Two much-loved and very much confused for one another dishes are ravioli and tortellini. Both come from Italy, both are derivatives of pasta, both have a filling, but they look different and may have different uses.
When we talk about tortellini, you have to keep in mind, that they are usually served as a main course and the way they look is quite different from the way ravioli look.
Tortellini are stuffed with stuffing, often similar to that of ravioli, but wrapped differently. Some people say they look like mussels, others say shrimp, depending on the way they are wrapped.
The classic way of shaping them is by in the cut circle - and especially in its center, the filling is positioned and the ends are joined like crescents and pinched in the middle, in which case a mussel-like shape is obtained.
When it comes to ravioli, the important thing is, that they look different. They are formed by cutting circles or squares and placing the filling you have prepared in the center and there are two options for "sealing" - the ends of the circle are smeared with egg and stuck to each other in the shape of a crescent or another circle is placed on top, which is again smeared with egg on edges.
Another interesting difference between tortellini and ravioli, is that ravioli can be served both as a dessert and a main course.
