# Pot sized spaghetti **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 18, 2018, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-sized-spaghetti/810765 "2018-03-18T05:32:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-sized-spaghetti/810765/81 "2018-03-19T20:35:33Z")
> [@wonky](#): > > Thank god. Carry on! He does however, lick his knife. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-sized-spaghetti/810765/82 "2018-03-19T20:36:54Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > C’est la capitalisme, I suppose. People will pay absurd premiums just for a little extra convenience. Just look at the price of pre-chopped veggies or lettuce/cabbage at the store. Maybe not enough, though. The stores around here had short pasta for awhile, (I think it was Barilla) but it’s gone now. I picked up a couple of boxes when they were closing it out. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-sized-spaghetti/810765/83 "2018-03-19T20:39:02Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > For me, part of the joy of eating spaghetti is artfully using the spoon and fork to twirl the perfect amount of noodle and neatly eat it. Yeah, I don’t understand this thing about needing smaller noodles. I just use a big pot. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-sized-spaghetti/810765/84 "2018-03-19T20:43:55Z")
I went to the grocery store, the noodles that were cut in half are 50% more expensive than the long noodles. So nah, I don’t need them that badly. I can just break them myself if I need to. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-sized-spaghetti/810765/85 "2018-03-19T20:57:16Z")
Originally Posted by pulykamell View Post “No, I do not bite my fork.” > [@wonky](#): > > Thank god. Carry on! I bite my fork but it is OK because it is a plastic fork. Oh wait - did I just go to the back of the bus full of traditional spaghetti eaters? Again? I did want to mention that the shorter noodles still wrap around a fork just fine. The only thing different is that you don’t get the 10" long stragglers slapping your chin. Dennis ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-sized-spaghetti/810765/86 "2018-03-19T21:03:14Z")
I have a question for those here who seem to consider five-inch spaghetti some form of sacrilege; why is ten-inch dry spaghetti somehow acceptable? Why don’t you insist on spaghetti (or whatever form of pasta) made from scratch for each meal? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-sized-spaghetti/810765/87 "2018-03-19T21:03:21Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > He does however, lick his knife. _sob_ > [@mixdenny](#): > > Originally Posted by pulykamell View Post > “No, I do not bite my fork.” > > I bite my fork but it is OK because it is a plastic fork. Oh wait - did I just go to the back of the bus full of traditional spaghetti eaters? Again? > > I did want to mention that the shorter noodles still wrap around a fork just fine. The only thing different is that you don’t get the 10" long stragglers slapping your chin. > > Dennis You may bite a plastic fork all you like, as far as I’m concerned! ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-sized-spaghetti/810765/88 "2018-03-19T21:06:10Z")
If you keep the pasta with the sauce for too long, the pasta will dry out the sauce. Doesn’t make for very good leftovers. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-sized-spaghetti/810765/89 "2018-03-19T21:10:59Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I have a question for those here who seem to consider five-inch spaghetti some form of sacrilege; why is ten-inch dry spaghetti somehow acceptable? Why don’t you insist on spaghetti (or whatever form of pasta) made from scratch for each meal? Dry and fresh pastas are two different beasts. One is not better than the other. They taste different and are usually made from different ingredients. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-sized-spaghetti/810765/90 "2018-03-19T21:31:48Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I have a question for those here who seem to consider five-inch spaghetti some form of sacrilege; why is ten-inch dry spaghetti somehow acceptable? Why don’t you insist on spaghetti (or whatever form of pasta) made from scratch for each meal? Quite simply, because the alleged superiority of fresh pasta is mostly an American misconception. In most cases and for most purposes dried pasta is just as good or better, and IMHO this is especially true for spaghetti/spaghettini where you want it _al dente_ and it will be served with sauce. From an article in the _New York Times_ on how Italians cook and eat pasta: … most of that pasta comes from a box. A persistent notion in American kitchens is that pasta, to be good, must be freshly made by hand, preferably by a venerable grandmother wielding a rolling pin. Second best is pasta cranked from a machine of the kind that tends to gather dust in American kitchens, and with good reason: except in skilled hands, the pasta that exudes from it is seldom very good. Finally, there’s the kind of ready-made, fresh pasta available in American shops – an overworked, extruded paste that too often turns to goo in the cooking water. And only after all that comes pasta secca, pasta in a box. Not here in Italy. Except in a few regions of the north, Italians don’t bother much with pasta fresca at all. Don’t get me wrong. Beautifully made pasta fresca is glorious, but for everyday meals, whether in high-priced Milanese restaurants or humble Tuscan farmhouses, Italian cooks rely on the stuff in the box. And they don’t apologize for it, either. That’s not just because pasta secca represents a cheap, quick, easy way to throw together a delicious dish. Italian cooks, professional and at home, are fully persuaded that commercial dried pasta is a high-quality product, every bit as tasty as – and often even better than – pasta fresca. > **[From Italy, the Truth About Pasta; The Italians know that less is more: a...](https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/17/dining/italy-truth-about-pasta-italians-know-that-less-more-call-for-return-basics.html)** > > Nancy Harmon Jenkins reports on Italians' love of pasta, noting that they are world champions when it comes to pasta consumption: 60 pounds a year, on average, for every man, woman and child, compared with 26 pounds per capita in America; Italians... As long as I’m quoting authorities on Italian culinary authenticity, here’s a quote on the horrors of breaking spaghetti that’s similar to what I said earlier: The noodles should never be broken before cooking or cut with a knife once they’re on your plate, according to Frank Scafidi, whose parents owned an Italian deli and grocery store. “You might as well put it into a blender and then pour it into a bowl. That makes spaghetti nothing more than ‘spoonable’ pasta — and there’s an Italian phrase for that — acini de pepe. We sold lots of that in our store, too, for people who intended to make a pasta-based soup,” he said." Frankly, spaghetti is best enjoyed when it can retain its length as it makes its approach to your taste buds. Doing anything too exotic to it before it reaches your mouth is to deny yourself of one of life’s great dining traditions." [How To Eat Spaghetti Like A True Italian](http://www.mashed.com/30509/eat-spaghetti-like-true-italian/?utm_campaign=clip) ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-sized-spaghetti/810765/91 "2018-03-19T21:55:06Z")
> [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](#): > > It’s your meal, obviously, and you’re clearly welcome to enjoy it the way you enjoy it! > > I don’t particularly care about the tradition of it either - if it tasted good to crunch it straight from the bag then I’d do so - it’s more that it’s not too silly to at least try taking recommendations about how to serve pasta from Italian cooks. I have, and have found them to be A Good Thing. It was certainly the case here in the UK for many years that - along with the rest of our bastardised culinary interpretations - standard service technique was “sauce on a bed of pasta”. Then I came to realise that “pasta with sauce” is an item, a unified recipe: the pasta isn’t finished and fit for service till it’s dressed, and the sauce combines properly with the pasta if done so as part of the cooking process. > > And I don’t think there’s anything ‘alleged’ about Italians serving it like that! Yes, that does appear to be the tradition. After failing to find anything definitive on it, I did find an article on “proper” Italian cooking that stressed mixing the pasta and the sauce and in fact briefly cooking them together before serving. It’s not going to change the way I eat it – I know what I like and I even theorized why it tastes better to me with the sauce on top. One other thing that might be worth pointing out is that it’s also Italian tradition to serve much smaller portions of pasta than we do here in North America, because it’s customarily just an intermediate course that’s followed by a meat or fish dish (which is also why I understand you won’t find “spaghetti and meatballs” in Italy). Also, there seems to be a preference for very simple sauces, like just tossing the spaghetti in olive oil and garlic. It sounds like a whole different approach to spaghetti. > [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](#): > > … Interesting cultural aside though: American diners appear far more tenderness-obsessed then much of the rest of the world, if recipe sites/cookery shows/forums are anything to go by. I don’t want meatballs _too_ tender, I want a bit of texture. Perhaps. My favorite meatballs are from the same little Italian store that makes my favorite sauce. They differ from anything I can find in ordinary stores and are exceptionally lean and flavorful, made I think with veal, beef, and possibly chicken (it’s been a while since I paid attention to the ingredients). But they are also very tender, which seems to me to complement their role in spaghetti where you want the texture experience to be the pasta, not the meatballs, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-sized-spaghetti/810765/92 "2018-03-19T22:06:59Z")
This thread is buggin’ the hell out of me. I must be losing my edge. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-sized-spaghetti/810765/93 "2018-03-19T22:15:42Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > This thread is buggin’ the hell out of me. I must be losing my edge. I actually don’t mind meatballs poached in the cooking liquid. I typically don’t do it that way, but if you like more delicate meatballs, it works for me. There’s certain stews I do, for instance, where I do not brown the meat precisely because I want a more delicate flavor and _don’t_ want all that maillard browning (veal, in particular, but there’s also a chicken in dill-cream sauce thing I do where I don’t like to brown, either.) So it depends on what you’re going for. ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-sized-spaghetti/810765/94 "2018-03-19T22:38:35Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > It’s not going to change the way I eat it – I know what I like and I even theorized why it tastes better to me with the sauce on top. Quite right too. Eat it the way you enjoy it. > [@](#): > > it’s also Italian tradition to serve much smaller portions of pasta than we do here in North America It’s a big meal-its-own-right in the UK as well. But I’ve had it that way in Italy too, as well as a small part of a bigger meal. > [@](#): > > it’s customarily just an intermediate course that’s followed by a meat or fish dish (which is also why I understand you won’t find “spaghetti and meatballs” in Italy). I love spaghetti and meatballs, but I do certainly think of it as an American dish, yes. It never really had a place among Italian dishes in the British culinary repertoire. The classic British “Spaghetti Bolognese” is a very ersatz, inauthentic affair too. No self-respecting Italian would serve a tomatoey minced-beef sauce with spaghetti. It’s the wrong shape. > [@](#): > > Also, there seems to be a preference for very simple sauces, like just tossing the spaghetti in olive oil and garlic. It sounds like a whole different approach to spaghetti. Yup. The best pasta dishes I’ve eaten were in the Amalfi region - though I’m sure the whole country would claim similar! - generally they had no more than half a dozen ingredients, including the pasta. > [@](#): > > My favorite meatballs are from the same little Italian store that makes my favorite sauce. We have fewer such places here, I imagine, so I have no extent of experience from which to draw a favourite! I make my own meatballs and sauce. Not some sort of culinary oneupmanship, I hasten to add: I happen to enjoy doing so - my kids squishing everything together and rolling the balls while I sip a martini - at least as much as I enjoy eating them, and doing so has become an integral part of the meal’s experience. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-sized-spaghetti/810765/95 "2018-03-19T23:06:31Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Sounds delicious. Is this “[enough bacon](https://www.google.com/search?q=image+large+pile+of+bacon&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=2qpYWig1r4MERM%253A%252CrDWjhLSP4BdaKM%252C_&usg=__SGHSwq0N1mAkAwisB2WqoDyvi0c%3D&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjP_8PSvfbZAhWoq1QKHZiNCrIQ9QEILzAC#imgrc=GJoqADpRYR5o1M:)”? No, but [this is.](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jan/08/soil-association-derbyshire-pig-farm) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-sized-spaghetti/810765/96 "2018-03-20T14:06:03Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > IKR! > > Seek thee out, Chitarra Pasta from Rustichella d’Abruzzo, and make a simple and delicious [Spaghetti Alla Chitarra](https://www.greatitalianchefs.com/recipes/spaghetti-alla-chitarra-tomato-sauce-recipe), or any other recipe that calls for long pasta. Simply sublime. > > I’m not a huge pasta lover but there is something about that specific type of pasta that I absolutely love. I actually managed to find another brand of spaghetti alla chittara here at a grocery called Mariano’s. It was La Molasina brand and $2.19 for a 16oz bag. We’ll check it out soon enough. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2018, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-sized-spaghetti/810765/97 "2018-03-21T02:31:49Z")
I have to admit, I didn’t think anyone without kids would break their pasta. However, enough breakers have checked in that this is clearly a thing. I’m not sure I’ve ever had halfsize spaghetti but it seems like it wouldn’t wind around the fork right and the texture would be off. > [@pulykamell](#): > > I actually managed to find another brand of spaghetti alla chittara here at a grocery called Mariano’s. It was La Molasina brand and $2.19 for a 16oz bag. I stopped by my Mariano’s in Harwood Heights tonight and found that pasta. There was a second in a 500g package for $3.49, Attilio brand. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2018, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-sized-spaghetti/810765/98 "2018-03-21T13:17:40Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I actually managed to find another brand of spaghetti alla chittara here at a grocery called Mariano’s. It was La Molasina brand and $2.19 for a 16oz bag. We’ll check it out soon enough. Thanks! > [@jnglmassiv](#): > > I stopped by my Mariano’s in Harwood Heights tonight and found that pasta. There was a second in a 500g package for $3.49, Attilio brand. Cool. I have never notices these two brands but I’ll keep an eye out for them. In the meantime, looking forward to hearing what you all think. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2018, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-sized-spaghetti/810765/99 "2018-03-21T16:07:26Z")
The local HyVee has their store brand pasta on sale at 10 for $10 and the pot-sized was included. And it’s the same size box (16 ounces) as the other spaghetti. ---
**Author:** ![HyacinthBucket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hyacinthbucket/32/3063_2.png) [@HyacinthBucket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HyacinthBucket)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-sized-spaghetti/810765/100 "2018-03-24T12:57:41Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > That’s the only jarred sauce I’ve tasted that I actually enjoyed, and wasn’t just some “well, I need food in my belly, I don’t care what it tastes like.” That said, I just can’t bring myself to spend like eight bucks for a friggin jar of spaghetti sauce. I don’t know if this has been mentioned yet , but check out your local Jewel, the 24 ounce jars of Rao’s are $5.99 until March 27. Rao’s is the best, but Lidia Bastianich’s sauces aren’t bad either. Those are the ONLY ones we’ll buy. Heck, I’m home all day, and how hard is it to make a good pasta sauce? One more time, just because - DON’T add oil to your pasta water! You want the sauce to cling to and be absorbed by the pasta, not slide off. Lidia agrees with me. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-sized-spaghetti/810765.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-sized-spaghetti/810765.md?page=6)