Why we made this

We got a little obsessed with pasta shapes. Why does rigatoni have ridges? Why is orecchiette shaped like a tiny ear? What's the actual difference between tagliatelle and fettuccine?

Turns out most shape guides online are written by companies that sell pasta. So we made an independent one.

Every shape gets a painting checked against the real thing, measurements from the makers' own spec sheets, the sauces it was made for, and the stories behind it (the legends are fun, we just label them as legends). Not a recipe site, no sponsors. Just shapes.

Curious how we check things? It's all on the methodology page. Spotted something wrong? Tell us!