ottawa foodies

I can no longer find Vermicelli pasta. I want wheat, not rice noodle vermicelli. It used to be everywhere and now it seems like it is no where. I've been using capellini instead, but it is a tiny bit smaller than vermicelli.

According to the international pasta regulations, when you say you are looking for vermicelli, you actually mean spaghetti.

For those who need to know ...

Capelli d'Angelo (angel hair, cappelini)
1.0 - 1.2 mm

Spaghettini (vermicellini)
1.4 - 1.6 mm

Spaghetti (vermicelli)
1.8 - 2.4 mm

Spaghettoni (vermicelloni)
2.6 - 3.5 mm

What I buy - or used to buy until about 6 months ago - was not spaghetti. It was much thinner, but thicker than cappelini. It has a great big label and was called vermicelli. Maybe your guide depends on where the pasta comes from, but from my cooking experience with it, they are too different pastas. I also have a few Italian cookbooks and they are different in that book too.

Here is a good guide:
www.charmingitaly.com

For cooking times:
spagehetti : 9 mins
vermicelli : 6 mins
capellini : 3 mins

Have you checked in La Bottega Nicastro?
They have an entire wall of dried pasta types.

The American-based National Pasta Association also considers vermicelli to be thinner than spaghetti. Given the cooking times you posted, I wonder if spaghettini might fit the bill, or if you need even thinner.