What Should Be Classified As 'Ravioli'?

ravioli Dreamstime
Lily Rose|

What are ravioli? Some might say they are traditional Italian pasta dumplings, each composed of two layers of dough that conceal a layer of savory filling. Others might say that Pop-Tarts are ravioli — or even that Smucker's Uncrustables are — and the debate is tearing the internet apart.

What the heck deserves to be classified as ravioli and what does not? 

All of these items have two layers of "dough" and inside, a filling. Maybe you can't enjoy an Uncrustable with cream sauce and peas — but honestly who's to say you can't? It all began with a photograph of a man at a table with a sign decreeing: "Pop-Tarts are ravioli. Change my mind."

The original meme was posted to Tumblr, but it has since exploded across social media, becoming one of the most successful memes of 2018 (and it's only March!) and took over Twitter. It was then followed by a tweet about how Smucker's Uncrustables are also ravioli, which has also gained major traction.

The internet has since been locked in debate, with Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, and even Instagram users taking sides on this hot, hot ravioli debate.

Some people have formed a third opinion, concluding that Pop-Tarts, Smuckers, and ravioli are all, in fact, dumplings.

And some people have just... taken the whole meme to another level.

Pop-Tarts and Smucker's weighed in on the debate. The Pop-Tarts account was anti-Pop-Tart-as-ravioli and also insisted that the pastry is not a sandwich. They also threw in another meme reference with Tide Pods (but that's so January).

The Uncrustables account called themselves a "sandwich," but with only 3 retweets and 6 likes, it looks like no one heard their anti-ravioli cry.

The Daily Meal staff, naturally, have their own strident opinions on the matter. One editor is adamantly against the classification of Pop-Tarts or Uncrustables as ravioli. "How about we just call ravioli 'ravioli' and Uncrustables 'sandwiches'?" she proposed. "Because that's what they are."

Another editor was amenable to listening to arguments regarding Pop-Tarts but would not budge on the Uncrustables front. "One hundred percent no on the Uncrustables, because bread isn't dough. I'll listen to arguments regarding Pop Tarts," she said.

One editor was staunchly pro-Pop-Tarts-as-ravioli. "It's dough, with a filling. There is nothing stopping Pop-Tarts from making a savory version, but if they did, it would be ravioli!"

Still not convinced either way? These are America's best restaurants for ravioli. None of the menus contain Pop-Tarts or Uncrustables... yet.

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