You might have already heard about Tagliatelle and Tagliolini without actually knowing the difference between them. This might be something to clear up before your next trip to Italy!

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What’s Tagliatelle?

The tagliatelle, derived from the Italian word tagliare – meaning “to cut” – refers to a type of pasta originating from the Emilia-Romagna and Marche regions of Italy. This pasta, similar to the fettuccine and has a flat, ribbon-like appearance.

Instead of water, it is made with eggs, with a ratio of one egg to one hundred grams of flour.

How to cook Tagliatelle

Being an absorbent pasta, the tagliatelle remains firm when it is served with heavy, meaty sauces such as the bolognese sauce. Meat dishes containing rabbit, veal, pork, or beef is also commonly served with this pasta.

What’s Tagliolini?

The names of these two kinds of pasta may sound a little similar, but do not confuse tagliatelle with tagliolini. Tagliolini is a variation of the tagliatelle pasta.

The difference between these two kinds of pasta lies in its form. Tagliolini has a cylindrical shape and has a paper-thin thickness with a dimension measuring less than 3 millimeters.

How to cook Tagliolini

Unlike tagliatelle, smooth, thin sauces work best when one is whipping up a dish with the tagliolini pasta. One will often find this pasta prepared with a white truffle sauce.

Being a versatile pasta variety, richer sauces, such as the carbonara, or other sauces containing creamy ricotta also work well with the tagliolini.

Over to you

Want to find out more about these Italian delicacies? Find out more about these types of pasta – and even try cooking them – with local chefs during a visit to Rome. Sandra, a local home chef in Rome, would be happy to have you at one of her pasta making cooking classes! 

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