A recent meme has brought to light something never been questioned before: are Pop-Tarts ravioli?
One may think it’s preposterous to question such things and no such connection should ever be made between Pop-Tarts and ravioli.
This question may seem simple, but it leaves culinary taxonomists perplexed. This has food classification conundrum has gone to the extent that Pop-Tart’s official Twitter account gave the statement, “No, Pop-Tarts are not ravioli. Ravioli are Pop-Tarts.”
Why would someone think a Pop-Tart is a ravioli?
It makes sense both are dough encapsulating a filling. Therefore, it would make sense the two foods are the same. But much like how squares are rectangles, but rectangles aren’t squares, there’s a question of semantics when comparing the foods.
So are Pop-Tarts ravioli? Are ravioli Pop-Tarts?
To find out, we need to find what a ravioli is, and if the characteristics of a Pop-Tart fall in line with the definition of ravioli.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of ravioli is “pasta in the form of little cases of dough containing a savory filling (as of meat or cheese)”
Pop-Tarts are cases of pastry containing a sweet filling. This doesn’t exactly fall in the definition of a ravioli.
However, the culinary world isn’t made of strict definitions on what a food item is or isn’t.
Pop-Tarts compared with ravioli are made of pastry, not pasta. But what are pastry and pasta? They are both dough made from flour, water and eggs. The casings are made from the same stuff.
Ravioli has lots of different fillings, and a creative chef could replace the savory with sweet, aligning the ravioli definition towards the Pop-Tart.
These ambiguities give leeway to assign Pop-Tarts the definition of ravioli.
There are lots of examples where food items could share the same definition. A burger, hoagie, grilled cheese, torta, kebab, cheesesteak and hot dogs are all technically sandwiches. They are slices of bread with one or more fillings between them, and nobody bats an eye when you call them sandwiches.
If we accept that different styles of food can share the same classification, we can accept that Pop-Tarts, samosas, gujiya and dumplings are in fact ravioli.
Labeling things has always caused a division between people. In a time where our society is politically fragmented due to a labeling of political parties, gender, sexual orientation and race, we should all come together as one and agree that Pop-Tarts are indeed ravioli.