Bucatini is a type of long, spaghetti like pasta that has a hollow center.
Bucatini gets it's name from the Italian word "buco" which means "hole".
The straw like pasta called bucatini is a classic pasta from the Lazio region of Italy and is also served traditionally with full bodied pasta sauces like Amatriciana sauce and also used in dishes such as Cacio e Pepe and Carbonara, as it's hole in the pasta allows the pasta to capture and hold sauce much better than spaghetti.
The defining feature of bucatini pasta is the hole that runs through the length of the bucatini, which is what allows it to cook evenly and also hold more sauce.
Bucatini is also a thick and long pasta that is similar to spaghetti, but with a wider diameter due to the hollow core.
And bucatini pasta is made with durum wheat, and has a rustic texture and a tender but also firm, al dente bite.
Bucatini pasta is of Italian origin and is traditional pasta from the Lazio region of Italy and most particularly around Rome and it pairs well with rich and full bodied tomato, oil or cream based sauces, as the sauce can coat the outside of the pasta and fill the hollow center.
Bucatini is also famous for it's use in dishes such as Bucatini all' Amatriciana which is a Roman classic with guanciale, tomato and Pecorino Romano as well as Cacio o Pepe.
Alternatives to bucatini are Perciatelli and Spaghetti.
Spaghetti or Linguine can also be substituted for bucatini, although they won't hold onto the sauces as well as bucatini.
And in Southern Italy, bucatini is also often called Perciatelli, especially in the Abruzzo region.