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Questions tagged [pasta]

Questions about the make, manufacture, preparation, and cooking of all types of pasta, including traditional durum wheat, whole wheat, and gluten-free.

This tag covers Italian and American styles of pasta either made from wheat or intended to simulate the flavor/texture of traditional Italian wheat pasta. Similar products from other parts of the world, such as Japanese Soba or Udon, are more traditionally called "noodles" and should use the tag instead.

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I never succeed in thickening sauces with pasta water. What am I doing wrong?

Every cook praises how starchy pasta water is great for thickening sauces and helping the sauce cling to the noodles. But no matter how much pasta water I add, it never thickens the sauce.Yesterday I cooked one pound of pasta in a liter of water…
Bar Akiva
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Double cooked pasta

On my pasta package it says something like ready for double cooking and more curiously it gives cooking times of 11 min for regular (single cooking) and 5.5 / 2 min for first/second cooking when double cooking. I had never heard of this double…
user1583209
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What's a good substitute for basil in pesto sauce?

I'm making some pasta at home with a pesto sauce. The recipe I'm referring to asks for some basil leaves to go along with the pine nuts in the food processor. Unfortunately, I can't find basil where I live, and I'm looking for a something else to…
Yejus
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How much water does pasta absorb when it is cooked?

How much water will dry semolina pasta absorb when it is properly cooked? For example, how much water would one pound of farfalle or spaghetti absorb? I am guessing the shape of the pasta doesn't matter, just the absolute weight. I am not looking…
SAJ14SAJ
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How long does cooked pasta last in the fridge?

I sometimes cook more pasta than I intend to eat or use at once and store the rest in a container in the fridge (just plain, cooked pasta). How long would it store safely for?
Daniel Vandersluis
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Does squid ink pasta bleed?

Will the black color from squid ink spaghetti bleed onto other ingredients? I was recently given a package of squid ink spaghetti. I haven't used it before and I want to try something creative. I was thinking of separately cooking some regular…
Sobachatina
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When cooking pasta in salted water how much of the salt is absorbed?

Most chefs recommend that you should add quite a bit of salt to boiling water which you cook pasta in (sometimes 1 teaspoon). For those watching their sodium intake, how much of this salt will actually end up being absorbed by the pasta, and how…
LeopardSkinPillBoxHat
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How should one go about reheating pasta?

Ok, so, I know the answer, "You shouldn't, because it's easy to make it fresh." But on occasion, I end up making too much pasta, not having enough sauce, etc. and the pasta gets stowed in a tupperware awaiting a secondcoming. Usually it just ends up…
TJ Ellis
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Should I use whole eggs or only yolks in Spaghetti alla Carbonara?

I tried to cook spaghetti alla carbonara and searching out I found out that some recipes use whole eggs and some only the egg yolks. Which way gives the better result?
Felissa
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How to substitute eggs in homemade pasta?

I am looking to make pasta at home, but all the classical pasta dough recipes I know of are egg-based. While I have no problem with eating meat and animal products from time to time, I would like to avoid eggs here. Could somebody guide me to good…
Pekka
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Turning regular noodles into no-boil noodles

I've been told by other that you don't need to boil the noodles for lasagna before you assemble and bake it. They claim that you can just lay them out on the pan raw and assemble as usual and the heat from the oven + the liquid from the sauce is…
Enrico Tuvera Jr
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What's the best way to tell that pasta is done (when boiling)?

I've tried a number of different ways to tell when spaghetti, capellini and other pasta types are done, but I'm curious if there are more specific rules of thumb. With regular spaghetti, I've tried biting-in-half to see if it's still white in the…
user3579
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(How) can I prevent pasta water from boiling over with the lid closed?

I always cook pasta with the lid of the pot open, because otherwise foam starts to build up and eventually boils over, maikng a huge mess. I would prefer to keep the lid on for energy saving purposes. Is this possible at all? What makes the foam…
Hanno Fietz
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Can anybody help make homemade pasta foolproof?

I can't even count the number of times that I have followed recipes for pasta using a food processor, only to discover that no matter the care I took with the measurements, my dough was just a bit too dry (add water). Now it's too wet, (add flour).…
Jolenealaska
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What makes a pasta shape pair with a sauce?

Spaghetti goes well with tomato sauce with ground meat. Fettucini goes well with a creamy sauce. Why? What general principles about the characteristics of the pasta and the sauce make them work well together? When is angel hair superior to…
Gregor Thomas
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