# How is tube pasta extruded? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 29, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-tube-pasta-extruded/526882 "2010-01-29T14:13:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-tube-pasta-extruded/526882/21 "2010-01-29T19:50:53Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Neat! I love watching things get extruded. True story: at one of my previous jobs I was in charge of a database that maintained insurance records for employees of various client companies that used our services. In our database we had a list of job titles. One of the job titles was “cheeto extruder”. It’s true that this job title was in our database, but I cannot guarantee that it was an actual job title at our client company (who was a maker of various edible products, including Cheetos) - maybe some HR person at the client company had entered it as a joke? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-tube-pasta-extruded/526882/22 "2010-01-29T20:10:25Z")
Well, the [machine](http://www.tradekey.com/ks-cheetos-extruder/) exists, so it is logical to assume that someone runs it. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-tube-pasta-extruded/526882/23 "2010-01-29T20:44:31Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > A slightly hijacky question, if I might. > > Is there any other reason other than “Because we can!” for some of the 42,000 different shapes of pasta? I can see some of them - different sauces work better with different shapes. But bowties (farfalle)? . . . not to mention the bag of multi-colored penis-shaped pasta I bought in Venice. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-tube-pasta-extruded/526882/24 "2010-01-29T20:48:25Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > . . . not to mention the bag of multi-colored penis-shaped pasta I bought in Venice. Is that multi-colored pasta shaped like penis, or pasta shaped like multi-colored penis? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-tube-pasta-extruded/526882/25 "2010-01-29T20:49:39Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > . . . not to mention the bag of multi-colored penis-shaped pasta I bought in Venice. What were they called? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-tube-pasta-extruded/526882/26 "2010-01-29T20:54:01Z")
‘Extrudate’ is now my Word of the Day. I must use it to annoy. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-tube-pasta-extruded/526882/27 "2010-01-29T23:38:13Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > What were they called? Penicelli? ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-tube-pasta-extruded/526882/28 "2010-01-30T02:46:53Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Well, the [machine](http://www.tradekey.com/ks-cheetos-extruder/) exists, so it is logical to assume that someone runs it. God, I do love the Dope. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-tube-pasta-extruded/526882/29 "2010-01-30T04:39:39Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Well, the [machine](http://www.tradekey.com/ks-cheetos-extruder/) exists, so it is logical to assume that someone runs it. Yes, but is there really some poor soul that does that all day, and has “Cheeto Extruder” printed on his/her business cards? On the other hand, you probably get to eat all the Cheetos you want, so maybe this is a sought-after position. ---
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-tube-pasta-extruded/526882/30 "2010-01-30T13:20:06Z")
Frito-Lay doesn’t have any listings for it in the career opportunity sections on their site at least. I would think they would just be called Machine Operators since most plants make multiple products, not just Cheetos. ---
**Author:** ![sjc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@sjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjc)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-tube-pasta-extruded/526882/31 "2010-01-31T00:25:12Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Penicelli? Interestingly enough, if you mispronounce penne (like the pasta) so that it has one ‘n’, i.e. pene, it means ‘penis’ in italian. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-tube-pasta-extruded/526882.md?page=1)