent runs could allow for them to sell it cheaper.
PASHMAN: OK.
KETCHUM: So in total, that's about $12,300.
PASHMAN: And my cost for the die ended up being nearly $10,000 - more than I expected, but there was a lot of tweaking that had to happen. So total cost - my 10,000 plus their 12 and change - total cost - 22,000 and change.
posted by mmascolino at 11:54 AM on April 15, 2021
All the cool people are putting sauce on worms that look like pasta, not pasta.
posted by rikschell at 12:05 PM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by rikschell at 12:05 PM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
I'm glad I'm not the only who was a bit squicked out by its resemblance to something biological and/or Giger-esque!
posted by treepour at 12:20 PM on April 15, 2021
posted by treepour at 12:20 PM on April 15, 2021
Forkability just tells me you don't know how to eat noodles. Bah.
posted by dame at 12:35 PM on April 15, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by dame at 12:35 PM on April 15, 2021 [3 favorites]
I feel like a noodle like this would be great for dehydrated hiking/camping food.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:41 PM on April 15, 2021
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:41 PM on April 15, 2021
Yeah, it seems like a very blue collar utility noodle, more than anything fit for an exercise in fine dining. I wonder if you can get brass insert dies cut to shape for home pasta makers?
posted by mhoye at 1:04 PM on April 15, 2021
posted by mhoye at 1:04 PM on April 15, 2021
>>It's good that an American was able to remedy all of Italy's errors regarding it's national dish.
>Trying to do anything new or interesting around people who embrace this attitude is so goddamn exhausting. The number of people in the world who are in any way diminished by there being a new pasta shape in the world is zero. It is exactly zero.
I'm gonna stay out of this here pasta appropriation debate, but can we at least agree that this copy pasta deserves elevation?:
Metafilter: let us show you how to be sad about something that made you happy.
posted by jeremias at 1:18 PM on April 15, 2021 [6 favorites]
>Trying to do anything new or interesting around people who embrace this attitude is so goddamn exhausting. The number of people in the world who are in any way diminished by there being a new pasta shape in the world is zero. It is exactly zero.
I'm gonna stay out of this here pasta appropriation debate, but can we at least agree that this copy pasta deserves elevation?:
Metafilter: let us show you how to be sad about something that made you happy.
posted by jeremias at 1:18 PM on April 15, 2021 [6 favorites]
That looks like too much (too large of a?) pasta to me. I'm a portion control girl, and smaller pasta shapes allow for me to have good "bite to sauce" ratio, without consuming a huge portion. Balance would be hard with this one.
posted by lextex at 1:23 PM on April 15, 2021
posted by lextex at 1:23 PM on April 15, 2021
It's good that an American was able to remedy all of Italy's errors regarding it's [sic] national dish.
But where did Italy get pasta from in the first place? Googling around suggests that it may have originated with Arabic nomads and traders, then was adopted by Greeks, and then by Romans. Another view is that it came to Italy directly from Libyans.
I, for one, embrace this food tinkering, and can't wait to get my teeth into some of the new pasta.
posted by cron at 1:46 PM on April 15, 2021
But where did Italy get pasta from in the first place? Googling around suggests that it may have originated with Arabic nomads and traders, then was adopted by Greeks, and then by Romans. Another view is that it came to Italy directly from Libyans.
I, for one, embrace this food tinkering, and can't wait to get my teeth into some of the new pasta.
posted by cron at 1:46 PM on April 15, 2021
I can believe the claims about improved functionality, but yeah it's aesthetically unappealing, for food.
It's a stumpy double-J, whereas I think it could be more elegant like the frilly part of a giant clam, or the curved lines of a violin head.
posted by polymodus at 1:55 PM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
It's a stumpy double-J, whereas I think it could be more elegant like the frilly part of a giant clam, or the curved lines of a violin head.
posted by polymodus at 1:55 PM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
Dinner became a lot more complicated than planned, so I got to five minutes into episode 4.
I don't think the shape is for me. I don't like complex pasta shapes like radiatore, and this seems to be even worse.
I do like the podcast though, a lot. It really describes the industrial process of making food in our age, in a very charming manner. From my foreign perspective, he makes it very clear that this is about Italian-American food, both consciously and subconsciously. For instance, when he pronounced pappardelle as papperdel, I was SHOCKED. The sacrilege. But then I realized that it is as authentic as the Italian pronunciation, it is the dialect of Italians in the US.
posted by mumimor at 3:25 PM on April 15, 2021
I don't think the shape is for me. I don't like complex pasta shapes like radiatore, and this seems to be even worse.
I do like the podcast though, a lot. It really describes the industrial process of making food in our age, in a very charming manner. From my foreign perspective, he makes it very clear that this is about Italian-American food, both consciously and subconsciously. For instance, when he pronounced pappardelle as papperdel, I was SHOCKED. The sacrilege. But then I realized that it is as authentic as the Italian pronunciation, it is the dialect of Italians in the US.
posted by mumimor at 3:25 PM on April 15, 2021
Very interesting! I'm intrigued - I've been using gemelli in my Chinese fusion dishes for it's "toothsinkability" (I am not a fan of that word) and for it's ability to soak up juices released from fried beef, when boiled just-shy of al dente.
There is a Cantonese word for that - "dan gna" roughly meaning resistance to biting where al dente has more of that quality than over-cooked pasta. I've been using toothsome, but that means generally temptingly tasty and doesn't convey information about texture.
Anyway, since covid I haven't been able to find "my" brand of gemelli (it's more twisted producing regular bumps and has better dan gna) and I'm not a fan of Barilla brand which lacks the twist and is harder to cook evenly to maintain the dan gna while cooking entirely through.
posted by porpoise at 4:30 PM on April 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
There is a Cantonese word for that - "dan gna" roughly meaning resistance to biting where al dente has more of that quality than over-cooked pasta. I've been using toothsome, but that means generally temptingly tasty and doesn't convey information about texture.
Anyway, since covid I haven't been able to find "my" brand of gemelli (it's more twisted producing regular bumps and has better dan gna) and I'm not a fan of Barilla brand which lacks the twist and is harder to cook evenly to maintain the dan gna while cooking entirely through.
posted by porpoise at 4:30 PM on April 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
It looks like the mini-lasagne noodles from the Lasagna[sic] flavor Hamburger Helper. So maybe it is best for American-style sauce.
posted by fiercekitten at 7:04 PM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by fiercekitten at 7:04 PM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
Hamburger Helper
Interesting, the "pirate version" of Lasagna[sic] flavour Hamburger Helper appears to favour using mafalda corta style pasta.
The lasagna ripple/ edge resembles Cascatelli, but Cascatelli seems a bit girthier/ meatier.
posted by porpoise at 7:21 PM on April 15, 2021
Interesting, the "pirate version" of Lasagna[sic] flavour Hamburger Helper appears to favour using mafalda corta style pasta.
The lasagna ripple/ edge resembles Cascatelli, but Cascatelli seems a bit girthier/ meatier.
posted by porpoise at 7:21 PM on April 15, 2021
I really like The Sporkful. Dan has done some truly great podcasts, like his Searching for the Aleppo Sandwich two-parter. He did a recent series on eating disorders and does a lot of shows about the intersection of race and food in America (like his show on the use of plantation imagery in food marketing). Or when he interviewed Metafilter fave Sohla al Wayly as part of his coverage on Bon Appetit’s reckoning with systemic racism.
Dan Pashman does good, thoughtful work. That’s why he won a James Beard Award in 2018 (and has been nominated 3 other times). I know this may come as a shock to some of the commenters on this thread, but it’s possible that Dan created cascatelli because he has genuine interest and enthusiasm for pasta, not as a cynical cross-brand marketing cash-grab.
posted by Big Al 8000 at 8:30 PM on April 15, 2021 [8 favorites]
Dan Pashman does good, thoughtful work. That’s why he won a James Beard Award in 2018 (and has been nominated 3 other times). I know this may come as a shock to some of the commenters on this thread, but it’s possible that Dan created cascatelli because he has genuine interest and enthusiasm for pasta, not as a cynical cross-brand marketing cash-grab.
posted by Big Al 8000 at 8:30 PM on April 15, 2021 [8 favorites]
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