Noodles: is a tamale a noodle?

zeppo@lemmy.world to No Stupid Questions@lemmy.world – 110 points –

I don't really have a question but I want to talk about noodles, please. Is a tamale a noodle or a sandwich?

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Technically, ravioli is a stuffed pasta the same as tortellini. That would make it a noodle but I don't believe the same can be said for tamales. Pasta (Italian noodles) is made from a dough of semolina flour, olive oil, and eggs that is rolled into sheets or extruded into shapes. It is then cooked by boiling in water.

I don't think the dough(?) of a tamale is anywhere near the same.

What the dough is made out of isn't relevant to it being a noodle or not though, unless you think rice noodles aren't noodles because they aren't made of semolina, eggs, and oil and aren't typically cooked by boiling but rather by soaking in hot water?

Yeah, tamale dough is masa (nixtamalized corn) while ravioli is typically wheat flour, as you describe. Noodles can be made out of corn or rice, too... they're not really that different than wheat noodles. I have Celiac so I have tried a lot of gluten free noodles made from alternative grains.