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While there are no hard and fast rules, we Italians do have a few guidelines for matching shapes with a suitable sauce. For example, fine delicate strands work best with light, smooth sauces while twisted shapes and wider ribbons can support chunkier sauces. And it's not just a manners a thing, pairing sauces and shapes well can make it a lot easier to enjoy! Learn more about matching pasta and sauce with Ultimate Pasta Guide [2].
It may be tempting to break long pasta shapes in half in order to fit them in the pot, but be warned: this is considered sacrilege in the Italian kitchen! Instead, simply drop the long pasta into the boiling water. After the immersed ends have softened up a bit, you can push the remaining ends into the water.
With the exception of pasta in broth which requires a spoon, the only utensil you need to enjoy a plate a pasta if a fork! Italians never cut their pasta so leave the knives for your secondo, per favore.
So with out a spoon or knife, how do you eat long pasta without making a mess? For shapes like spaghetti and tagliatelle, simply twirl the pasta around your fork to pick it up. If you're having difficulty, try this: ground the fork on the bottom of the plate and gently twirl to capture a forkful of pasta, making sure there aren't too many loose ends.
In most cases, Italians never put grated cheese on pasta dishes that contain seafood. Instead, use a little bit of sautéed breadcrumbs with olive oil to garnish the dish. Try this recipe Pasta al Tonno [3], which uses a little bit of toasted breadcrumbs at the end.
Source URL: http://newsite.iitaly.org/magazine/dining-in-out/eataly-magazine/article/pasta-etiquette
Links
[1] http://newsite.iitaly.org/files/paccheri-pastajpg-0
[2] http://www.eataly.com/us_en/magazine/how-to/guide-to-pasta-shapes/
[3] http://iitaly.org/node/55282