Penne

Penne are short tubes of durum wheat pasta cut diagonally at both ends, like the nib of a quill pen, and sold smooth (lisce) or ridged (rigate). They are one of the few pasta shapes with a known birth date: a cutting machine patented in 1865. Makers give 11 to 12 minutes of cooking for penne rigate. ¹²⁴

The name. In Italian «penne» refers to the goose quill once used for writing, which was cut on a slant to get a fine tip, and the pasta copies that diagonal cut. ¹ Barilla puts it simply: penne means «pen», and the tube with angled ends was inspired by an old-style ink pen. ²

The 1865 patent. That year Giovanni Battista Capurro, a pasta maker from San Martino d'Albaro near Genoa, obtained a patent for a diagonal cutting machine. ¹ It could cut fresh pasta like a quill without crushing it, in lengths of 3 to 5 centimetres for mezze penne or penne. The document in the Central State Archive in Rome notes that until then the slanted cut was made by hand with scissors, slowly and irregularly, flattening the pasta. ¹

Lisce or rigate. De Cecco's Penne Lisce no. 40 have no ridges, which it says is made up for by a soft, delicate bite; they cook in 11 minutes, 9 al dente. ⁴ Penne Rigate no. 41 have ridges and cook in 12 minutes, 10 al dente, and Barilla's ridged penne cook in 11. ¹²

What is in them. Italian law allows only durum wheat semolina and water in pasta sold as durum wheat semolina pasta, with at most 12.5% moisture. ³ Barilla's Canadian penne list semolina and durum wheat flour plus niacin, iron, thiamine, riboflavin and folic acid, and warn that the line also handles eggs. ²

Nutrition. A serving of about 85 g of Barilla penne has 300 kcal, 63 g of carbohydrate, 11 g of protein, 5 g of fibre and 1.5 g of fat. ² Generic dry pasta has 371 kcal per 100 g; once cooked it drops to 158 kcal per 100 g because it absorbs water. ⁹

Sauces. De Cecco recommends penne rigate for baked pasta and meat sauces of pork or beef, with vegetables, or with tomato, basil, olive oil and parmesan, and calls arrabbiata a classic pairing. ¹ For penne lisce it suggests meat ragùs in general, and Barilla favours chunky tomato sauces, meat ragùs and baked dishes. ⁴²

Penne in the US and Canada. American rules for enriched macaroni products require, per pound, 4–5 mg of thiamin, 1.7–2.2 mg of riboflavin, 27–34 mg of niacin, 0.9–1.2 mg of folic acid and 13–16.5 mg of iron. ⁸ That is why North American packs such as Barilla's Canadian penne or Ronzoni's mostaccioli list these vitamins and iron after the semolina. ²⁷ Italian semolina pasta, by contrast, is defined as semolina and water only. ³

Why it matters to you. Cook by your pack: 11 minutes for Barilla, 12 for De Cecco rigate, 11 for De Cecco lisce. ²¹⁴ Choose rigate for thick sauces that cling to the ridges and lisce for a softer bite. ¹⁴ Wheat is an allergen that must be highlighted on EU labels, and some lines may contain traces of egg. ¹⁰²