what is penne

Penne is a tube-shaped pasta that originated in Italy. The name "penne" comes from the Italian word for "pen," referring to the angled ends of the tube, which resemble the tip of a quill pen. Penne is produced in two main variants: penne lisce (smooth) and penne rigate (furrowed), the latter having ridges on each penna. The shape was created in 1865 by Giovanni Battista Capurro, a pasta maker from San Martino dAlbaro (Genoa), who obtained a patent for a diagonal cutting machine that cut fresh pasta into a pen shape without crushing it. Penne is a versatile pasta that can be used in a wide range of recipes, from casseroles to soups. It is typically made from durum wheat semolina and water, and the tubes are usually relatively short, around the length and width of a pinkie finger.