Alphabets. These pastas are you guess it! Shaped like letters. They are usually used in soups, as in alphabet soups of Sesame Street fame.

Rotini. Also known as 'spirals,' they are shapes so as to hold the ingredients of a sauce (meat, vegetables and cheese). Like the macaroni, it can be topped with almost any sauce; and can likewise be used in salads, casseroles and stir-fried dishes.

Cappelini. Popularly called 'angel hair' this pasta is thin, delicate and is usually the accompaniment of fine, delicate sauces. Despite its shape, it's a versatile pasta and can be used in a variety of dishes.

Manicotti. Roughly translated, manicotti means 'small muffs' and are best used for stuffed pasta dishes that make use of meat, vegetables, cheese and sauce.

Jumbo. Shaped somewhat like a cowrie shell, the jumbo pasta, like the manicotti, is used for stuffed pasta dishes.

Farfalle. Also known as 'bow ties,' this pasta works well with any sauce and can be used is salads and soups.

Egg noodles. This pasta obviously contains a lot of eggs. It's a versatile noodle that can be topped with, cream, tomato, cheese and meat sauces. This pasta either come medium sized or wide.

Conchiglie. Filipinos are familiar with this pasta as they are known in the country as shell pasta. It can be used in lieu of macaroni in most dishes.

Ditalini. Shaped like 'little thimbles,' this pasta can be used as the base of any dish. In can be used in any baked pasta dish, soups, salads and stir-fried treats.

Orzo. This small pasta is shaped like a grain of barley. It can be used with almost any sauce, added to soups, or even baked as a casserole. It can be used for side dishes, as well as the main course.

Ruote. Roughly translated, the name of this pasta means 'wheels or 'wagon wheels.' It makes for an interesting salad casserole and for stir-fry dishes. It can be added to soups.

Radiatore. Otherwise known as 'radiators' this pasta has ridges that reminds one of a radiator. Despite its shape, it's usually viewed as an elegant pasta. It's good for baked dishes, salads and soups.

Ziti. This is a tubular pasta that goes well with chunky sauces and meat dishes. It's good for salads, baked dishes and stir-fried treats. Ziti means 'bridegrooms' - a curious term.

Is pasta fattening? No it's not. Actually, eating too much of any food is fattening and in this instance, pasta is no exception. However, a half cup of pasta actually has only 99 calories. In comparison to similar sources of carbohydrates that has twice if not triple the mount of calories per serving, pasta may just not be the fattening food item we envision it to be.