Rigatoni Rigatoni Rigatoni are a form of tube-shaped pasta of varying lengths and diameters originating in Italy. They are larger than penne and ziti, and sometimes slightly curved, though nowhere near as curved as elbow macaroni. Rigatoni characteristically have ridges down their length, sometimes spiraling around the tube, and unlike penne, rigatoni's ends are cut square (perpendicular) to the tube walls instead of diagonally. The word "rigatoni" comes from the Italian word "rigato" ("rigatone" being the augmentative and "rigatoni" the plural form), which means "ridged" or "lined", and is associated with the cuisine of southern and central Italy. Rigatoncini are a
Dry pasta line pasta to the correct length. Dry pasta lines typically use rectangular dies to extrude long goods pasta and round dies to extrude short goods pasta. The extruder typically uses a vacuum system in the mixing process to keep air out of the dough. The dryer dries the pasta to the correct moisture level, typically using sticks or screens to transport pasta inside the dryer depending on the length of the product. Long goods pasta such as spaghetti is hung vertically from sticks and short goods pasta such as penne is placed on long horizontal conveyors with mesh screen belts. Long