Turns out, there's more to cooking pasta than simply boiling it. You have to consider the shape, too, especially if you're ...

Indeed, these pasta shells are decidedly snail-shaped -- one end of the tube is a large opening while the other end is slightly pinched, allowing each noodle to trap a decent amount of sauce inside.

There are more than 300 types of Italian pasta today, and each is meant to serve a saucy purpose. Here, we spotlight several and explain how to best use them.

Coming from a home where pasta was not even part of a monthly meal, when I first moved to Italy as a student, I viewed all pasta as, well, pasta. You had it fresh when you had time (or a nonna was ...

The shell creates the perfect balance of pasta and sauce in every bite.” Standard mini or medium shells work well for stovetop or baked mac and cheese.

This list is not nearly exhaustive, as there are, as I said, so many different shapes of pasta. But these 30 types of pasta are the most popular.