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Have you tried this yet? How does the end result compare to forking over the extra $ for fresh pasta rather than dried? Between this tip and the baking pasta o

by ZoFreX 12y ago

Have you tried this yet? How does the end result compare to forking over the extra $ for fresh pasta rather than dried? Between this tip and the baking pasta one, my girlfriend is going to look at me very oddly next time I cook pasta.

carlob 12y ago
> How does the end result compare to forking over the extra $ for fresh pasta rather than dried? Actually making fresh pasta is pretty fun…
- tptacek 12y ago
  And very very messy.
- plug 12y ago
  It is a lot of fun, it tastes amazing and it gets quicker and less messy the more you do it. Recently I decided I would start getting a lot more use out of an Imperia I bought years ago, with the specific goal of getting good/fast enough to not make a huge mess and be able to (literally) crank out a few helpings quick enough for dunner. Practice makes perfect... The most time consuming part is mixing the flour and egg, and if you don't do it well enough you're going to have a hard time rolling and particularly cutting. It turns out that it's a perfectly acceptable 'cheat' to just use a food processor... I tried it the last time and I ended up with a decent dough in a fraction of the time it takes to hand mix. That was an encouraging development :)
tptacek 12y ago
The ramen thing? No. Just found out about it. Cold water rehydration? It's pretty much our default way of cooking pasta. I roasted it dry last night before rehydrating, until the pasta was a medley of different earth tones. First time I'd tried that. It was extremely cool.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
SixSigma 12y ago
> How does the end result compare to forking over the extra $ for fresh pasta rather than dried? Why not just make your own fresh pasta, it's not that hard! I have an attachment for my food mixer - so all I have to do is put my dry flour in the mixing bowl until the gluten is developed and then feed it through the pasta rollers. $200 gets you a dedicated machine http://www.pasta-recipes-made-easy.com/electric-pasta-machines.html http://www.pasta-recipes-made-easy.com/electric-pasta-machin... or even cheaper https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDImZ493V3U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDImZ493V3U Watch Gordon Ramsay do it by hand https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VzXH3o88mw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VzXH3o88mw
- tptacek 12y ago
  Because it's really messy, involves a lot of counter space, takes a fair amount of extra time, and isn't shelf stable. Making your own pasta is a great idea. Also delicious. But it's like a Sunday afternoon idea. Turning dried pasta into alkalized ramen-style noodles, though, is something you can set up in 4 minutes on a Tuesday night and then on Thursday when you remember you did that setup have for dinner in 3 minutes of cooking time. The two cooking techniques just aren't comparable. The point of the Ideas In Food technique isn't to approximate fresh pasta. It's to make a better and more interesting use of dried pasta, which is simply a different product.
  - carlob 12y ago
    > [fresh pasta] isn't shelf stable. You can freeze it. I use something like this [1] to make pasta very often. Ok, making ravioli is something that takes at least 30 minutes (and up to 4 hours if you're making an elaborate recipe for a large party). But you can make tagliatelle for four in the time the water boils. [1] http://www.amazon.com/CucinaPro-150-Imperia-Pasta-Machine/dp/B0001IXA0I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422306543&sr=8-1&keywords=imperia http://www.amazon.com/CucinaPro-150-Imperia-Pasta-Machine/dp...
    - tptacek 12y ago
      See definition of "shelf stable". :)
surement 12y ago
> How does the end result compare to forking over the extra $ for fresh pasta rather than dried? Fresh pasta is not better than dried pasta, just different. You can't get an al dente texture with fresh pasta, for example.
- archagon 12y ago
  Are you sure about that? When I visited Italy, it seemed that pretty much all pasta was fresh pasta. You could find it in practically every store. Every restaurant served pasta that was fresh and eggy. I'm skeptical that a technique requiring dry pasta would be so widespread in a country that loves its fresh pasta so very much. Also, my feeling is that the definition of "al dente" is a little nebulous. I've seen it used to mean "the end result should be slightly chewy", but I've also seen recipes where it means "don't cook the pasta all the way so that it can finish cooking in the sauce pan". I get the feeling that the latter is what's more common in Italy. (But I could be totally wrong about all this!)
  - aidenn0 12y ago
    Going by etymology, I would guess it means the former, as "al dente" comes from "Of the tooth"
    - deleted 12y ago
      [deleted]
  - surement 12y ago
    Some people just find al dente to be more pleasant for certain pasta shapes than the soft texture of fresh pasta. Finishing the pasta in the sauce is always a good idea when it's possible, but you'd still aim for an al dente final texture (e.g. put it into the sauce when it's about a minute away from being al dente).
  - lultimouomo 12y ago
    "Al dente" is the equivalent of rare, there's no ambiguity to it in Italian. We mainly eat dried pasta; it could be that fresh pasta is overrepresented in restaurants, though.
GFK_of_xmaspast 12y ago
Go to the Asian groceries for fresh noodles, they're cheaper than dried.

by ZoFreX 12y ago

carlob 12y ago

> How does the end result compare to forking over the extra $ for fresh pasta rather than dried? Actually making fresh pasta is pretty fun…

tptacek 12y ago
And very very messy.
plug 12y ago
It is a lot of fun, it tastes amazing and it gets quicker and less messy the more you do it. Recently I decided I would start getting a lot more use out of an Imperia I bought years ago, with the specific goal of getting good/fast enough to not make a huge mess and be able to (literally) crank out a few helpings quick enough for dunner. Practice makes perfect... The most time consuming part is mixing the flour and egg, and if you don't do it well enough you're going to have a hard time rolling and particularly cutting. It turns out that it's a perfectly acceptable 'cheat' to just use a food processor... I tried it the last time and I ended up with a decent dough in a fraction of the time it takes to hand mix. That was an encouraging development :)

tptacek 12y ago

The ramen thing? No. Just found out about it. Cold water rehydration? It's pretty much our default way of cooking pasta. I roasted it dry last night before rehydrating, until the pasta was a medley of different earth tones. First time I'd tried that. It was extremely cool.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

SixSigma 12y ago

> How does the end result compare to forking over the extra $ for fresh pasta rather than dried? Why not just make your own fresh pasta, it's not that hard! I have an attachment for my food mixer - so all I have to do is put my dry flour in the mixing bowl until the gluten is developed and then feed it through the pasta rollers. $200 gets you a dedicated machine http://www.pasta-recipes-made-easy.com/electric-pasta-machines.html http://www.pasta-recipes-made-easy.com/electric-pasta-machin... or even cheaper https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDImZ493V3U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDImZ493V3U Watch Gordon Ramsay do it by hand https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VzXH3o88mw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VzXH3o88mw

tptacek 12y ago
Because it's really messy, involves a lot of counter space, takes a fair amount of extra time, and isn't shelf stable. Making your own pasta is a great idea. Also delicious. But it's like a Sunday afternoon idea. Turning dried pasta into alkalized ramen-style noodles, though, is something you can set up in 4 minutes on a Tuesday night and then on Thursday when you remember you did that setup have for dinner in 3 minutes of cooking time. The two cooking techniques just aren't comparable. The point of the Ideas In Food technique isn't to approximate fresh pasta. It's to make a better and more interesting use of dried pasta, which is simply a different product.
- carlob 12y ago
  > [fresh pasta] isn't shelf stable. You can freeze it. I use something like this [1] to make pasta very often. Ok, making ravioli is something that takes at least 30 minutes (and up to 4 hours if you're making an elaborate recipe for a large party). But you can make tagliatelle for four in the time the water boils. [1] http://www.amazon.com/CucinaPro-150-Imperia-Pasta-Machine/dp/B0001IXA0I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422306543&sr=8-1&keywords=imperia http://www.amazon.com/CucinaPro-150-Imperia-Pasta-Machine/dp...
  - tptacek 12y ago
    See definition of "shelf stable". :)

surement 12y ago

> How does the end result compare to forking over the extra $ for fresh pasta rather than dried? Fresh pasta is not better than dried pasta, just different. You can't get an al dente texture with fresh pasta, for example.

archagon 12y ago
Are you sure about that? When I visited Italy, it seemed that pretty much all pasta was fresh pasta. You could find it in practically every store. Every restaurant served pasta that was fresh and eggy. I'm skeptical that a technique requiring dry pasta would be so widespread in a country that loves its fresh pasta so very much. Also, my feeling is that the definition of "al dente" is a little nebulous. I've seen it used to mean "the end result should be slightly chewy", but I've also seen recipes where it means "don't cook the pasta all the way so that it can finish cooking in the sauce pan". I get the feeling that the latter is what's more common in Italy. (But I could be totally wrong about all this!)
- aidenn0 12y ago
  Going by etymology, I would guess it means the former, as "al dente" comes from "Of the tooth"
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
- surement 12y ago
  Some people just find al dente to be more pleasant for certain pasta shapes than the soft texture of fresh pasta. Finishing the pasta in the sauce is always a good idea when it's possible, but you'd still aim for an al dente final texture (e.g. put it into the sauce when it's about a minute away from being al dente).
- lultimouomo 12y ago
  "Al dente" is the equivalent of rare, there's no ambiguity to it in Italian. We mainly eat dried pasta; it could be that fresh pasta is overrepresented in restaurants, though.

GFK_of_xmaspast 12y ago

Go to the Asian groceries for fresh noodles, they're cheaper than dried.