The word pasta comes from an Italian word which means ‘paste’. We either buy pasta which is dehydrated and comes in packets or we make fresh pasta at home. These both are cooked differently keeping the size, shape and freshness in the mind.
Dry pasta is made from semolina flour and water. These ingredients are mixed into a paste and then pushed through molds and cut into different types of pasta shapes. Once the dough has been shaped, it is put through a drying process that extracts all the moisture. Which gives them longer shelf life.
Fresh pasta is typically made from flour and eggs. Pasta can be made fresh in-house with a pasta machine or cutter. The shaped pasta is then left out to partially dry. Once you’re ready to cook your fresh pasta, you need to rehydrate it by boiling in water, like you would do with dry pasta.
I just bought this Marcato Atlas Wellness 150 Pasta Maker, Stainless Steel machine and I am super excited to use this
Marcato Atlas Wellness 150 Pasta Maker, Stainless Steel
Here is an alternative for pasta making machine, if you are a beginner and don’t want to invest in something big right now. Making fresh pasta at home is very exciting, you got to try it.
Pasta can be differentiated on the basis of various contexts like shape, the main ingredient for flour, etc, However, most commonly they are differentiated on the basis of the shapes. From spaghetti to linguine to penne to ziti there are plenty of pasta shapes out there to choose from and a lot of it comes down to personal preference.
Disano Fusilli Durum Wheat Pasta, 500g
Borges Penne Rigate Durum Wheat Pasta, 500g
Disano Spaghetti Durum Wheat Pasta, 500g
The nooks and crannies of fusilli, for instance, offer a cosy refuge for nuts and pieces of meat and vegetables in a pasta salad or Bolognese sauce. In contrast, smooth tomato sauces, pestos and light cream recipes work best with long thin pasta, such as spaghetti, because they coat the strands evenly.
Here I have made this doodle for the easy understanding of the names and shapes.
Cooking pasta is as easy as boiling water, but cooking pasta correctly can get little tricky sometimes. You can have your pasta dish to be its best by knowing a few of the hows and whys of cooking pasta.
Most people like it Al dente. Meaning “to the tooth” in Italian, this term refers to fully cooked pasta that is still a bit firm, which gives it an appealing texture.
Generally, pasta is cooked in boiling water. When it is properly boiled it is drained and then dressed. Dressing refers to the step where it is mixed with sauces or other food items like cheese, vegetables, etc.
Steps to Perfect Pasta cooking
1. For every one pound of pasta, bring 5 quarts of water to a rolling boil. Once water is boiling, then add about 2 tablespoons of salt. Pasta water should be as the Italian’s say “as salty as the sea.” This gives the pasta a flavour boost.
2. Pick a roomy pot that gives the pasta plenty of space to move when boiling. Stir to keep the pasta from sticking. Stir within the first 2 minutes of cooking pasta.
3. Follow the package directions for cook times. As a general guideline: perfectly cooked pasta that is al dente, or firm to the bite yet cooked through, requires you to test it yourself when the time is close. You may need to test the pasta 2 or 3 times before it’s just right.
It’s better to err on the side of al dente, as the overcooked pasta will break down and become carby mush.
4. Once the pasta is cooked to your liking. Before you drain the water, save a single cup. This starchy water can work wonders in adjusting the consistency of your sauce, to both thin and thicken. Binding the sauce and pasta together, and breaking down thicker sauces so they’re less likely to clump at the bottom of your bowl
5. Never rinse the pasta, if making a warm dish. The starchy water helps it bind to the sauce. With oil-based pasta dishes, hot pasta water helps to create a sauce. With thicker sauces, it helps to develop a smoother consistency.
6. The only time you should ever rinse your pasta is when you are going to use it in a cold dish like a Pasta salad. In cases such as those, rinsing the pasta helps to stop the cooking process.
7. Toss pasta in a warmed saucepan with the sauce of your choice. Cook pasta with sauce for about 2 minutes to marry flavours.
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