Pastas: Composition, Preparation, and Menu Applications

Vocabulary flashcards covering the composition, classifications, preparation guidelines, cooking times, and menu applications of pasta.

Pasta

A rolled or extruded dough product composed of flour, water, salt, oil, and sometimes eggs.

Semolina

A flour derived from durum wheat that is high in gluten and is the most common flour used to make pasta.

Gluten

A type of protein found in grains such as wheat, rye, barley, and sometimes oats that enables pasta dough to maintain its shape, form, and texture.

Gluten-free pasta flours

Flours derived from legumes such as lentils or chickpeas, as well as rice, wild rice, corn, quinoa, buckwheat, or potato.

Ribbon pasta

Pasta cut into thin round strands or flat ribbon-like strands, rolled thin by hand or with a pasta machine, and typically made using whole eggs.

Shaped pasta

Pasta extruded into complex forms such as corkscrews, bow ties, shells, flowers, or stars, featuring smooth or ridged surfaces that effectively hold sauce.

Tube pasta

Pasta pushed through an extruder to form a hollow tube shape and cut to the desired length, available in straight, curved, smooth, or ridged varieties.

Stuffed pasta

Pasta formed by placing mounds of filling on a sheet of rolled dough, brushing with a wash, covering with a second sheet, and cutting into individual pieces.

Asian noodles

Long ribbon-like strands classified as vegetable-based, egg-based, or grain-based that are typically softened by pouring hot water over them rather than boiling.

Water-to-pasta cooking ratio

Four to six quarts of water used for every pound of pasta.

Cooked pasta yield

The expansion ratio of cooked pasta, where one pound of uncooked pasta yields about two to two and a half pounds of cooked pasta.

Fresh pasta cooking time

Three to five minutes once added to boiling water.

Dried pasta cooking time

A range between three to thirteen minutes in boiling water.

Frozen pasta cooking time

Six to eight minutes to cook, as it is often pre-cooked before being frozen.

Al dente

An Italian term meaning "to the tooth," describing pasta cooked until it has a slight resistance in the center when chewed.

Pasta draining

The practice of removing cooking water from pasta without rinsing it, preserving starch and flavor to help sauces adhere.

Pasta appetizers

Menu items served as starters, including gnocchi and stuffed varieties such as ravioli, tortellini, and potstickers.

Soup pastas

Small pasta varieties like couscous and orzo, or broken-down ribbon pastas, added to soups to provide complex carbohydrates.

Pasta salad

A cold dish commonly made with cooked and cooled shaped pastas such as farfalle, rotini, or orzo, tossed with ingredients and bound by a vinaigrette or mayonnaise-based dressing.