--- title: Twitter Ranked Unusual Pasta Shapes with Shocking Results description: These 22 lesser-known pasta types were put to the test in a new ranking of everything from croxetti to mafaldine — and much more. canonical: https://time.com/4999013/twitter-pasta-ranking/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-10-26T21:59:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:48:18.281Z og:title: This Ranking of Unusual Pasta Shapes Is a Masterpiece og:description: From croxetti to mafaldine, here are 22 lesser-known pasta shapes, ranked og:url: https://time.com/4999013/twitter-pasta-ranking/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Ranking of Unusual Pasta Shapes Is a Masterpiece twitter:description: From croxetti to mafaldine, here are 22 lesser-known pasta shapes, ranked twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # This Guy's Ranking of Pasta Shapes You've Never Heard of Is a Masterpiece  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Oct 26, 2017 9:59 PM UTC  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Oct 26, 2017 9:59 PM UTC Do you know what lumaconi is? How about conchiglie? Not to worry: pasta expert and graphic designer [David Rudnick](http://davidrudnick.org/) is here to help us all. In a now-viral series of 25 tweets in honor of World Pasta Day, Rudnick methodically and incisively ranks 22 of the world’s “non-primary-canon” [pasta shapes](http://time.com/money/4942505/olive-garden-never-ending-pasta-pass/). (So that means penne, macaroni, [spaghetti](http://www.extracrispy.com/video/3734/spaghetti-pie-the-sosta), ravioli or linguine didn’t make the cut.) Instead, Rudnick — using a rubric of his own invention and visual aids throughout the Twitter thread — broke down the little-known pasta shapes based on their friendliness to sauces and ingredients, and general deliciousness of the overall experience. It’s a masterpiece, and few on Twitter can deny that Rudnick is the internet’s new Pasta King. For example, he describes fusilli bucati as “fractal pasta with near-infinite surface areas.” His least favorite of the options on the table is croxetti. “Pasta NOT a place for Graphics Design,” he explains of the disc-like pasta, which is imprinted with a delicate shape. Then there’s trenne, a triangular-shaped penne, which Rudnick examines with academic rigor. “Triangular shape almost conveys [_Bladerunner_\-esque](http://time.com/4867732/blade-runner-2049-footage-comic-con-san-diego/) neo-future noir,” he admits, and its “cold, heartless form befits our age,” but ultimately the shape is “unsociable to sauce.” As for the best non-traditional pasta shape? [Mafaldine.](https://www.marthastewart.com/1104480/mafaldine-shrimp-and-lemon) In careful bullet points, he presents his evidence: It’s “a sauce-holding miracle” and has “enormous surface area yet still fork-navigable.” The final bullet: “Longitudinal Ruffling as art.” (The exacting capitalization is his own.) Who are we to argue? Better idea: time to hunt down some mafaldine in the pasta aisle and get cooking. For a full education on pasta, explore his entire thread, below. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4999013/twitter-pasta-ranking/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4999013/twitter-pasta-ranking/"},"headline":"This Guy's Ranking of Pasta Shapes You've Never Heard of Is a Masterpiece","datePublished":"2017-10-26T21:59:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:48:18.281Z","description":"Mafaldine is king","url":"https://time.com/4999013/twitter-pasta-ranking/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Food & Drink","viral"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4999013/twitter-pasta-ranking/","name":"This Guy's Ranking of Pasta Shapes You've Never Heard of Is a Masterpiece"}}]}] ```