Pasta shapes have been analyzed for sauce retention, flavor pairing, aerodynamics, and cooking time for as long as they’ve existed. All of the pasta scientists in history, however, have failed to consider one important factor: I’m going to eat them all plain with butter anyway. As an experienced picky eater and carb enthusiast, I am here to ignore all of their research and give my own incredibly biased ranking. Here are the best 4 pasta shapes for buttering.

The Recipe

  1. Step 1 is ALWAYS to salt the water. Don’t forget to do this, it’ll taste even more bland than it's supposed to.
  2. Once your salt is in enough water to submerge the pasta + about half an inch depth, boil it at its highest setting.
  3. Add your pasta once it reaches a rolling boil. If you're worried about measuring a cup of spaghetti I can't help you, just follow your heart.
  4. No need to adjust the temperature and definintely don't put the lid on. Set your timer and drain all the water off when it’s done.
  5. Stir in the butter right away so the hot pasta can melt it.
  6. Enjoy.