"Brooklyn1" <Gravesend1> wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:04:27 +0000 (UTC), Doug Freyburger
> > wrote:
>
>>Ranee at Arabian Knits wrote:
>>> Doug Freyburger > wrote:
>>>
>>>> Some people put it on any shape of noodle because what shape is
>>>> available tends to beat the exact performance of the exact shape. But
>>>> the name was already there so it gets used even though the name is no
>>>> longer accurate.
>>>
>>> I can see no benefit, and certainly nothing that would beat the
>>> performance of elbow macaroni, to using spaghetti instead, though.
>>
>>Let's say I have a wholesale box of spagetti but I have to go to the
>>store to get a different shape of noodle. It doesn't have to be about
>>performance of the noodle as such but rather about the effort involved.
>>
>>My parents used the words spagetti and noodle interchangably at times.
>>It was incorrect useage.
>
> No it wasn't incorrect usage, spaghetti is indeed a noodle. Many
> pasta shapes are interchangeable. I rarely buy elbows but there's at
> least a dozen shapes that will work as well and better... I much
> prefer cellentani to elbows. For macaroni salad rotelli works better.
> People buy elbows because they are typically the least expensive
> shape, elbow dies are less complex to fabricate and maintain, they
> also produce pasta at a higher rate.
******************
I must be weird. I use elbow macaroni for mac & cheese and the long strands
for meat & tomato sauces. I like wide or medium egg noodles with just a
little butter, S&P and chopped parsley or dill weed. Of course those are
also served with some sort of meat with gravy on the side, like smothered
pork chops

Jill