Culinary Arts — Pasta Pointers
Lesson Objectives:
Students will learn to make pasta from scratch.
How many different shapes and types of pasta are there?
Over five hundred.
Pastas should be matched to the type of sauce that they are served with.
• Alfredo sauce is a thick, cheesy, cream sauce. A small pasta like spaghetti can become a gooey mess, but wider fettuccine holds just enough of the sauce to give a balanced taste.
• Marinara sauce (traditional meatless spaghetti sauce) is lighter, so it is best with smaller pastas, or sometimes tube pastas (like ziti), which hold the sauce inside. Lasagna is wide pasta, that is meant to be baked with other things, and cut into like a casserole.
How to cook Pasta:
• Dried pasta expands quite a bit when it is cooked.
• Make sure the pot you select to cook your pasta in is large enough.
• 16 ounces of pasta will need 4 quarts of water in a large pot.
• Heat water over HIGH heat.
• One tablespoon of salt should be added to the water as it begins to boil. The salt helps bring out the flavor in the pasta and helps it hold its shape.
• When the water has reached a FULL boil, add all the pasta and stir immediately to prevent the pasta from sticking together.
• Once the pasta is added, continue to cook on high until the water comes to a full boil again. Then the heat should be turned down slightly but left high enough for the water to maintain a steady boil.
• Some cooks add a little oil to the cooking water to help prevent the pasta from sticking together. Most experts advise against doing this because the oil will coat the pasta and prevent the sauce from sticking to it.
• If pasta is added to water that is not at a full boil, or is cooked at a temperature that does not keep the water at a continuous boil, the pasta will absorb too much of the water and become soft and mushy.
• It is not necessary to cover the pot while cooking the pasta. Covering the pot will not speed up the cooking time.
• To prevent the pasta from sticking and clumping together cook at a consistent boil, and stir the pasta a couple of times throughout the cooking time. Be sure to stir to the bottom of the pot so the pasta does not stick to it.
• Read the package for the suggested cooking time, which is generally meant to start after the pasta is added and it begins to boil again.
• Check the pasta for doneness a couple of times through the cooking period.
• The best way to check for doneness is to remove a piece of pasta from the boiling water and taste test it.
• Pasta should be cooked to an “al dente” state, which is Italian for “to the tooth.” This means the pasta should be tender but still have a slightly firm bite.
• Do not let the pasta become too soft. The amount of time it takes pasta to cook depends on the ingredients of the pasta, its size, its shape, and its thickness.
• When the pasta is done, immediately remove from the heat. Drain the pasta as quickly as possible because it will continue to cook in the hot water.
• Do not rinse the pasta because the starches on its surface will allow the sauce to stick better and rinsing will only cool the pasta down faster.
• Serve the pasta immediately in a warmed bowl or on a warmed plate.
• If the pasta is not served immediately or going to be served without a sauce, add approximately 1 tablespoon of olive oil to prevent the pasta from sticking together when it is served. If you do not want to use olive oil, you can toss the pasta with a little butter or use a small amount of water. Toss the pasta to distribute the olive oil, butter or pasta water evenly throughout.
Pasta Trivia***
One bushel of wheat will make about 42 pounds of pasta.










