Pasta and Classic Pasta Sauce

3. Classification of Pasta

1.       1. Fresh or Dried Pasta

Fresh pasta is made by hand and is soft in texture. It must be frozen or consumed within 3 days to avoid spoiling. Fresh pasta usually cooks within 3 minutes.

Dried pasta, on the other hand, is commercially produced and is firm in texture. It can be stored for a relatively long period of time. Dried pasta takes around 3 times longer to cook than fresh pasta (and is sometimes served “al dente” which describes a slightly less cooked, firmer texture).

2.       2. Coloured Pasta 

While most pasta is pale yellow in colour, or brown if made using whole-wheat, other ingredients (like spinach or beetroot) can be added, changing the pasta to a green or red colour.

3.       3.Shapes

Pasta comes in many different shapes - from long and thin (e.g. vermicelli, spaghetti, tagliatelle and fettuccini) to broad and flat (e.g. lasagne), or short and curly (e.g. fusilli) to tube shaped (e.g. macaroni, penne) and even pillow shaped (e.g. ravioli). In most cases, the type of pasta used depends on the type of sauce that it will be served with.