Angelo's Pasta Cooking Tips
The shape of pasta and the type of sauce chosen should compliment each other. Therefore, we recommend that Angelo’s pasta products are served with just enough sauce to coat them. To obtain the best results when cooking your pasta, we have listed a few helpful hints below.
TIP 1: Instructions: Always read the cooking instructions on the packet before cooking.
TIP 2: Sauce too thick: If the pasta sauce is a too thick, add some of the drained water in which the pasta was cooked, to the pasta sauce and mix until it is combined.
TIP 3: Refreezing: Do not refreeze a product that has been frozen and thawed.
TIP 4: Pasta cooking myths: There are a number of myths about cooking pasta, like adding oil to the water before adding the pasta. If you have a sufficient amount of water in your pot, you do not need to add oil.
TIP 5: Running cold water over cooked Pasta: If you are cooking pasta at home for your family, there is no need to run cold water over cooked, drained pasta. If you run cold water over cooked pasta you will:
- wash off the flavour the salted water has given the pasta;
- eat cold pasta;
- overcook the pasta as you will need to reheat it once it is added to the sauce; and/or
- wash off the starch, which aids the sauce to coat the pasta.
TIP 6: Boiling water: Ensure the water in your pot is boiling before adding the pasta.
TIP 7: How much water to use: For every 100g of uncooked pasta, a 1L of water will be required. For example: 5L of water would be required to cook a 500g packet of pasta.
TIP 8: Using salt to cook pasta: Always cook pasta in salted water. The amount of salt will vary depending on the size of your saucepan. The minimum amount of salt should be a good couple of pinches.
TIP 9: Adding salt to boiling water: When you add salt to boiling water, place your wooden spoon in the water first then add the salt. This will minimise the water boiling up over the pot.
TIP 10: How much pasta per person: A recommended serving of pasta is 80g/person for an entree and 100g/person for a main meal.
TIP 11: Defrosting pasta before cooking: Do not defrost gnocchi or other frozen filled products before cooking. Take the frozen product from the freezer and place into boiling salted water. Cooking time will be according to the cooking instructions or until your desired taste.
TIP 12: Perfect Gnocchi: Once Gnocchi float to the top of the pot they are ready to take out. Remove gnocchi with a slotted spoon and place directly into heated sauce, tossing them gently.
TIP 13: Angelo’s dry Lasagna Sheets: Angelo’s dry lasagna sheets need to be boiled prior to assembling your homemade lasagna.
If you have additional pasta cooking tips you would like to share, email them and we’ll test them. If we post the tip on our web site, you will receive a free Angelo’s gift.