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To most people in America, pasta means Italian food. But in America, pasta is just as likely to be Chinese, Japanese, or Thai. Pasta is all cuisines in which noodles and rice play an important part.

History Of Pasta

It is said that Marco Polo introduced pasta to Italy after his journeys in China. Perhaps this is due to the similarity between pasta and noodles, as the Chinese had perfected the long, thin noodle many centuries before.

There is another legend that an Italian sailor persuaded his Chinese mistress to show him how to make noodles. then with Italian flair, he rolled the dough into bigger and wider rolls, and pasta was born.

Spaghetti's popularity in the United States dates back only fifty years. It arrived here in the 1920s with the immigration from southern Italy. It is said that this dish was greatly assisted by Prohibition. This is because the only place where a glass of wine could be drunk, more or less legally, were the Italian speakeasies that all served spaghetti. There are about 150 major varieties of pasta, cut in every imaginable shape.

Pasta Etiquette

It is considered proper, in Italy, to eat pasta with only a fork, not a fork and a spoon. If possible, serve warm pasta in warm, shallow bowls instead of on dinner plates. The sides of the bowl aids in turning pasta noodles on the fork.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the ordinary people ate spaghetti with their hand. When the fork was invented, pasta became food fit for royalty as well, because they could now eat it without a loss of dignity. The Italians say that a character of a man can be determined by the way he eats spaghetti.

Purchasing Dried Pasta

Read the label when buying dried pasta. The best pasta is made of 100% semolina (the label will say durum - wheat semolina or semolia). Pasta made from durum wheat retain their shape and firmness while cooking. When cooked properly they do not get mushy or sticky. Pasta that are not made with semolina produce a softer noodle and will not hold up well when tossing. Use these pastas for casserole-style dishes. Noodles are the only pasta products made with egg solids which give them a more intense color than other pasta.

You may substitute for another type of pasta in recipes; but if you want to use another type, remember that as a general rule, it is best to substitute one pasta type with another of similar characteristics. It is important to match the shapes of pasta to the sauce. Flat pastas are best with thin sauces; other shapes have nooks and crannies to catch pieces of chunkier sauces.

Italian brands of pasta, in general, are thicker than the American brands.

Measuring Pasta

Most dried pasta doubles in volume when cooked. For accuracy, measure pasta by weight rather than by cup. Cooked pasta can be measured by volume. The general rule is one pound of dry pasta or freshly made pasta will serve six as an appetizer or four as a main course.  Remember - Shapes may vary in size according to the manufacturer, so use these measurements as generalizations.

The easist way to measure pasta is to use your digital scale.

• 4 ounces of uncooked pasta (elbow macaroni, shells, rotini, cavatelli, wheels, penne, or ziti) = 1 cup dried pasta = 2 1/2 cups cooked
   
• 4 ounces of uncooked pasta (spaghetti, angel hair, vermicelli, fettuccine or linguine) = a 1-inch diameter bunch of dry pasta = 2 cups cooked .
   

How To Cook Pasta

Use a Large Pot:

To cook pasta properly, pasta needs a lot of water. A too-small pot and too little water encourages the pasta to clump together can cook unevenly. For a pound (16 ounces) of water, you will want a pot that holds at least 5 or 6 quarts of water. Fill that big pot 3/4 full of Cold water.

Use Lots Of Boiling Water:

Use at least one quart of water for every four ounces of dry pasta. Bring water to a fast boil. Add the pasta all at once to the boiling water, and keep the heat high to bring the water back to the boil as quickly as possible. Cook the pasta, uncovered, at a fast boil.

Explanation or Science of Boiling Water:

Pasta releases a starchy substance (the foamy bubbles that form at the edge of the pan) while it's being boiled. If there is not enough water to dilute the starch, the pasta will be coated with that starchy substance. If you cook pasta with very little water, the water thickens. This thick water (which includes the starch) causes a heat transfer causing the pasta not to cook evenly. The taste of the pasta will also be affected by the amount of water.

Pasta added to water before it starts to boil gets a heat start on mushiness. Pasta quickly begins to break down in tepid water as the starch dissolves. You need the intense heat of boiling water to "set" the outside of the pasta, which prevents the pasta from sticking together. That's why the fast boil is so important; the water temperature drops when you add the pasta, but if you have a fast boil, the water will still be hot enough for the pasta to cook properly.

DO NOT ADD OIL:

Oil will coat the pasta and keep the sauce from adhering. After you add the pasta to the boiling water, stir with a long wooden spoon (stirring prevents pasta from sticking to each other and from sticking to the bottom and the edge of pan). Frequent stirring with a long wooden spoon or fork while the pasta is cooking will help the pasta to cook evenly. Make sure the pieces are moving freely.
 

Adding Salt:

Do not add your salt until the water has come to a boil. There are two reasons for this:

• First, unsalted water has a lower boiling point than salted water, so it will come to a boil a few seconds faster.
   
• Second and more important, salt dissolves faster in hot water. Un-dissolved salt crystals in cold water can mar the surface of your stainless-stell pots with small white dots or pits.

Add plenty of salt, about 2 tablespoons of kosher salt per pound of pasta. This may seem like a lot, but it is necessary for getting the noodles properly seasoned. Plus, most of the salt drains off with the water.
 

Cooking Time:

Don't rely on the package to give you the correct cooking time (it is only a guideline). Test dry pasta for doneness after about 4 minutes by tasting it. It is difficult to give exact cooking times since different shapes and thickness of pasta will take less or more time to cook.

Pasta should be tender but still firm when you eat it, what the Italians call "al dente." It means that it offers a slight resistance when bitten into, without being overdone and mushy. To be sure, bite into a piece of the pasta (take a piece of pasta from the pan, cut off a tiny piece, and chew it in your mouth). REMEMBER - Pasta will continue to cook and soften even after it has been taken from the water.

Cooking Pasta For Baked Dishes:

Because the pasta is cooked twice - boiled first and then combined with other ingredients and cooked in the oven, pasta in baked dishes should boil less time than normal. Boil until just flexible but still quite firm (usually about a 1/3 of the normal cooking time). To test, cut into a piece.

Don't Rinse Pasta:

Drain immediately into a large colander standing in the sink, and then pick up the colander with its contents and shake it well to remove excess water.  Do NOT rinse unless the recipe says to do so. the starch that makes the pasta stick to itself also helps the sauce stick to the pasta. If you're going to toss the pasta with the sauce immediately, sticking shouldn't be a problem.

• EXCEPTIONS: Do rinse the wide pasta, such as lasagna noodles. If you don't, you will have a hard time separating the noodles without tearing them. Also rinse when making pasta salad. The thin coat of starch on the pasta will be sticky when cold.

Never, Never Over Drain Pasta:

Except when saucing with thin or brothy sauces such as fresh tomato or seafood, pasta needs to be moist to combine well.  As soon as it is drained, remove it from the colander and place it either back in the cooking pan to keep warm to toss it with the sauce, or place it in a preheated serving dish or individual preheated serving bowls. Once the pasta is in the pan or bowl, use a fork and spoon and quickly toss it with the sauce.
 

Don't Drown Pasta

Never over sauce pasta. Italians complain that Americans drown their pasta in too much sauce. The Italians way is to toss pasta with just enough sauce to coat it without leaving a big puddle on the bottom of the plate.

• Warming A Serving Bowl:
  Pour some hot water into it and let stand until ready to use. Then pour out the water and dry the bowl. Warm plates by putting them into a 250 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes just before serving.

• Reheating Pasta:
  Microwave the pasta in the storage container on HIGH for 1 to 3 minutes, tossing the pasta halfway through. The length of time in the microwave depends on how much pasta you have. You can also reheat the pasta by putting it in a colander and running very hot water over it. Be sure to drain the pasta well before putting on sauce.

• Making Pasta Ahead:
  Cook the pasta as usual, being particularly careful to cook it only until al dente. Drain, rinse under cold running water to stop the cooking, and again drain thoroughly. Let pasta cool completely, then toss with a couple of teaspoons of oil so it won't stick together. Pasta can be stored in a plastic bag or in a covered bowl in the refrigerator for up to three days.