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A crime against Italy and pasta?

A crime against Italy and pasta?

Old Dec 7th 2014, 10:42 am
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Default A crime against Italy and pasta?

Have recently started getting into cycle camping.

As you can imagine there are folks around with lots of tips, often to do with cooking.

One which is widely used (though with the addition of a "cosy" since you will be in a field) is to do with cooking pasta.

In a moment of maybe terrible inspiration I tried it at home the other day.

And it seemed to work with short cut pasta. I can see spaghetti being a problem though.

Here it is: -

Forget all those tips about how strongly the water should boil, size of pan, amount of water, how many buckets of salt etc etc.

Just bring water to the boil. (Folks with a kettle can speed this stage up).

Put pasta in pan with a moderate amount of water.

Bring back to boil for a short time, stirring the pasta.

Put lid on pan and take the whole lot off the gas/electric.

Sod off for 10 minutes or whatever and do something more interesting than cooking.

Return and eat.

It seemed to work and seemed al dente enough to me.

Anyone else do this?

Even if secretly when no family members are looking?

Have we been fed a line all these years about the need for heavy boiling, maybe to help convince us that pasta is some sort of wonder dense fibre-rich food when in fact it's just dried mush?

Feel free to ask your Italian mums/MILs of course.
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Old Dec 7th 2014, 7:19 pm
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Default Re: A crime against Italy and pasta?

Sunnysider, things have moved on. This is what everyone uses now.

Microwave Pasta Cooker in microwave cookware at Lakeland
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Old Dec 7th 2014, 7:30 pm
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Default Re: A crime against Italy and pasta?

Thanks for the reply capo but i intend to leave this life without having owned a microwave,

One of life's more useless inventions despite their now aged/addled 60s space age origins.

Responsible for too many brits eating overpriced *** out of boxes.

Must admit to a certain fascination with Lakeland though i do worry about some of the folks in there.
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Old Dec 7th 2014, 8:10 pm
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Default Re: A crime against Italy and pasta?

Fair enough, but you must have a 'bimby'. ('Thermomix' in the UK). I read somewhere that Heston has 12 in his kitchen. Forget about Ann Summers it's the bimby party that the Italian nonna goes to.
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Old Dec 7th 2014, 8:31 pm
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Default Re: A crime against Italy and pasta?

Cripes.

Found that thermomix promotional vid.

Possitively terrifying,

Sounded like/armageddon in your kitchen.

Anyone got any views on the silent pan method?
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Old Dec 8th 2014, 11:10 am
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Default Re: A crime against Italy and pasta?

Originally Posted by Capo Boi
Sunnysider, things have moved on. This is what everyone uses now.

Microwave Pasta Cooker in microwave cookware at Lakeland
That microwave pasta monstrosity says:

"from cold water to perfectly cooked al dente pasta in 12 minutes"

but I can cook pasta in 12 minutes or less without doing it in microwave anyway. Makes no sense to me. It also says "no pan to wash". I presume that people will still need to wash the plastic gadget?


Sunnysider - the only people I have ever seen cooking pasta with the turn the pan off method were Germans at campsites and the Italians did laugh at them. Putting oil in the cooking water is a crime too.
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Old Dec 8th 2014, 12:02 pm
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Default Re: A crime against Italy and pasta?

Originally Posted by Lorna at Vicenza

Sunnysider - the only people I have ever seen cooking pasta with the turn the pan off method were Germans at campsites and the Italians did laugh at them. .
Ah well on the evidence of that, I'm personally sure the method is fine/a winner.

Germans I see as methodical folk with enquiring minds.

And as for Italians laughing at them, that doesn't mean a lot either.

I bet they said their mum never did that as well didn't they?

And they laugh at/treat with pity anyone who dares to doubt congestione.

I well remember saying to an Italian acquaintance that you only needed to steam most veg for around 5 minutes - that way you retained nutrients and flavour.

He scoffed with barely disguised contempt**

After a pause I said that that was how many of the high class restaurants and hotels in London did it (donkeys' years ago I spent a bit of time in them). That elicited a certain reflection from him. He didn't want to seem unworldy.

** No Brit expects to be taken seriously on any matter to do with food of course. The author of Delizia, John Dickie,

The Delizia!: The Epic History of the Italians and Their Food: Amazon.co.uk: John Dickie: 9780743278072: Books The Delizia!: The Epic History of the Italians and Their Food: Amazon.co.uk: John Dickie: 9780743278072: Books

once said (maybe in that book) that he had long since come to the conclusion that the only way folk would ever pay attention to even his most tentative views on food sat at an Italian table (I think he has Italian connections - most of us do) was if, at the same time, he stripped naked, or set himself on fire.

So in a spirit of practical scientific enquiry rather than consulting the oracle mamma, have you ever tried the system Lorna?

Or anyone else?

If not try it and report back. Do it when alone of course, close the shutters, check that the neighbours or passing pasta police can't see in.

all the best.

PS: Agree with you by the way Lorna about microwaves. It amazes me the number of special microwave pots folk have - this one for eggs, this one for that, this one for bla la bla. They need reintroducing to that pinnacle of human achievement - the pan.
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Old Dec 8th 2014, 6:26 pm
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Default Re: A crime against Italy and pasta?

Lakeland- Remoska
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Old Dec 8th 2014, 6:42 pm
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Default Re: A crime against Italy and pasta?

Could you believe it? I am not an orthodox about cooking pasta. A good pasta is "al dente" even if you (slightly) overcook it. I am fond of sailing and, on a sailing boat, the best way to cook pasta is to use a pressure pan, for many reasons: safety, not wasting gas, not having steam inside the boat, especially in summer. And it works, if the pasta is good quality, even if you start cooking (pasta inside, pressure pan closed) with cold water. So I think the method of Sunnisider can work.
Nevertheless, during the few month I spent in Southampton years ago, my British home mates made fun of me because I counted the time the pasta was left cooking, while they tested if it was ready in this way: they took a single "spaghetto" and throw it against the wall. If it remained sticking on the wall, pasta was ready. To me, instead, at that point pasta could have gone directly into the bin without passing through my stomach. :-)
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Old Dec 9th 2014, 2:10 pm
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Default Re: A crime against Italy and pasta?

Didn't realise you were part of the sailing set primula, but, yes, my further searches had turned up the fact that many sailors use a similar system for the reasons you say.

ah, the delights of young Brits in slumming it
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Old Dec 11th 2014, 10:04 pm
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Default Re: A crime against Italy and pasta?

Originally Posted by Lorna at Vicenza
..... Putting oil in the cooking water is a crime too.
Why? It is the most effective method I have found of stopping the pasta sticking together.
Originally Posted by sunnysider
Ah well on the evidence of that, I'm personally sure the method is fine/a winner.

Germans I see as methodical folk with enquiring minds.

And as for Italians laughing at them, that doesn't mean a lot either.

I bet they said their mum never did that as well didn't they? ....
Any technique that reliable produces a good outcome tends to be sneered at by craftsmen and artisans whose skills and experience have been made obsolete.

I recently discovered an almost identical method of boiling eggs to my liking: pan+cold water+eggs+salt. Place on maximum heat until a rolling boil is achieved. Then turn off the heat remove the pan from the ring (unless gas or induction), put a lid on the pan and leave for 5m45s. After this time you will have a beautiful soft-boiled egg with a slightly runny yoke.

The timed cooking portion may need to be reduced if your cooker is less efficient than my induction cooker because it would take longer to heat the water to boiling point.
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Old Dec 12th 2014, 5:18 am
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Default Re: A crime against Italy and pasta?

Microwaves are the work of Satan unless you need to knock up some Paxo in a hurry. TO stop pasta sticking together I put a spoonful of olive oil in the water and thats that.
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Old Dec 12th 2014, 6:00 am
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Default Re: A crime against Italy and pasta?

The oil in pasta thing.

Maybe it's a regional thing?

A did read the tip in a Brit Sunday Supplement once, source of lots of flannel about Italy/how to be Italian (I once read that no Italian family would dream of paying less than something like £20 for a Pandoro or some such rot) but after trying it for a bit I found that my Italian partner scoffed at it. So I stopped. The pasta doesn't stick as long as you do a bit of initial stirring.

Just remembered this from a few weeks ago:

BBC News - Is reheated pasta less fattening?

which also got a fair bit of coverage in the British press.

I tried it yesterday after my customary mistake of getting carried away with my spaghetti cooking the day before. Retrieved the extra from the fridge where it was sat in a big clump - stirred it into a pan where I had made an impromptu sauce/stir-fry veg thing with chopped tomatoes. Delicious and I preferred it to just cooked - less watery.

So, cook pasta with minimal heat application, make two or three servings, reheat when needed and it appears it may be healthier.

Take a hike mamma.
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Old Dec 12th 2014, 2:40 pm
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Default Re: A crime against Italy and pasta?

Originally Posted by Pulaski
Why? It is the most effective method I have found of stopping the pasta sticking together.
Drop pasta in lots of salted, boiling water, stir it and it won't stick.
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Old Dec 12th 2014, 2:50 pm
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Default Re: A crime against Italy and pasta?

Originally Posted by Lorna at Vicenza
Drop pasta in lots of salted, boiling water, stir it and it won't stick.
Right, that works, if you keep stirring it, but I am working on other parts of the meal. .... So why is putting oil in the pan not OK? I understand that it is arguably unnecessary.
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