If you wished to count all of the different pasta types, you'd probably have to start in Italy. Even though the Italians have done a fairly thorough job of classifying the major different types, there are so many regional varieties, that coming up with an exact number would be challenging to say the least.
In the United States, the number of pasta types people are familiar with is quite a bit smaller, maybe a dozen or so. If you go into a store specializing in Italian food however, you get a hint as to the large number of pasta types you can choose from. Before we get into some of the variations, let's first take a look at pasta in general, and how it came about. What we call pasta has been around for perhaps 5000 years. Evidence of pasta's existence has been found in the area we now call Italy, and also in China, for that length of time. The English, who discovered pasta in Italy, introduced it to the American Colonies, though it wasn't until after the United States became independent that pasta was produced here commercially on a large scale.
Most American families eat a pasta dish one or more times a week, with the three favorite pasta types being spaghetti, lasagna, and macaroni (with cheese). Other highly popular pasta types are fettuccine, linguine, and angel hair. Nutritionally, pasta is low in calories (although the sauce you use may not be), rich in carbohydrates, low in sodium, and, as it is made from enriched grain in the United States, it is fortified with folic acid, an important nutritional element. In both the United States and in Italy, pasts is made from the kernels of durum wheat (called semolina, when ground). Commercially sold pasta is usually made from semolina, homemade pasta is often made from wheat flour, which causes it to cook more quickly.
The two major types of pasta, categories if you will, are the pasta made from semolina and egg pasta, as in noodles, where 5.5% or more of the pasta consists of egg solids. Egg pasta, or egg noodles often have a richer flavor, while the all wheat pasta has more of a nutty flavor. Noodles then, are just a category for pasta. In fact, pasta is the Italian word for noodles, which can confuse things just a bit. Best not to worry about it, unless you are allergic to egg products.
If pasta is famous for anything besides taste and utility, it is probably the wide variety of shapes and sizes that are encountered. Much of the pasta we consume is extruded, by pushing the dough through a small opening, and cutting or slicing what comes out to a certain width or length. The pattern of the hole and the way the dough is cut determines the final shape of the pasta, hence the variety of pasta types. Some of the names, many of which are Italian, are descriptive of the shape of the pasta; other names reflect the region where the pasta type originated.
Primary Pasta Types - The primary pasta types or categories are as follows: Ribbon pasta (flat cuts, with linguine, lasagna, and fettuccine the best known), Strand pasta (spaghetti, angel hair), Tubular pasta (manicotti, and elbow macaroni), Shaped Pastas (everything from bow ties to wagon wheels), and Stuffed pasta (often produced in flat sheets, squares, or patches - ravioli being an example). In addition there are the regional pasta types and numerous specialty pastas, basically pasta with something added such as cocoa, or saffron. Some of the pasta types are purely decorative, such as the wagon wheel, while others are very functional (tubular pasta with ribs to hold the sauce, or pocket shaped pasta to hold a stuffing). We'll take a look at some of these shapes and types.
Ribbon Pasta - Unlike strand pasta which is tubular, ribbon pasta is flat, including the flat variety of spaghetti, more commonly known as linguine. Linguine is a very versatile pasta. Many pasta types are suited to only certain sauces or types of fillings. Linguine goes well with a wide variety of sauces. Somewhat wider than linguine, fettuccine is another ribbon pasta (fettucce means "small ribbons"), it is one of the oldest of the pasta types, and is produced by cutting strips or ribbons from a flat sheet of pasta. Most people who have eaten fettuccine have probably sampled Fettuccine Alfredo, an all-time popular pasta dish. Fettuccine is an egg noodle pasta.
Another popular egg pasta is lasagna. Lasagna is a ribbon type pasta, as is fettuccine, but the sheet is not cut into ribbons but kept whole, and used as both a base and a covering for a cooked dish. Lasagna can also be bought in ribbon form however, with the ribbons usually 2 to 3 inches in width. The number of different lasagna dishes is very large indeed, limited primarily by the cook's imagination. Typically, a lasagna dish has meat, cheeses, and tomatoes as the filling. (continued...)