Do You Know Your Pasta?

By Michael Russell


Have you ever noticed that when you go out to eat at an Italian restaurant, or even to your favorite grocery store, the choices of pasta is nearly limitless? There is every kind of different shape and size of pasta that you can imagine. Truly, it can be overwhelming at times trying to figure it all out. What are all these different kinds of pasta for? How can you determine what is what? Let's take a closer look at all the various kinds of pasta and what they are used for.

Spaghetti. This is an easy one. It's one food that we all know and love. Spaghetti comes in a box, or a bag, in long thin strands. You cook it in boiling water and mix it into your favorite spaghetti sauce recipe.

Ravioli. Here is another pretty easy one for everybody. Ravioli is a small, square shaped pasta that is stuffed with several different fillings like meat, cheese, mushrooms, sausage, etc. Ravioli can be topped with tomato sauce and can even come toasted.

Macaroni. One of the all-time favorites! Macaroni is a small, hollow tube pasta. It is used mainly in cooking macaroni and cheese.

Cannelloni. Cannelloni is also a hollow tube pasta, but it is much larger than macaroni. Cannelloni is stuffed with different meat sauce mixtures and also will have various cheeses baked in the middle.

Linguine and Fettuccine. These pastas are know as ribbon noodles due to the fact they are long, stringy and flat. They can come in many different lengths. These noodles are a delicious food with creamy sauces mixed onto them such as Alfredo sauce.

Tortellini. Tortellini is yet another type of stuffed pasta. They come in half circle pieces that are folded over and stuffed with meat, cheese, sausage, or other ingredients. You can also pour your favorite sauce over the top of this delicious food.

Vermicelli. Vermicelli is a very fine, thin string of pasta. It is also known as "angel hair" pasta. It can be used with a creamy sauce of your choice, or used with other items such as crab, or shrimp. Many times vermicelli is formed together to form a type of nest that will hold the crab, or shrimp on top of it.

Conghiglie. This pasta is shaped like small shells. There are many different sizes of conghiglie. From tiny pasta shells that are good for using in soups, to larger sizes that can be stuffed. This type of pasta is a favorite food in pasta salads.

Farfalle. Farfalle is a pasta that is bow shaped and also used mainly in different pasta salads.

Fusilli. Fusilli is a thin spiral shaped pasta that is good in pasta salads. It is also good with different styles of sauces.

Lasagna. Lasagna is perhaps the best of all the different pastas. These are long, wide strips of pasta that are layered with fillings between them. These fillings can include meat, sausage, cheese, mushrooms and about anything else you can think of. More cheese is piled on top and then baked in the oven.

This list should help you the next time you see a pasta that you're unfamiliar with. No matter what shape or size, pasta is a favorite on everyone's list of great tasting foods!

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Food

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Ramen Noodle Tips

By Cristie Will

Awe...those quick, easy and inexpensive Ramen noodles. There are so many ways to cook these long and curly noodles.

Take a package of the chicken flavored Ramen noodles and follow directions on package. Remove noodles after cooking and place them in an airtight container, but before closing the lid place 3 slices of Velveeta cheese (3 thin individually wrapped slices). Let set for 5 minutes. Remove lid and stir thoroughly and you have one of the most quick delicious meals that's similar to Mac 'N' Cheese, but better.

Another way is to take two packages of the chicken flavored Ramen noodles and follow directions on package. Remove noodles and drain most of liquid; add flavor packets then add a small can of Rotel tomatoes and chili's; next add 6 individually wrapped slices of Velveeta cheese. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Remove cover and stir thoroughly; serve warm. It's absolutely delicious.

One more great way is to take one package of the chicken or beef flavored noodles and follow directions on package. Drain noodles and rinse; add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of minced garlic and toss to coat well; serve warm. This is so simple but absolutely delicious.

This is just a few ways to fix Ramen noodles. Let your taste buds decide new creations.

Cristie has many more simple, but great tips at Cristie's Cookin. Be sure to check her spices out and submit your favorite recipe for a chance to win a free "Gotcha Covered" apron.

Cooking lessons for Cristie began at 8 years old with the best teacher in the world -- her Mom! Later, she cooked for the restaurant the family owned, and her love of the "trade" has grown ever since. Cristie's creative cooking has continued for over 40 years. Her creations can soon be on your kitchen table. Check out Cristie's books at http://www.cristiescookin.com and http://www.tjstokes.com

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The Secret Art Of Noodles

By Matt Robinson

Noodles are a form of staple food very popular among the Chinese. They can be made either by hand or by machine and are divided into “cut noodles” or “dried noodles” by the way they are made. Made in whatever way, they maybe of different widths varying from ribbons to threads. As a prepared dish, they can be served warm or cold, dressed with chilli oil or not, eaten with fried bean sauce, port or chicken sauce, duck chops, any soups, etc.

There are also a variety of “instant noodles”, which are precooked, dried and commercially packed. Before eating, all you have to do is soak them in hot, boiled water for a few minutes. This makes them very handy for a quick meal.

As noodles are always in the form of long strings, they are symbolic of longevity and are therefore indispensable at Chinese birthday parties.

Two types of noodles stand out among the rest and require professional skill. The “hand-pulled noodles” are probably unique to China and can be made only by a trained cook. He prepares the paste by stretching it in his hands, holding it stretched and shaking it gently up and down four or five times. He then drops down the middle of the long paste and swings it in such a way that it twists around itself. He repeats the stretching, shaking and twisting many times until he feels the paste is firm enough. Then on a work board he starts pulling the paste with his arms stretched. He folds the thick string of paste in two, pulling again. This is then repeated many times over and the strings of paste become longer, more numerous, thinner and thinner, turning finally into very fine noodles. The whole process of making “hand pulled noodles” is done with such magical dexterity that to watch an experienced cook doing it is like watching a juggler’s show.

Another specialty that takes years to perfect are longxu mian (dragon beard noodles). Commercially they are available fried, so they are golden in colour, crisp to bite and with a distinctive flavour. “Dragon beards” are also hand pulled but are made extraordinarily fine. It has been calculated that a piece of paste prepared with 1.5 kilograms of wheat flour can make 144,000 hair thin noodles, each 17 centimetres long, which means a total length of 2 kilometres.

At the beginning “dragon beards” were simply called “beards” but since they caught the fancy of an emperor and as the dragon was the symbol of all emperors, they have come to be known as “dragon’s beards”.

Matt owns Secret Chinese Recipes that helps people with chinese cooking recipes

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Pasta Variety

By Jonathon Hardcastle

Pasta has to be Italy's greatest contribution to world cuisine. Most people usually associate pasta with noodles, but pasta actually refers to a wide assortment of flour and grain concoctions that come in a variety of shapes. Macaroni is one such pasta that is not in noodle form. The word pasta comes from the Italian word for paste or dough.

Pasta also refers to dishes that have pasta as the main ingredient and which are usually spruced up with sauce or a type of seasoning.

There are two ways to cook pasta- by extrusion and by lamination. Extrusion mashes the ingredients through a die, which is a plate with holes. Lamination calls for the dough to be kneaded and folded, later rolled to achieve a thick mixture before it is cut with the use of slitters. Fresh pasta is easy to cook and is ready quickly but it spoils easily as well since its content is mostly water. Dry pasta lasts longer because it has only around 10% moisture.

There are now Italian pastas as well as American pastas. The Italian pasta, which has a yellow color and a chewy texture, comes from durum wheat semolina. American pastas are made from farina and semolina, with a texture and flavor that are inferior to Italian pastas and are used mostly in casseroles. There are also Asian noodles, which are thinner than pasta and come from wheat flour.

The most popular pastas are certainly the noodle-type pastas such as spaghetti and vemicelli. Macaroni is the most popular short tube pasta, followed by penne. Fettucine and linguine are pasta that are shaped like ribbons. There is also pasta made from tiny grains such as couscous and orzo as well as pasta made from large sheets like lasagna. Ravioli, tortellini and manicotti are an entirely different pasta group, as they are hollow pasta that is filled with stuffing.

Here's a little known fact about pasta. Did you know that it was Thomas Jefferson who first brought macaroni to America? Upon returning to the US in 1789 after a stint as the ambassador to France, Jefferson brought with him a macaroni machine, which was the first such recorded contraption in the United States.

Jonathon Hardcastle writes articles on many topics including Cooking, Home Improvement, and Outdoors

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