Italiano
Have you ever noticed how in the packages of pasta, next to the name, there is a number?
Perhaps the most famous are the Barilla “Spaghetti” n. 5. But there ar also, the “Spaghettini” n.3 and the “Spaghettoni” n.7, always from the same manufacturing company.
Don’t be fooled by the diminutive suffix (-ini) and the augmentative suffix (-oni).
These numbers have nothing to do with the diameter, nor with the shape, nor with the cooking time.
Rather, that number you see next to the name of the pasta is nothing more than an item code.
And they are not even standard numbers that are the same for all brands.
Simply put, it is an internal company code used to identify the product.
The Barilla spaghetti, one of the most used pasta shapes in the world, has, as mentioned, the number 5.
The De Cecco spaghetti instead has the n.12. Those of Rummo instead have the n.3.
Same story for fusilli, penne, rigatoni… you name it!
Each brand has a different number for the type of pasta, which has the purpose to codify the product and does not provide any useful information to the consumer. Other than that of identifying a type of pasta, of a specific brand.
It would be nice to standardize all the types of pasta in the world and give a unique number, right?
Well, good luck with that…
