How To Make The Perfect Pasta

Everyone loves pasta! Pasta's easy to find, fresh or dried, and simple to store. Keep pasta on hand for quick meals at your fingertips. Stuff it, stir fry it, or just add your favorite sauce to it. You can toss it in salads, layer it with cheese, or bake it in a casserole. No matter how you cook it, the compliments are sure to come.

Selecting Pasta.

Dried Pasta: Look for unbroken pieces. You should avoid any with a marbled surface or a lot of broken lines on it's surface. If it's like this it may fall apart during cooking.

Fresh Pasta: Look for smooth even colored unbroken pieces. It may look dry, but it shouldn't be brittle or crumbly. Avoid any packages with any liquid.

Frozen Pasta: You want the pieces to be loose and not frozen together. If it's in a solid block or if you see any ice crystals avoid it.

Storing Pasta

You can store it dry for up to a year at room temperature. You want to store it in tightly closed containers and you want to label each package as to it's contents and be sure to date it with the date it was put in the package.

You can keep it fresh in the refrigerator but you want to be sure to use it by the use by date on the package. You don't want to store uncooked pasta that has been opened for over three days in the refrigerator.

You can store your unopened pasta in the freezer until your ready to cook it. You want to store it in the freezer in sealed containers to avoid any danger of freezer burn. You can store it unopened in the freezer for up to nine months.

If you make it homemade store it just like dried pasta. You can refrigerate it fresh made for up three days or store it in tightly closed containers for up to nine months.

How To Cook Your Pasta

You can cook it and substitute it for one another as long as the sizes are near the same size.

You'll want to use one quart of water to cook every four ounces of pasta. The water should be boiling well before you add it. Add it gradually and stir it frequently to prevent it from sticking together.

You might have been told to add oil to the water but you never should. It isn't necessary and sauces will not stick to oil covered pasta. So don't add any oil.

Salt also isn't necessary but it does add flavor. As a guide add one half teaspoon of ground sea salt for each eight ounces of pasta.

If you buy it in a package be sure to read the instructions and follow the instructions carefully for the best results. It's always better to slightly under cook it rather than over cooking it. Your cooked product should be flexible but firm. If your cooking it in a casserole you want to under cook it because it will drink up the sauce and cook more in the oven. If you overcook it you'll end up with a product that is mushy, watery, and it won't have any flavor.

How To Store And Reheat Your Pasta

You'll want to toss cooked pasta with a small amount of olive oil so it won't stick together. Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to five days or in the freezer for up to nine months.