#811 Ziti

I admit I get confused sometimes. I am never sure if scampi is a type of shrimp or a particular way to cook it. And if I really want to feel stupid I just have to dive into a plate of pasta.
Nothing makes you feel more humble than being outsmarted by starch.
For years I have been muddled by macaroni-like things. Maybe it was because spaghetti and elbow macaroni made up my entire early exposure to things noodular.
So I think I got penne and rotini. But then there’s cannelloni and manicotti. When served up they look the same. But cannelloni is a flat piece of pasta that’s rolled and stuffed, while manicotti comes as a pre-shaped tube.
A somewhat Freudian pre-shaped tube.
Which may explain the manicotti reference. Although in these gender neutral days maybe we should call it person-icotti.
So anyhow, it was with total befuddlement that I first encountered ziti. When I first had the dish it appeared to be some sort of baked penne thing. Not quite a casserole but heading there.
So naturally, I thought ziti was the name of the dish not the pasta. Then I was at a store and they were selling the pasta as ziti. And they didn’t look any different than penne.
What’s the deal? I thought. Did someone in the pasta factory see the news stories of the price of pennies going up and get confused?
So I looked it up. Ziti and penne are pretty much the same. Two words for small tubes of pasta that hold more sauce. Like manicotti, but after a swim in a cold pool.
Ziti is also the name of the dish, much like we refer to spaghetti as both the noodle and the entree.
Remember that noodle casserole they used to serve in the school cafeteria? It has a fancy Italian name too. It’s called mostaccioli.
There is an unfounded rumor that the biggest difference between mostaccioli and baked ziti is the amount of sauce used. Mostaccioli is served in the country with lots of sauce.
In urban areas, less sauce is used.
Or, as they say, just enough for the ziti.
America, ya gotta love it.