Home made pasta

[Romany123]

I tend to make my own pasta once a month, Dry it and keep it in air tight containers (it will keep for a month that way). What about you guy's.

[Ishbel]

I make it about once a month - but only enough to make the meal that I'm cooking that day. I've never thought of keeping it.

[Romany123]

Good morning Ishbell
Providing you dry it throughly, it will keep for at least a month

[urmaniac13]

I try to make them fresh, especially the egg based ones whenever possible. It IS possible if you plan your meal well enough, decide to have lasagna, cannelloni, ravioli early enough, the day before or much earlier in the day, but unfortunately quite often I don't get the inspiration for the dinner menu until a bit too late... then I have to resort to the much quicker dried pasta that are always stored in our cupboard...

I didn't know you could also make them and dry them successfully at home... but do they taste significantly better than the shop bought? I thought the handmade pasta taste better because they are made FRESH, if they are dried, you can buy the dried version for like 50 cents / kilo in Italy, seems like too much of a hassle for its worth...

[buckytom]

is there much of a difference between home dried and store dried pasta?

kinda defeats the whole purpose and effort, no?

i would and have frozen home made pasta. the reason for drying it is to keep it longer.

[Romany123]

Originally Posted by buckytom

is there much of a difference between home dried and store dried pasta?

kinda defeats the whole purpose and effort, no?

i would and have frozen home made pasta. the reason for drying it is to keep it longer.

On a personal note, Yes there is a difference, and quite a marked one at that.Apart from the satisfaction I gain from making it, I also know what is in it,. Also I can adjust the flavor and richness by adding herbs of my choice and perhaps using more egg yokes than white, the colour can also be altered by using, say spinach or beetroot. The posibilities are endless, so

"kinda defeats the whole purpose and effort, no?"

Not in my book

[Ishbel]

I enjoy making pasta, but often don't have the time to do so, so buy fresh stuff from my local Waitrose supermarket for specific dishes. I also keep egg based dried pastas in the larder.

[buckytom]

i understand your partial explanation; i don't know what's available in essex, pasta wise.
most of what you describe is available where i live, most of the time, in stores ranging from specialty shops to your average food market. lots of different ingredients, coloring agents, etc.. of course it's always better to make something yourself, to be sure of the ingredients and flavor.

my point was the freezing of freshly made pasta.

[VeraBlue]

It's a seasonal thing for me. From October through May I'll usually make pasta a couple of times a month. Otherwise, it is just too hot in my kitchen to do anything but take ice out of the freezer for cocktails.

[Romany123]

Bucky
They do sell fresh pasta here, but, by the very fact it can stay "fresh" for 5 or six weeks in the fridge ( I am referring to tesco's fresh pasta) makes me suspicious.
But at the end of the day it is down to whatever ticks your boxes

I tend to make all my own food from scratch if possible from sausages to bread to sauces.
I guess I am lucky I work from home and the kitchen is at my disposal all day