Whole Wheat Pasta



The aphorism about salting the pasta water is a metaphor, but the many people do put a lot of salt
into the pasta water.

--
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Louis Cohen Living la vida loca at N37° 43' 7.9" W122° 8' 42.8"

"Curly Sue" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:4040c464.6837167@news-
server.nyc.rr.com...
> On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 16:03:53 +0000 (UTC), [email protected] wrote:
>
> >In rec.food.cooking, cristina <siena_us(REMOVE BEFORE SENDING)@libero.it>
wrote:
> >
> >> Pasta cooking 101
> >
> >> Bring water to a boil in a large pot, at least 3 litres of water. Add a good handful of sea
> >> salt.
> >
> >A handful!? Really?
>
> I've heard that the water is supposed to be as salty as the sea. Having never had seawater, that's
> a little vague ;>
>
> Sue(tm) Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!
 
"John Gaughan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I tried whole wheat pasta the other day. My wife and I both think it tastes good, but it does not
> hold sauce well. Most likely this is due to the fact that it has less starch, which helps bond
> sauce to the pasta.
>
> Is this true of all whole wheat pasta? What brands do you guys recommend? Any cooking tips, should
> I cook it differently than normal pasta? Normally I boil it until al dente, rinse in hot water,
> and toss in olive oil.
>
> --

No need to rinse. Do not toss with oil unless you are using an oil-based sauce (and then just toss
with the sauce). I think the best technique is to toss the pasta with the sauce immediately after
draining and then let it sit a bit to absorb flavors. You can add more sauce to individual servings
at the table if desired. The common technique - in America at least - of putting plain pasta on a
plate and then putting the sauce on top doe snot work nearly as well.

BTW we use DeCecco whole wheat pasta and think it is the best of several brands we have tried.

--
Peter Aitken

Remove the **** from my email address before using.
 
In article <[email protected]>,
"Louis Cohen" <[email protected]> wrote:

> The aphorism about salting the pasta water is a metaphor, but the many people do put a lot of salt
> into the pasta water.
>
>

Not _this_ people... ick! If I want to flavor my pasta, I'll just boil it in some bullion broth.
Knorr cubes are handy dandy. ;-)

But, they are also very high in salt, so fresh made stock is better.

I just don't cook with a lot of salt for numerous reasons. I'd much rather add a little salt at the
end if the recipe needs it, or even at the table and let folks add their own.

K.

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John Gaughan wrote:

> I tried whole wheat pasta the other day. My wife and I both think it tastes good, but it does not
> hold sauce well. Most likely this is due to the fact that it has less starch, which helps bond
> sauce to the pasta.
>
> Is this true of all whole wheat pasta? What brands do you guys recommend? Any cooking tips, should
> I cook it differently than normal pasta? Normally I boil it until al dente, rinse in hot water,
> and toss in olive oil.

Talking about one pound of pasta. Boil, drain, DON'T RINSE, toss with about 2 tablespoons butter so
it doesn't stick together (drop the butter into the pot you cooked the pasta in; it'll still be warm
enough to melt the butter quickly). Sauce at service on the plates. That way, the rest of the pasta
(if any) can be used for other dishes with no regard for the sauce used for the first presentation.

Butter will leave a surface better able to accept and hold sauce than oil will. Rinsing removes the
surface starch that would (ever-so-slightly) thicken sauce that touches the pasta. 20% of butter is
water and that helps retain the surface starch.

Pastorio
 
"Bob (this one)" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> John Gaughan wrote:
>
> > I tried whole wheat pasta the other day. My wife and I both think it tastes good, but it does
> > not hold sauce well. Most likely this is due to the fact that it has less starch, which helps
> > bond sauce to the pasta.
> >
> > Is this true of all whole wheat pasta? What brands do you guys recommend? Any cooking tips,
> > should I cook it differently than normal pasta? Normally I boil it until al dente, rinse in hot
> > water, and toss in olive oil.
>
> Talking about one pound of pasta. Boil, drain, DON'T RINSE, toss with about 2 tablespoons butter
> so it doesn't stick together (drop the butter into the pot you cooked the pasta in; it'll still be
> warm enough to melt the butter quickly). Sauce at service on the plates. That way, the rest of the
> pasta (if any) can be used for other dishes with no regard for the sauce used for the first
> presentation.
>
> Butter will leave a surface better able to accept and hold sauce than oil will. Rinsing removes
> the surface starch that would (ever-so-slightly) thicken sauce that touches the pasta. 20% of
> butter is water and that helps retain the surface starch.
>
> Pastorio
>
This ignores the fact that the taste of butter is incompatible with many sauces. Also, it seems
unwise to compromise tonight's dish in order to have unsauced pasta for tomorrow.

--
Peter Aitken

Remove the **** from my email address before using.
 
On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 14:35:58 -0600, Katra
<[email protected]> wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] wrote:
>
>> In rec.food.cooking, cristina <siena_us(REMOVE BEFORE SENDING)@libero.it> wrote:
>>
>> > Pasta cooking 101
>>
>> > Bring water to a boil in a large pot, at least 3 litres of water. Add a good handful of sea
>> > salt.
>>
>> A handful!? Really?
>
>
>I questioned that as well... Been eating low sodium now for a long time, and that sounded _gross_.
>
>I do use a bit of salt in my boiling water, but no more than 1 tsp., usually less.

At that level, why bother? Most of it goes down the drain anyway. :>

Sue(tm) Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!
 
In article <[email protected]>,
"Bob (this one)" <[email protected]> wrote:

> John Gaughan wrote:
>
> > I tried whole wheat pasta the other day. My wife and I both think it tastes good, but it does
> > not hold sauce well. Most likely this is due to the fact that it has less starch, which helps
> > bond sauce to the pasta.
> >
> > Is this true of all whole wheat pasta? What brands do you guys recommend? Any cooking tips,
> > should I cook it differently than normal pasta? Normally I boil it until al dente, rinse in hot
> > water, and toss in olive oil.
>
> Talking about one pound of pasta. Boil, drain, DON'T RINSE, toss with about 2 tablespoons butter
> so it doesn't stick together (drop the butter into the pot you cooked the pasta in; it'll still be
> warm enough to melt the butter quickly). Sauce at service on the plates. That way, the rest of the
> pasta (if any) can be used for other dishes with no regard for the sauce used for the first
> presentation.
>
> Butter will leave a surface better able to accept and hold sauce than oil will. Rinsing removes
> the surface starch that would (ever-so-slightly) thicken sauce that touches the pasta. 20% of
> butter is water and that helps retain the surface starch.
>
> Pastorio
>

Awesome. Thanks.

--
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>,,<Cat's Haven Hobby Farm>,,<Katra at centurytel dot net>,,<
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In article <[email protected]>,
"Peter Aitken" <[email protected]> wrote:

> "Bob (this one)" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> > John Gaughan wrote:
> >
> > > I tried whole wheat pasta the other day. My wife and I both think it tastes good, but it does
> > > not hold sauce well. Most likely this is due to the fact that it has less starch, which helps
> > > bond sauce to the pasta.
> > >
> > > Is this true of all whole wheat pasta? What brands do you guys recommend? Any cooking tips,
> > > should I cook it differently than normal pasta? Normally I boil it until al dente, rinse in
> > > hot water, and toss in olive oil.
> >
> > Talking about one pound of pasta. Boil, drain, DON'T RINSE, toss with about 2 tablespoons butter
> > so it doesn't stick together (drop the butter into the pot you cooked the pasta in; it'll still
> > be warm enough to melt the butter quickly). Sauce at service on the plates. That way, the rest
> > of the pasta (if any) can be used for other dishes with no regard for the sauce used for the
> > first presentation.
> >
> > Butter will leave a surface better able to accept and hold sauce than oil will. Rinsing removes
> > the surface starch that would (ever-so-slightly) thicken sauce that touches the pasta. 20% of
> > butter is water and that helps retain the surface starch.
> >
> > Pastorio
> >
> This ignores the fact that the taste of butter is incompatible with many sauces.

Oh? What sauces are incompatible with the flavor of butter, especially such a tiny amount?

Not being argumentative, just curious. I _love_ butter and can't think of any sauces off the top of
my head that it would not work with. Even Marinara.

I've always used Olive oil for my pasta, but had planned to try this. I only use corn or rice pasta
since I'm allergic to wheat.

> Also, it seems unwise to compromise tonight's dish in order to have unsauced pasta for tomorrow.

That I have to agree with... I'd personally never cook more pasta than I had sauce to go with, and
my mom always added the pre-cooked pasta to the sauce in a pan prior to serving, and I also like
it that way.

Different tastes for different folks tho'. :)

K.

--
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>,,<Cat's Haven Hobby Farm>,,<Katra at centurytel dot net>,,<
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Curly Sue wrote:
>
> On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 16:03:53 +0000 (UTC), [email protected] wrote:

> >A handful!? Really?
>
> I've heard that the water is supposed to be as salty as the sea. Having never had seawater, that's
> a little vague ;>
>
Never swam in the sea? Sea water is enough to burn my eyes and nose. Maybe the poster has small
fists. If I put a ladelful back in the pan, I'd get watery sauce.
 
On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 17:27:33 -0800, kalanamak <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Curly Sue wrote:
>>
>> On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 16:03:53 +0000 (UTC), [email protected] wrote:
>
>> >A handful!? Really?
>>
>> I've heard that the water is supposed to be as salty as the sea. Having never had seawater,
>> that's a little vague ;>
>>
>Never swam in the sea? Sea water is enough to burn my eyes and nose. Maybe the poster has
>small fists.

>If I put a ladelful back in the pan, I'd get watery sauce.

Yeah, I've never understood that.

Sue(tm) Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!
 
Peter Aitken wrote:

> "Bob (this one)" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
>>John Gaughan wrote:
>>
>>>I tried whole wheat pasta the other day. My wife and I both think it tastes good, but it does not
>>>hold sauce well. Most likely this is due to the fact that it has less starch, which helps bond
>>>sauce to the pasta.
>>>
>>>Is this true of all whole wheat pasta? What brands do you guys recommend? Any cooking tips,
>>>should I cook it differently than normal pasta? Normally I boil it until al dente, rinse in hot
>>>water, and toss in olive oil.
>>
>>Talking about one pound of pasta. Boil, drain, DON'T RINSE, toss with about 2 tablespoons butter
>>so it doesn't stick together (drop the butter into the pot you cooked the pasta in; it'll still be
>>warm enough to melt the butter quickly). Sauce at service on the plates. That way, the rest of the
>>pasta (if any) can be used for other dishes with no regard for the sauce used for the first
>>presentation.
>>
>>Butter will leave a surface better able to accept and hold sauce than oil will. Rinsing removes
>>the surface starch that would (ever-so-slightly) thicken sauce that touches the pasta. 20% of
>>butter is water and that helps retain the surface starch.
>>
>>Pastorio
>>
>
> This ignores the fact that the taste of butter is incompatible with many sauces. Also, it seems
> unwise to compromise tonight's dish in order to have unsauced pasta for tomorrow.

The amount of butter - one ounce - is insignificant given a whole pound of pasta. It contributes
virtually no flavor to a sauced pasta. It does prevent it from sticking and helps sauces coat the
pasta better because surface starch is gelatinized by the water in the butter. This is how we
prepared pastas in my restaurants when we offered 10 shapes of pasta and 10 different sauces; mix
and match for 100 permutations. In literally hundreds of thousands of servings, not once did anyone
ever say anything about it.

It isn't a compromise at all. Beyond the fact that it's how I learned to deal with pasta from my
grandparents from northern Italy. I saw a lot of this when I lived there.

A standard finishing technique for many, many sauces is mounting with butter. A dab of butter is
swirled into the sauce just before service to give sheen and depth of flavor.

Pastorio
 
Katra wrote:

> In article <[email protected]>, "Peter Aitken"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>"Bob (this one)" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>>
>>>John Gaughan wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>I tried whole wheat pasta the other day. My wife and I both think it tastes good, but it does
>>>>not hold sauce well. Most likely this is due to the fact that it has less starch, which helps
>>>>bond sauce to the pasta.
>>>>
>>>>Is this true of all whole wheat pasta? What brands do you guys recommend? Any cooking tips,
>>>>should I cook it differently than normal pasta? Normally I boil it until al dente, rinse in hot
>>>>water, and toss in olive oil.
>>>
>>>Talking about one pound of pasta. Boil, drain, DON'T RINSE, toss with about 2 tablespoons butter
>>>so it doesn't stick together (drop the butter into the pot you cooked the pasta in; it'll still
>>>be warm enough to melt the butter quickly). Sauce at service on the plates. That way, the rest of
>>>the pasta (if any) can be used for other dishes with no regard for the sauce used for the first
>>>presentation.
>>>
>>>Butter will leave a surface better able to accept and hold sauce than oil will. Rinsing removes
>>>the surface starch that would (ever-so-slightly) thicken sauce that touches the pasta. 20% of
>>>butter is water and that helps retain the surface starch.
>>>
>>>Pastorio
>>>
>>
>>This ignores the fact that the taste of butter is incompatible with many sauces.
>
> Oh? What sauces are incompatible with the flavor of butter, especially such a tiny amount?
>
> Not being argumentative, just curious. I _love_ butter and can't think of any sauces off the top
> of my head that it would not work with. Even Marinara.

Marinara finished with a dab of butter swirled and stirred through at the last minute will have a
richer mouthfeel and a more subtle flavor.

> I've always used Olive oil for my pasta, but had planned to try this. I only use corn or rice
> pasta since I'm allergic to wheat.
>
>>Also, it seems unwise to compromise tonight's dish in order to have unsauced pasta for tomorrow.
>
> That I have to agree with... I'd personally never cook more pasta than I had sauce to go with, and
> my mom always added the pre-cooked pasta to the sauce in a pan prior to serving, and I also like
> it that way.
>
> Different tastes for different folks tho'. :)

Pasta cooked al dente and finished with butter like that will hold very well refrigerated dry and
covered. Reheat by dropping it into hot (not boiling) water for maybe 30 seconds and finish as
usual. You'll be surprised. Or heat a sauce and drop the cold pasta in for a minute or two. Serve.

Do it all the time at home.

Pastorio
 
In article <[email protected]>,
"Bob (this one)" <[email protected]> wrote:

> Katra wrote:
>
> > In article <[email protected]>, "Peter Aitken"
> > <[email protected]> wrote:
<snipped for brevity>
> >
> >>Also, it seems unwise to compromise tonight's dish in order to have unsauced pasta for tomorrow.
> >
> > That I have to agree with... I'd personally never cook more pasta than I had sauce to go with,
> > and my mom always added the pre-cooked pasta to the sauce in a pan prior to serving, and I also
> > like it that way.
> >
> > Different tastes for different folks tho'. :)
>
> Pasta cooked al dente and finished with butter like that will hold very well refrigerated dry and
> covered. Reheat by dropping it into hot (not boiling) water for maybe 30 seconds and finish as
> usual. You'll be surprised. Or heat a sauce and drop the cold pasta in for a minute or two. Serve.
>
> Do it all the time at home.
>
> Pastorio
>

Sounds good. :)

Any hints on any special prep for the alternative (wheat free) pastas? DeBohls corn pasta is easier
to cook and tends to stay firmer than the rice pasta. The rice can get a bit tricky on the timing.

The corn elbow noodles are wunnerful.

K.

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>,,<Cat's Haven Hobby Farm>,,<Katra at centurytel dot net>,,<
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kalanamak wrote:
> Curly Sue wrote:
>>
>> On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 16:03:53 +0000 (UTC), [email protected] wrote:
>
>>> A handful!? Really?
>>
>> I've heard that the water is supposed to be as salty as the sea. Having never had seawater,
>> that's a little vague ;>
>>
> Never swam in the sea? Sea water is enough to burn my eyes and nose. Maybe the poster has small
> fists. If I put a ladelful back in the pan, I'd get watery sauce.

Nope, don't have small hands. If you use enough water the pasta will not be salty, just taste
correct. At least that is the way it is here in Italy. If I did not salt the water enough I would
get the common "è sciocco" which means it didn't have enough salt. Adding more salt to the sauce
just makes the dish salty not flavorful.

About the ladle of water, depends on for how many people but for 4 people (1 pound of pasta) a ladle
is right. If you have a watery sauce that means the pasta is overcooked and couldn't absorb any
more. If you remove the pasta when it is almost al dente and then add the sauce then the water and
let it cook for the last minute, the water gets absorbed.

Every time I give advice on cooking pasta people have the same somments. Every time I teach someone
how to cook pasta and they taste the results they comment instead on how the pasta tastes delicious.
Many people come to Italy and love the pasta they get here but when they get back home they can
never figure out why it doesn't taste as good. If you follow my steps it will taste as good.

Cristina
--
Info on Moving to Italy and Driving in Italy http://www.cristinasweb.com
 
"cristina" <siena_us(REMOVE BEFORE SENDING)@libero.it> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> John Gaughan wrote: Normally I boil it until al dente, rinse in hot water, and toss
> > in olive oil.
>
>
> Pasta cooking 101
>
> Bring water to a boil in a large pot, at least 3 litres of water. Add a good handful of sea salt.
> Add pasta and cook for about a minute less than the recommended time, stirring occaisionally. In a
> seperate pan, cook your sauce. When the pasta is done, drain lightly (you want some of the water)
> but do not throw away all of the water

The only pastas I drain very well are hollow types. Some hollow pastas can hold a large amount of
water which stays in the hole. I don't like that.

> Add pasta to the sauce in the sauce pan Stir well, add a ladle or so of the pasta cooking water
> and stir again

For me, the addition of pasta water depends on the sauce and the condition of the pasta (if I
overcooked it or not!)

> Let the pasta cook for a minute to absorb the flavor of the sauce. Plate and serve.
>
> Cristina in Italy

Excellent advice.

Charlie
 
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In rec.food.cooking, cristina <siena_us(REMOVE BEFORE SENDING)@libero.it>
wrote:
>
> > Pasta cooking 101
>
> > Bring water to a boil in a large pot, at least 3 litres of water. Add a good handful of
> > sea salt.
>
> A handful!? Really?

Really! I would guess that my handful is about 1/3 cup kosher salt.

Charlie
 
"Charles Gifford" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

>
> <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>> In rec.food.cooking, cristina <siena_us(REMOVE BEFORE SENDING)@libero.it>
> wrote:
>>
>> > Pasta cooking 101
>>
>> > Bring water to a boil in a large pot, at least 3 litres of water. Add a good handful of sea
>> > salt.
>>
>> A handful!? Really?
>
> Really! I would guess that my handful is about 1/3 cup kosher salt.
>
> Charlie
>
>
>

Charlie? Are you suggesting that 1/3 cup salt in 3 litres of water is right? That would mean that
the large pasta pot I use would need over a cup of salt. That seems excessive to me. I'm thinking
more like 1/3 to 1/2 cup kosher salt to the 12 quart pasta pot which is 3/4 full of water (9 qts.).
--
Once during Prohibition I was forced to live for days on nothing but food and water.
--------
FIELDS, W. C.
 
On Sun, 29 Feb 2004 09:28:54 +0100, "cristina" <siena_us(REMOVE BEFORE
SENDING)@libero.it> wrote:

>About the ladle of water, depends on for how many people but for 4 people (1 pound of pasta) a
>ladle is right. If you have a watery sauce that means the pasta is overcooked and couldn't absorb
>any more. If you remove the pasta when it is almost al dente and then add the sauce then the water
>and let it cook for the last minute, the water gets absorbed.

"Almost al dente." That makes more sense. Most of the recipes I see say to cook pasta al dente
because that is the point at which it should be eaten. In that case, cooking it further in the sauce
would then make it not al dente.

Sue(tm) Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!
 
Katra wrote:

> In article <[email protected]>, "Bob (this one)" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>Katra wrote:
>>
>>
>>>In article <[email protected]>, "Peter Aitken"
>>><[email protected]> wrote:
>
> <snipped for brevity>
>
>>>>Also, it seems unwise to compromise tonight's dish in order to have unsauced pasta for tomorrow.
>>>
>>>That I have to agree with... I'd personally never cook more pasta than I had sauce to go with,
>>>and my mom always added the pre-cooked pasta to the sauce in a pan prior to serving, and I also
>>>like it that way.
>>>
>>>Different tastes for different folks tho'. :)
>>
>>Pasta cooked al dente and finished with butter like that will hold very well refrigerated dry and
>>covered. Reheat by dropping it into hot (not boiling) water for maybe 30 seconds and finish as
>>usual. You'll be surprised. Or heat a sauce and drop the cold pasta in for a minute or two. Serve.

> Sounds good. :)
>
> Any hints on any special prep for the alternative (wheat free) pastas? DeBohls corn pasta is
> easier to cook and tends to stay firmer than the rice pasta. The rice can get a bit tricky on
> the timing.
>
> The corn elbow noodles are wunnerful.

I like the corn better, too. Texture of the rice pasta is off just enough that it's not what I want
when I think pasta.

You might want to look at some of the other pastas made from bean and other flours. Asian markets
are usually treasure troves for such things.

I treat the wheat-free pastas the same as the durum-wheat types. But I do drain them more fully
because it's my sense that they soften more if left too wet. Toss in melted butter and finish. I've
generally served them with cream sauces (cream, roasted garlic puree, seasoned salt, reduced to 1/2)
or meat glazes (with a wonderful venison ragout last time). Made baked elbows and cheese once with
corn pasta and didn't really like it. The "bite" was wrong.

Also served them with butter and parmesan. Good enough that way, I think.

Pastorio
 
In rec.food.cooking, Katra <[email protected]> wrote:

> Oh? What sauces are incompatible with the flavor of butter, especially such a tiny amount?

Personally, I can't think of ANYTHING that is incompatible with butter.

--
...I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who
 
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