Macaroni Stock Photography

Macaroni is a variety of dry pasta made with durum wheat. Macaroni noodles usually do not contain eggs and are normally cut in short, hollow shapes; however, the term refers not to the shape of the pasta, but to the kind of dough from which the noodle is made. It may be straight or curved in which case it is frequently called elbow macaroni. Elbow maraconi is more common in the US and Canada, while British macaroni tends to be straight. Although home machines exist that can make macaroni shapes, macaroni is usually made commercially by large-scale extrusion. The curved shape is caused by different speeds on each side of the pasta tube as it comes out of the machine. The name derives from Italian maccheroni a generic term for hollow or tubular pasta . A different name, chifferi or lumaconi, refers to the elbow-shape pasta of this article.