Shape-shifting pasta sounds like a concept thought up in an Italian kitchen — or a science-fiction film.

Israeli researchers are making this unconventional idea a reality,crafting a technique that allows pasta to take on 3D shapes after being placed in boiling water.

The researchers – led by Professor Eran Sharon and Dr. Ido Levin of The Racah Institute of Physics, Faculty of Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI) – have developed a method to manufacture dried pasta sheets, which are “preprogrammed” to mold into a 3D shape upon boiling, according to a university statement.

The technology has the potential to transform the entire pasta industry – from the process of manufacturing, transporting, and storage to the culinary experience in the kitchen.

“I think bringing dynamics and events of morphing and easily-implemented shape changes into the kitchen could change the entire environment of cooking and eating,” Sharon tells NoCamels. 

This shapeshifting method aims to reduce bulky, space consuming packaging. The pasta is manufactured straight and flat-packed into low volume straight boxes. When boiled, the pasta takes on curly shapes. This saves space for transport and storage and implies savings in shipping and storage costs.

The innovation behind this game-changing approach to pasta did not come from Sharon’s kitchen, but rather, from his physics lab. With an extensive background in physics and a 19-year tenure at HUJI as a professor, Sharon has long been interested in the field of shape-shifting – or self-morphing, he tells NoCamels.

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