Oddly enough, but in this article, many will finally learn how to cook pasta correctly. This problem is faced by many young housewives, men or children who are left alone at home. Of course, you can throw pasta into non-boiling water, forget to salt it and cook for 20 minutes, but it will no longer be real pasta, but a parody of it.
In this article we will tell you how to cook pasta correctly so that it turns out delicious, just like in the most best restaurants Italy, because Italians are lovers and creators of the well-known spaghetti.
1 . First, you need to choose a suitable dish - it should be a pan (for spaghetti, it is advisable to take a tall pan) with thick walls.
2 . As a rule, one adult needs 100 grams of pasta. For men with a good appetite, you can increase the portion. For 100 grams of pasta there is 1 liter of water. It seems that there is too much water, but in fact it is quite enough for the pasta, because it expands during the cooking process, especially if you take less water, there is a risk that the pasta will turn out sticky and the cooking process will take longer.
3 . Also don't forget about salt. It is necessary to salt the water when it boils. The optimal amount of salt is 10 grams per 1 liter of water.
4 . When the water is boiling strongly, throw the pasta into it, in the middle - at the very epicenter of the boiling. Long pasta, spaghetti, do not break in half if it does not fit in the pan. To cook them, you need to put them in boiling water as much as your pan will allow, and then, when the spaghetti is soft, hot water, press them slightly from above until they are completely immersed in water.
5 . When the pasta is added, the water stops boiling. To cook delicious pasta, you need to cover the pan with a lid and turn up the heat. When the water boils again, reduce the heat, but not too much, so that the water simmers a little, and maintain this temperature until the end of cooking. Stir the pasta occasionally with a spoon, otherwise it will stick to the bottom of the pan.
6 . During the actual process of cooking pasta, do not cover the pan with a lid.
7 . The cooking time for pasta depends on its type. It usually takes 7 – 12 minutes. In order to understand whether the pasta is cooked or not, you need to taste it 2 minutes before it is ready. They should completely satisfy you in taste, but they should still be just a little undercooked, and there should not be a strong floury taste in them. After you approve the pasta, turn off the heat and cover the pan with a lid, thereby the pasta will reach its full readiness.
8 . Many housewives argue about whether it is worth rinsing pasta with water. There is only one answer - NO, pasta cannot be rinsed with water! You can add cream or sunflower oil– that’s just how you like it.
Of course, you need to ask the Italians about how to cook pasta correctly. Although dried dough products came to Europe from China, it was in Italy that they became national dish. Pasta is also popular here, but mostly due to its ease of preparation. It seems that it could be simpler: boil water, throw in your favorite products, and cook until done. But in practice, not everyone turns out such a simple dish delicious. To avoid sticking together, you need to know how to choose the right pasta and cook it using a special technology. We learned all the secrets from Italian chefs.
Pasta, noodles, spaghetti, noodles, pasta: what's the difference?
Pasta in our kitchen refers to all products (semi-finished products) made from dried dough that need to be cooked. In Italy, maccheroni (macaroni) is a separate type of short, hollow inside product. To refer to all dishes made from dry dough, Italians use the term “pasta,” which literally translates as “dough.” Wherein Italian pasta always made from wheat durum varieties.
It turns out that the shape and size of the pasta determine the cooking time and the presentation of the sauce. Let's understand the most basic concepts:
The Art of Italian Forms:
Secret Italian chef: In order for the sauce to “mix” better with the pasta, you need to leave a little liquid. This will help the ingredients to be distributed evenly - the pasta will be juicier and its taste will be more fully revealed.
Cooking pasta correctly: step-by-step instructions
Before cooking durum wheat noodles or other types pasta from it, prepare:
Instructions:
Pasta in a frying pan: a chef's trick
How to cook horns correctly if you doubt their quality? Pre-heating in a frying pan will help you successfully cook any small pasta. Even low-quality products made from soft flour will turn out crumbly and whole.
- Pour a portion of pasta into a preheated dry frying pan. Stirring, heat for 1-2 minutes. This will allow the starch molecules to compact and compress.
- Add a little water to the pan until it completely covers the pasta. Add salt and cook until tender without a lid. The water should almost completely evaporate
How to cook pasta “by tooth”
The pasta that we are used to eating is what Italians call overcooked. Real pasta in Italy is prepared aldente, which means “to the tooth.” These pasta are soft on top but firm on the inside. This cooking method is ideal as a side dish for hot sauces and meat dressings. Main secret- reduce the standard cooking time by 2–3 minutes.
Chef's secret: it is very difficult for a beginner to determine the degree of readiness of aldente pasta by eye, so it is best to test the elasticity “by tooth.” 3 minutes before turning off, taste the pasta. If the top is already soft, but there is still a little hardness inside, you can turn it off. Hot pasta on its own will still “reach” the desired state.
If you have not yet changed your usual opinion about pasta, then hurry up and cook according to our recipe. We are sure that such a dish will not leave you indifferent. Bon appetit!
City life is very dynamic and there is less and less time left for cooking food and, as a rule, we try to prepare something tasty, nutritious and preferably healthy for a quick fix. Are they using semi-finished products or something? instant cooking. And, of course, no cutlets, sausages or meatballs can do without a simple and quick side dish!
Everyone knows how to cook pasta, but not everyone can cook it correctly. The success of cooking depends on understanding how much time and what temperature are required to properly cook the thickness, composition and shape of products, which is precisely what seems to be a simple and simple recipe we'll talk.
Pasta is a very common side dish and goes well with almost all dishes from or. Pasta is a very diverse, versatile product, and there are a lot of dishes with pasta. These can be horns, feathers, vermicelli, noodles, shells, tubes, etc. and they all make great quick, easy, nutritious and delicious side dishes.
To prepare Spiral pasta you will need:
- “Spiral” pasta – 200 gr.;
- Water - 1 liter;
- Salt – 1 tsp;
- Butter – 15 gr.
Estimated cooking time is approximately 15 minutes, energy value 340 kcal per 100 grams.
Step-by-step recipe for making pasta:
1 step
Place a pot of drinking water at maximum temperature and add salt.
Step 2
When the water boils, reduce the temperature by half and pour the pasta into the water. The pasta needs to be stirred periodically until it stops sticking together. Cook for another five minutes.
Step 3
When the pasta is ready, drain it through a colander and let the water drain completely. You can also use a drainage lid. Leaving a small hole for water, drain the water slowly. 
Step 4
And then add the butter before the pasta has cooled, mix well and gently. 
It's easy to check whether the pasta is ready. Take out one spiral with a spoon, cut it in half and pay attention to the cut; there should be no uncooked dough in the center of the cut; the product should be easy to cut, but it should not fall apart and be in its intended original shape. Properly cooked pasta does not stick together like paste and does not fall apart when stirred. During the cooking process, you need to constantly monitor the readiness of the pasta and take samples, as it is very easy to overcook them, cook them in lumps and stick together, or undercook them.
Place pasta in boiling salted water and cook over medium heat. The exact cooking time for pasta is always indicated on the package.
Drain the cooked pasta into a colander, place the colander in an empty pan and allow the excess water to drain. The pasta is ready.
How to cook pasta
1. For 200 grams of pasta (about half a standard package), pour 1 liter of water into a saucepan. 
2. Add a tablespoon of oil to the pan to prevent the pasta from sticking. 
3. Salt the water.
4. When the water boils, add pasta to the pan. 
5. Stir the pasta to avoid sticking to the bottom.
6. Cook pasta for 7-10 minutes.
7. If necessary, rinse boiled pasta under cold water.
Your pasta is ready!
How to cook pasta in the microwave
Cook the pasta in the microwave for 10 minutes at a water ratio of 100 grams of pasta / 200 milliliters of water. The water should completely cover the pasta. Add a tablespoon of oil and a teaspoon of salt to the container. Close the container with pasta, place in the microwave at 500 W and cook for 10 minutes.
How to cook pasta in a slow cooker
Pour water so that it completely covers the pasta and a couple of centimeters above. Add a spoon to pasta butter. The mode must be selected “steaming” or “pilaf”. Cook pasta for 12 minutes.
How to cook pasta in a steamer
Fill the lower container of the steamer with water. Pour pasta into a bowl, add a couple of centimeters of water, salt and add a tablespoon vegetable oil. Cover with a lid and cook for 15 minutes. Then place the pasta in a colander and rinse.
How to cook pasta in an electric kettle
1. Pour 1 liter of water into a 2-liter kettle.
2. Bring water to a boil.
3. As soon as the water boils, add pasta (no more than 1/5 of a standard 500 gram bag).
4. Turn on the kettle and wait for it to boil.
5. Turn on the kettle every 30 seconds for 7 minutes.
6. Drain the water from the kettle through the spout.
7. Open the lid of the kettle and place the pasta on a plate.
8. Rinse the kettle right away (later you will be lazy).
How to cook pasta in a frying pan
1. Exactly the same as in a saucepan. A saucepan for cooking pasta is more suitable because... The inner and outer surface of the pan is more suitable for cooking. The frying pan option is only suitable if there are no saucepans. Or for making fried pasta.
It is believed that if pasta is not cooked for 2-3 minutes, it will have less calories.
To prevent the pasta from sticking, you can add a spoonful of oil to the water and stir occasionally with a spoon.
Pasta is boiled in a large amount of salted water (1 tablespoon of salt per 3 liters of water, for every 100 grams of pasta at least 1 liter of water).
Pasta is cooked in a saucepan with the lid not closed.
If you have overcooked the pasta a little, you can rinse it under cold water (in a colander) and stir with added oil - then the pasta will not stick together.
When cooked, pasta expands approximately 3 times. For two large servings of pasta, 100 grams of pasta is enough for a side dish.
- If you want to use boiled pasta to prepare a complex dish that requires further heat treatment of the pasta, undercook it a little - exactly for the number of minutes it will take to cook it later.
Types of pasta and cooking time
If you cook pasta horns, you need to cook them for 10 minutes to 15 minutes.
- Cook pasta tubes (penne) for 13 minutes.
- Cook the nest pasta for 5 minutes.
- Cook the cannelloni for 10 minutes before baking until half cooked.
- Cook fettuccine for 10 minutes after boiling.
- Cook the lasagna sheets for 5 minutes before baking until half cooked.
- Cook the noodles for 5-7 minutes depending on the size.
- Cook the ravioli for 3-7 minutes depending on the size and filling.
- Cook bow pasta for 10 minutes.
About the benefits and nutritional value of pasta
The ingredients of good pasta are flour and water. Therefore, there is no need to talk about the high nutritional value of pasta, no matter how easy it is to prepare and no matter how widespread the people’s love for this product. There are practically no vitamins in pasta.
There is a saying in Italy that pasta does not make you fat. However, this applies to empty pasta, but it is worth adding cheese or sauce to the pasta - it is not recommended to eat such pasta when on a diet. The same applies to overnight pasta - due to the carbohydrate content, the dish will no longer be dietary.
The calorie content of pasta is about 100 kcal/100 grams. If compared with boiled cauliflower, it is 3.3 times more. Therefore, eating boiled pasta every day will lead to weight gain, even if the pasta is cooked al dente. However, if you cook pasta at least every other day, adding a significant portion of vegetables or mushrooms to it, such pasta dishes can quite brighten up any diet.
How to eat empty pasta
There are few dishes tastier than empty pasta with sweet tea. For a bite - bread, and here it doesn’t matter what kind: white, black or Borodinsky will work equally well. For a colorful taste, you can add soy sauce.
About the choice of pasta
1. Pasta should be visible and preferably along its entire length. It is the transparent packaging that will allow you to see the care and precision with which the product was packaged and delivered.
2. The composition of high-quality pasta is only flour and water. Pasta with egg powder They will be soft, like noodles, only more boiled.
The highest quality pasta is made from only durum wheat flour (the so-called “group A”), such pasta will definitely indicate that it is pasta and not pasta. Pasta products, although manufacturers do their best to veil the contents, contain cheap glassy wheat (group B) or ordinary baking flour (group B). The type of pasta is determined only by the content of more or less expensive flour, if it says " Top grade" - this is a reason to re-read the composition more carefully.
3. The shelf life of pasta is 1-2 years from the production date. If a shorter period is specified, it is suspicious. If pasta is bought for future use, then the shelf life of the pasta should be as long as possible.
4. Italian pasta considered the best in the World.
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Pasta - universal dish, which can be served for breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack and dinner. Depending on the type, the preparation may differ, but the cooking principle is the same everywhere. Of course, there are a number of features that experienced chefs have noticed. So, if you want to know, then you definitely need to read them.
What is the main advantage of pasta? The fact is that they cook quickly and taste quite pleasant. Especially if you season them with some sauce or ketchup. Men love this dish for its ease and speed of preparation, and women for the huge number of recipes and varieties. In addition, they are much healthier than ordinary semi-finished products, and are much cheaper, so you can safely refuse doshiraki and start learning how to cook pasta.
You will need:
Before cooking
Be sure to read the instructions (if any) located on the package. The manufacturer knows best how long his product takes to cook. But it’s better not to leave the stove, especially if you’re cooking for the first time.
Keep in mind that depending on the type of pasta, you may need a different amount of time. This indicator also depends on the wheat variety and composition. It’s better to further verify the result by asking a search engine query like “ how to cook pasta horns correctly».
If you are going to cook spaghetti, keep in mind that they stick to the walls of the pan and other pasta much more strongly than others. Therefore, it is recommended to constantly stir the products until they are completely cooked. In addition, it is recommended to cook them in small portions. If the length of the pasta is not of fundamental importance to you, then it is recommended to break it into two or three parts before cooking.
Remember to keep an eye on three main things: making sure your pasta is not overcooked, undercooked, or sticky. You need to determine these indicators by eye, but there is nothing difficult about it. Just try to do this at least once and you will easily begin to distinguish between cooked and undercooked pasta. Don't forget to taste them.
1. First, prepare the pan. You can grease it a little with oil to make the pasta less sticky to the sides and bottom. Fill about three-quarters full with water. No more is needed because the volume will increase after the pasta is put in there. Moreover, the water will begin to boil and may splash out over the edges.
2. Place the pan on the stove. Turn on the heat and wait until the water boils. To make this happen faster, cover the container with a lid. You can also increase the heat. Then add salt and mix it well. Besides taste qualities, the presence of salt also reduces the “stickiness” of our products.
3. As soon as the water boils, immediately reduce the heat. Then add the pasta to the water and stir a little. Don’t look at the fact that the water has stopped boiling - this is normal. After a while everything will resume. Then you can start timing. It is best to focus on the indicators indicated by the manufacturer on the pack. In any case, if you are cooking for the first time, do not leave the pan.
4. Take a long spoon or any other utensil and start stirring the pasta. For at least the first three minutes you must do this without stopping. This is recommended for those who want to find out how to cook pasta correctly so that it doesn't stick together. Then you can slow down a little. But this does not need to be done everywhere (only for horns, shells and spirals).
5. Periodically check the pasta for doneness. This can be done 8-10 minutes after the start of mixing (or preferably 3-4 minutes before the end of the period indicated on the package). Catch one or two noodles in the water, blow a few times and taste it. They should not be too soft, but not too hard. In general, it is better to focus on your own taste preferences. Once the pasta reaches its optimal taste, you can turn off the heat.
6. Next, place the colander in the sink or any other drainage area. Pour out the contents of the pan and shake lightly. Do not overdo it so as not to turn the products into mush. Then let them sit for two to three minutes. Here you have a choice: leave the pasta simply cooked or continue cooking (for example, fry). In the first case, you just need to pour the contents back into the pan, and in the second, rinse them under cold water.
7. Next, place a piece of butter on the pasta and let it melt. You can lightly stir the products to thoroughly coat each pasta. This will prevent the cooled products from sticking together, and will also give a unique creamy taste. On average, this all takes no more than one or two minutes.
8. You can also immediately add some sauce, cheese or ketchup - it all depends on your taste preferences. And that’s it, the pasta can be served. As you can see, there is nothing complicated in this process. You just need to follow the instructions and you will succeed. But be sure to try these tips in practice. This is how you can fully understand how to cook pasta correctly.
note
Pay special attention to the volume of water in the pan and the salting procedure. The water should be salted before the pasta is placed in the container. The volume of water must be below three quarters, otherwise you will flood the kitchen. If you do not intend to continue cooking, then there is no need to rinse the products under cold water, as this can seriously damage the taste. Many novice cooks do not pay attention to this and the end result is not the most pleasant.
It is also recommended to cook in the presence of someone for the first time. An experienced person can give recommendations, and an inexperienced person can try the pasta with you and draw a conclusion about its readiness. Besides, cooking together is much more interesting. Just don’t get too distracted by conversations, otherwise you might ruin the dish.
By the way, Italians, true masters of making pasta (not only spaghetti, but also horns, shells, spirals, nests and others) serve fresh dish on hot plates. This allows the product to retain its taste characteristics longer. It’s interesting how Italian waiters get out of this situation. Most likely, they use special stands.
If you have any questions, tips or suggestions about how to cook pasta correctly, be sure to write them in the comments.
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