bearisgray

For me - certain dishes "should" be made with certain shapes of pasta in them -

Macaroni and cheese - elbow macaroni
Tomato/hamburger casserole/hotdish - elbow macaroni
Chicken salad - ring macaroni
Shrimp something my ex-DIL made - spiral pasta (I don't remember the name)

What are your preferences?

I think most pasta tastes about the same - so why does the shape seem to make such a difference?

Stitchnripper

I agree. I like certain ones with certain things, including the ones you mentioned. I prefer thin spaghetti or angel hair pasta with any kind of tomato sauce. Not that I wouldn't eat it with ziti though. I also like bow ties with pesto. But not with spaghetti.

AngeliaNR

I like different shapes with different dishes, too. I like penne with saucy dishes since the sauce gets inside the pasta. Bowties are sturdy, so I like them in dishes that are cooked longer. Rotini is easy to fork, so I like it in pasta salads. Mac and cheese gets elbow macaroni. I'm not a fan of fettucini or egg noodles because they are often mushy. Shells are good with tuna casserole because sauce and tuna get inside. I'm just realizing that I have thought too much about this!

lclang

I save all the dabs of all my small pastas and when I make a large pot of soup, in it goes. makes it interesting and the grandkids love it!

Pinkiris

I like small shells for tuna salad. We tried bow ties in chicken soup and liked that they stayed on our spoons. Medium shells in vegetable beef soup, for sure!

tessagin

I prefer small shell for macaroni and cheese and pasta salads. I like the rotini (spiraled) also for mac and cheese and with our version of goulash with ground beef, mushrooms and pasta/pizza sauce. Love rotini in a cold pasta salad with broccoli and cauliflower. Once thought I had enough pasta and didn't but had some lasagna noodles. Cooked them partially then cut into small strips about 1/4". Worked for us. Made do with what I had.