Varieties Of Pasta

Pasta is a universally enjoyed food, and almost every country serves a type of noodle. In China, it is mein; Japan, udon; Poland, pierogi; Germany, spaetzle. The popularity of pasta can be attributed to several factors: it is easily manufactured, it takes up little storage space, it is easy to cook, and it is rich in complex carbohydrates.
Pasta comes in a variety of different shapes that serve for both decoration and to act as a carrier for the different types of sauce. Pasta also includes varieties, such as ravioli and tortellini, that are filled with other ingredients, such as ground meat or cheese. Pasta is eaten as a main meal, starter, soup or dessert.
Pasta is typical of different cultures and countries, but the most famous varieties and recipes come from Italy
here are hundreds of different shapes of pasta with at least locally recognised names. Examples include spaghetti (thin strings), maccheroni (tubes or cylinders), fusilli (swirls), and lasagne (sheets). Gnocchi and spätzle are sometimes considered pasta; they are both traditional in parts of Italy.
Pasta is categorized in two basic styles: dried and fresh. Dried pasta made without eggs can be stored for up to two years under ideal conditions, while fresh pasta will keep for a few days under refrigeration.Pasta is generally cooked by boiling
Under Italian law, dry pasta (pasta asciutta) can only be made from durum wheat flour or durum wheat semolina.Durum flour and durum semolina have a yellow tinge in color. Italian pasta is traditionally cooked al dente (Italian: "firm to the bite", meaning not too soft). Outside Italy, dry pasta is frequently made from other types of flour (such as wheat flour), but this yields a softer product that cannot be cooked al dente the same way. There are many types of wheat flour with varying gluten and protein depending on variety of grain used..Some pasta varieties, such as pizzoccheri, are made from buckwheat flour.
Fresh pasta may include eggs (pasta all'uovo 'egg pasta'), and does not use durum wheat semolina.
Whole wheat pasta, which generally contains more fibre and more nutrients than refined pasta, has become increasingly popular 

Raw Materials

Pasta is made from a mixture of water and semolina flour. Semolina is a coarse-ground flour from the heart, or endosperm, of durum wheat, an amber-colored high protein hard wheat that is grown specifically for the manufacture of pasta. With a lower starch content and a higher protein content than all-purpose flours, semolina flour is easily digested. Farina, rougher granulations of other high-quality hard wheat, is also used to make some pastas. The semolina and farina flour are enriched with B-vitamins and iron before they are shipped to pasta plants.
Eggs are sometimes added to the mixture for color or richness. Federal guidelines stipulate that egg noodles contain a minimum of 5.5% egg solids. Vegetable juices, such as spinach, beet, tomato, and carrot, can also be added for color and taste. In recent years, the addition of herbs and spices such as garlic, basil, and thyme has become popular.

Storage

Dried pasta keeps its flavour for up to two years if stored well in an airtight container. Dried egg pasta made won't last as long but can still be stored for a few months - check the use-by date to be sure. Fresh pasta has to be eaten within a day or two at the most (it does freeze successfully, though won't taste as good as when eaten on the day it's made). Cooked (dried) pasta freezes well and can be kept for a couple of months. Freeze pasta sauces separately if you can, because they'll keep better (unless you've made a lasagne, which is fine to freeze whole). 

 

 Preparation

 

For a quick meal, the variety of dried pasta available is indispensable; if you have more time, there’s nothing more rewarding than making your own pasta with a simple combination of flour and eggs. Remember the two rules passed down from Nigella's mentor Anna del Conte - when cooking pasta, use water that's as salty as the Mediterranean, and when serving it, don't drain it too thoroughly because a little water will help incorporate the sauce.

Long thin pasta is traditionally served with tomato, seafood or light vegetable sauces, while a sauce with chunks of meat is more likely to be served with wide pasta such as tagliatelle or short tube shapes such as penne.

For thin soups, tiny pasta shapes or vermicelli are good. More robust soups like minestrone take pasta like macaroni or bits of spaghetti. Ravioli and tortellini are examples of stuffed pasta and the fillings can vary from meat to cheese and vegetables like the classic ricotta and spinach.

Lasagne sheets and cannelloni sheets are good pastas to use in baked meat or vegetable dishes like lasagne al forno and cannelloni. Every store cupboard should have a pasta shape or two - the cook would be lost without it.

Whether you're using fresh or dried pasta it should always be cooked in a large pan of boiling water with salt to taste. Use about 6 litres/10 pints of water to 500g/1lb of pasta. When the pasta is completely submerged in the water on a rolling boil, stir it from time to time to make sure it isn't sticking to the bottom of the pan.

The well-known 'tip' to put olive oil in the pan to prevent the pasta from sticking isn't favoured by many chefs, because it stops the sauce clinging to the pasta when serving and is considered unnecessary. Oil does, however, help prevent the water boiling over. It's just as effective to stir the pasta occasionally to prevent it from sticking, rather than using olive oil.

For an Italian, the only way to serve pasta is cooked 'al dente' (to the bite). Taste the pasta towards the end of the cooking time; it should feel a little elastic and you should feel a little resistance in the centre of the pasta when you bite down. Drain the pasta in a colander (leaving a little water clinging to the pasta to prevent sticking) and mix with the sauce. Fresh pasta is still full of moisture, so needs far less cooking time than dried; sometimes just 30 seconds is enough (though three minutes is more standard), so read the packet instructions and keep testing it for doneness.

How much pasta you cook depends on whether the pasta is a first course or main course and how hungry you and your family or guests are! As a guide, per person you should allow 75g-115g/3oz-4oz dried pasta; 115g-150g/4oz-5oz fresh pasta; 175g-200g/6oz-7oz filled pasta, such as ravioli.

 

Long pasta

 

 

  

 

Short pasta

 

 

 

Short pasta

Pasta all'uovo (egg pasta)

Fresh pasta

Minute pasta (pastina, used for soups)

Pasta for pasta al forno (baked pasta) dishes