Any tips on preparing pasta in the microwave?

There is no need to do this.

Ken Knecht said:

How do you cook elbow mac, spaghetti, broad noodles, etc. in the microwave?

Good for small quantities, like a third pound or less.

Quoted message said:

How long?

Depends on the wattage of your unit... read the user manual for
details.

Ken Knecht said:

How do you cook elbow mac, spaghetti, broad noodles, etc. in the microwave?
How long?

TIA

For the past 7 months, we've had no kitchen, and I have been cooking
primarily with a toaster oven and microwave. I probably would never
have tried making spaghetti in the microwave otherwise. I have
concluded that the microwave is not a great way to prepare pasta,
unless you don't have another option. The smaller the pieces, the
better it works. You need a lot of liquid.

I have made this recipe several times. The first time, it came out
perfectly. On subsequent tries, the pasta came out either over or
under cooked. I've made it both with broken up pieces of thin
spaghetti and with small elbow macaroni. I think the time it came out
best, I measured more precisely than the other times.
http://busycooks.about.com/library/print02/nmicrospag.htm

I hope this helps,
Pat

Why on earth would you want to prepare pasta in a microwave? It's
really about as quick to cook it on the stove (and MUCH better). Carol

Our life may not always be the party we would have chosen, but while we
are here, we may as well dance!

Ken Knecht said:

How do you cook elbow mac, spaghetti, broad noodles, etc. in the microwave?
How long?

TIA

--
Untie the two knots to email me

A closed mouth gathers no foot.

It takes the same amount of time to cook pasta in a microwave as it
does on the stove because it takes the same amount of time for the
pasta to re-hydrate whether it's in a pan of water on the stove or a
dish of water in the microwave. To cook pasta in the microwave, place
a suitable container of lightly salted water in the microwave and cook
on full power until it's at a full boil. Quickly add the pasta and
cook on full power until done, stirring every 3 to 5 minutes so it
doesn't stick.

Ken Knecht said:

How do you cook elbow mac, spaghetti, broad noodles, etc. in the
microwave? How long?

TIA

Read the directions on the package.

Jill

"Ken Knecht" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

How do you cook elbow mac, spaghetti, broad noodles, etc. in the
microwave?
How long?

TIA

Why do you want to use the MW instead of a pot of water?

jmcquown said:

Ken Knecht said:

How do you cook elbow mac, spaghetti, broad noodles, etc. in the
microwave? How long?

TIA

Read the directions on the package.

What brand of pasta do you use... no brand of pasta I've ever seen
gives microwave directions on the package.

Lemme check to be certain...

Right now I have Ronzoni, Barrila, Buitonni, Creamettes, and five
different store brands, not to mention three different brands of egg
noodles... none say anything other than the traditional pot of boiling
water on the stovetop method.

Sheldon

"Sheldon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

jmcquown said:

Ken Knecht said:

How do you cook elbow mac, spaghetti, broad noodles, etc. in the
microwave? How long?

TIA

Read the directions on the package.

What brand of pasta do you use... no brand of pasta I've ever seen
gives microwave directions on the package.

Lemme check to be certain...

Right now I have Ronzoni, Barrila, Buitonni, Creamettes, and five
different store brands, not to mention three different brands of egg
noodles... none say anything other than the traditional pot of boiling
water on the stovetop method.

Sheldon

Perhaps he wanted the OP to look at the packages and see what WASN'T there.
This is a common teaching method for dealing with teenagers, and probably
works on older people, too. 🙂

"Ken Knecht" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

How do you cook elbow mac, spaghetti, broad noodles, etc. in the

microwave?

Quoted message said:

How long?

If you have to use the microwave to cook pasta, consider this even simpler
path to a pasta dinner:

peel back the corner of the frozen pasta dinner box,
"nuke it" per box instructions, stirring at interval requested
mix sauce and pasta well and serve.

(This approach removes the middleman, i.e., "nuke and eat", instead of "nuke
pasta and nuke sauce and mix together and eat".)

That and a mug of fortified Thunderbird........

Quoted message said:

TIA

--
Untie the two knots to email me

A closed mouth gathers no foot.

Doug Kanter said:

"Ken Knecht" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

How do you cook elbow mac, spaghetti, broad noodles, etc. in the
microwave?
How long?

TIA

Why do you want to use the MW instead of a pot of water?

For small quantities it's much faster (half the time), uses less
energy, and doesn't steam/heat up your kitchen (doesn't necessitate
boiling a large quantity of water)... especially advantageous during
hot weather.

I often cook pasta in the microwave when all I want is one serving.

Place pasta into a shallow microwaveable casserole dish, barely cover
pasta with water, cover dish with plastic wrap leaving one corner
peeled back, and nuke at full power... once water comes to the boil
continue cooking about 6-8 minutes... check for doneness, drain and
serve. Naturally times vary with wattage and quantity cooked but
typically pasta is fully cooked in less time than it would take to just
bring a couple three quarts of water to the boil conventionally.

Sheldon

Doug Kanter said:

"Sheldon" wrote in message

Quoted message said:

jmcquown said:

Ken Knecht wrote:
> How do you cook elbow mac, spaghetti, broad noodles, etc. in the
> microwave? How long?

Read the directions on the package.

What brand of pasta do you use... no brand of pasta I've ever seen
gives microwave directions on the package.

Lemme check to be certain...

Right now I have Ronzoni, Barrila, Buitonni, Creamettes, and five
different store brands, not to mention three different brands of egg
noodles... none say anything other than the traditional pot of boiling
water on the stovetop method.

Sheldon

Perhaps he wanted the OP to look at the packages and see what

Perhaps you need to look at the package and see that Jill is a *she*!
LOL

Sheldon

"Sheldon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Doug Kanter said:

"Sheldon" wrote in message

Quoted message said:

jmcquown wrote:
> Ken Knecht wrote:
> > How do you cook elbow mac, spaghetti, broad noodles, etc. in the
> > microwave? How long?
>
> Read the directions on the package.

What brand of pasta do you use... no brand of pasta I've ever seen
gives microwave directions on the package.

Lemme check to be certain...

Right now I have Ronzoni, Barrila, Buitonni, Creamettes, and five
different store brands, not to mention three different brands of egg
noodles... none say anything other than the traditional pot of boiling
water on the stovetop method.

Sheldon

Perhaps he wanted the OP to look at the packages and see what

Perhaps you need to look at the package and see that Jill is a *she*!
LOL

Sheldon

Not relevant to the point you were making.

"Sheldon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Depends on the wattage of your unit... read the user manual

I can't believe even *you* let yourself slide on this one, Sheldon. LOL

kili

In article <[email hidden]>,

Doug Kanter said:

"Ken Knecht" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

How do you cook elbow mac, spaghetti, broad noodles, etc. in the
microwave?
How long?

I'm assuming that you are asking about dried noodles. It's exactly the
same as cooking on top of the stove. Heat the water to boiling, add the
noodles, and cook according to package directions.

Quoted message said:

Why do you want to use the MW instead of a pot of water?

My wife and I took a MW cooking class about 30 years ago. The
instructor knew people who cooked pasta in the MW. She sort of implied
that it was borderline spousal abuse, in that the folks who insisted on
this didn't do the cooking in the family. They claimed that it saved
energy, though. We made lasagna in the class. We cooked the noodles on
top of the stove, even though the instructor made a big point about how
you could do almost everything in the MW, even though it was seldom the
best tool.

Of course, pasta that is already cooked, especially if it has sauce on
it already, is most easily warmed in the MW.

--
Dan Abel
[email hidden]
Petaluma, California, USA

"Dan Abel" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Doug Kanter said:

"Ken Knecht" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

How do you cook elbow mac, spaghetti, broad noodles, etc. in the
microwave?
How long?

I'm assuming that you are asking about dried noodles. It's exactly the
same as cooking on top of the stove. Heat the water to boiling, add the
noodles, and cook according to package directions.

Quoted message said:

Why do you want to use the MW instead of a pot of water?

My wife and I took a MW cooking class about 30 years ago. The
instructor knew people who cooked pasta in the MW. She sort of implied
that it was borderline spousal abuse, in that the folks who insisted on
this didn't do the cooking in the family. They claimed that it saved
energy, though. We made lasagna in the class. We cooked the noodles on
top of the stove, even though the instructor made a big point about how
you could do almost everything in the MW, even though it was seldom the
best tool.

Of course, pasta that is already cooked, especially if it has sauce on
it already, is most easily warmed in the MW.

I sort of wonder about blasting that much steam into the innards of
something like a MW oven. Just a thought.....

Doug Kanter said:

I sort of wonder about blasting that much steam into the innards of
something like a MW oven. Just a thought.....

Huh? Most foods are composed mostly of water. Microwave ovens are
designed to deal with moisture, even have an exhaust fan,... copious
water vapor is emitted from most everything heated in a microwave oven.
I never once saw in a microwave oven manual a warning not to heat
liquids... okay, no more reheating coffee guys... funtime is all over.
LOL

Sheldon Zap

"Sheldon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Doug Kanter said:

I sort of wonder about blasting that much steam into the innards of
something like a MW oven. Just a thought.....

Huh? Most foods are composed mostly of water. Microwave ovens are
designed to deal with moisture, even have an exhaust fan,... copious
water vapor is emitted from most everything heated in a microwave oven.
I never once saw in a microwave oven manual a warning not to heat
liquids... okay, no more reheating coffee guys... funtime is all over.
LOL

Sheldon Zap

Yeah...I guess. And, you roast the plastic wrap anyway, even though you
really shouldn't.

Sheldon said:

jmcquown said:

Ken Knecht said:

How do you cook elbow mac, spaghetti, broad noodles, etc. in the
microwave? How long?

TIA

Read the directions on the package.

What brand of pasta do you use... no brand of pasta I've ever seen
gives microwave directions on the package.

Lemme check to be certain...

Right now I have Ronzoni, Barrila, Buitonni, Creamettes, and five
different store brands, not to mention three different brands of egg
noodles... none say anything other than the traditional pot of boiling
water on the stovetop method.

Sheldon

Huh... well that's odd. Put a large microwave safe pot (one with a lid) in
the m/w and add one cup (8 oz. dry) pasta to 4 cups water. Bring it to
bubbling, on HIGH about 5-6 minutes. Cover and let it sit about 10 minutes.
Salt is not necessary nor is butter, but either/or may be added prior to
cooking. Stir well, drain off excess water.

Jill