A General Pasta Comment

Eddie · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 8

Maybe you all know this or not. Chefs on TV will say not to wash your
cooked pasta because the starch that is on the surface of the pasta
helps to stick the sauce to it.

Following that logic, I wash my cooked pasta in warm water to remove
the starch which would quickly turn to glucose. Although I haven't
done any controlled experiment, it just seems to make sense for us type
2's to wash our pasta.

Do you wash?
Ed

Archived from group: alt>food>diabetic

krom · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 55

I dont rinse mine because i dont spike at all with dreamfields pasta..so no
need.
But i do like you do alan and i serve wife more noodles then meat sauce and
i eat less noodle and more sauce and lots of parm.

KROM

"Alan S" wrote in message @4ax.com...
> On Wed, 01 Aug 2007 23:13:58 -0400, Eddie
> wrote:
>
>>Maybe you all know this or not. Chefs on TV will say not to wash your
>>cooked pasta because the starch that is on the surface of the pasta
>>helps to stick the sauce to it.
>>
>>Following that logic, I wash my cooked pasta in warm water to remove
>>the starch which would quickly turn to glucose. Although I haven't
>>done any controlled experiment, it just seems to make sense for us type
>>2's to wash our pasta.
>>
>>Do you wash?
>>Ed
>>
> Yep. I dump it into a strainer and pour hot water over it,
> then let it drain for a few minutes before serving or adding
> to sauce. I've never noticed any problems with the sauce not
> sticking.
>
> Another tip is to serve my pasta-loving wife a double serve
> of pasta with half-sauce while I have a double serve of
> sauce with a half-serve of pasta.
>
>
> Cheers, Alan, T2, Australia.
> d&e, metformin 1500mg, ezetrol 10mg
> Everything in Moderation - Except Laughter.
> --
> http://loraltraveloz.blogspot.com/
> latest: Mossman Gorge in the Daintree Rainforest
> http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/
> latest: Self-Testing and Type 2 Management

Julie Bove · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 494

"Eddie" wrote in message @catskill.net...
> Maybe you all know this or not. Chefs on TV will say not to wash your
> cooked pasta because the starch that is on the surface of the pasta helps
> to stick the sauce to it.
>
> Following that logic, I wash my cooked pasta in warm water to remove the
> starch which would quickly turn to glucose. Although I haven't done any
> controlled experiment, it just seems to make sense for us type 2's to wash
> our pasta.
>
> Do you wash?

Heck no and that just makes no sense. Washing it off will cool it. And
I've never heard a chef on TV say to do that. I only rinse it in cold water
if I'm making a pasta salad and I want it chilled.

If you think about it, pasta is the same throughout. I used to make it from
scratch. Pretty much just flour and eggs. Why would there be any more
starch on the outside?

Tiger Lily · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 6

i drain my pastas of all kinds in the collander, then rinse it with HOT
water to wash off
the excess starch that coagulates on the pasta normally

"Eddie" wrote in message @catskill.net...
> Maybe you all know this or not. Chefs on TV will say not to wash your
> cooked pasta because the starch that is on the surface of the pasta helps
> to stick the sauce to it.
>
> Following that logic, I wash my cooked pasta in warm water to remove the
> starch which would quickly turn to glucose. Although I haven't done any
> controlled experiment, it just seems to make sense for us type 2's to wash
> our pasta.
>
> Do you wash?
> Ed
>
>

Alan S · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 134

On Wed, 01 Aug 2007 23:13:58 -0400, Eddie
wrote:

>Maybe you all know this or not. Chefs on TV will say not to wash your
>cooked pasta because the starch that is on the surface of the pasta
>helps to stick the sauce to it.
>
>Following that logic, I wash my cooked pasta in warm water to remove
>the starch which would quickly turn to glucose. Although I haven't
>done any controlled experiment, it just seems to make sense for us type
>2's to wash our pasta.
>
>Do you wash?
>Ed
>
Yep. I dump it into a strainer and pour hot water over it,
then let it drain for a few minutes before serving or adding
to sauce. I've never noticed any problems with the sauce not
sticking.

Another tip is to serve my pasta-loving wife a double serve
of pasta with half-sauce while I have a double serve of
sauce with a half-serve of pasta.

Cheers, Alan, T2, Australia.
d&e, metformin 1500mg, ezetrol 10mg
Everything in Moderation - Except Laughter.
--
http://loraltraveloz.blogspot.com/
latest: Mossman Gorge in the Daintree Rainforest
http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/
latest: Self-Testing and Type 2 Management

Alan S · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 134

On Thu, 02 Aug 2007 05:35:10 GMT, "Julie Bove"
wrote:

>
>"Eddie" wrote in message
>@catskill.net...
>> Maybe you all know this or not. Chefs on TV will say not to wash your
>> cooked pasta because the starch that is on the surface of the pasta helps
>> to stick the sauce to it.
>>
>> Following that logic, I wash my cooked pasta in warm water to remove the
>> starch which would quickly turn to glucose. Although I haven't done any
>> controlled experiment, it just seems to make sense for us type 2's to wash
>> our pasta.
>>
>> Do you wash?
>
>Heck no and that just makes no sense. Washing it off will cool it. And
>I've never heard a chef on TV say to do that. I only rinse it in cold water
>if I'm making a pasta salad and I want it chilled.
>
He didn't say cold water. He said warm water. I use hot
water.

>If you think about it, pasta is the same throughout. I used to make it from
>scratch. Pretty much just flour and eggs. Why would there be any more
>starch on the outside?
>

Cheers, Alan, T2, Australia.
d&e, metformin 1500mg, ezetrol 10mg
Everything in Moderation - Except Laughter.
--
http://loraltraveloz.blogspot.com/
latest: Mossman Gorge in the Daintree Rainforest
http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/
latest: Self-Testing and Type 2 Management

Joan and Papillons: Cosm · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 27

I am not a diabetic but my husband's side of the family ( father, brothers
are diabetic,b.p problems, high Cholesterol etc. ) ) So on the whole I try
to cook and eat healthy for both me and my hubby . My relatives are very
over weight and I do believe genetics plays into the scheme of things.

I always rinse any pasta in hot water, yes excess starch is great for sauce
to cling but I prefer mine with out excess starch.
When I cook pasta, I add a bit of salt and a Tbs oil to prevent foaming.

The trick is to add the oil "after" it begins to foam, the starch foam
really dissipates. I switched over to the whole wheat and whole grain pasta
and we actually enjoy the taste better than the white kind.

Joan

Janet Wilder · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 230

krom wrote:
> I dont rinse mine because i dont spike at all with dreamfields pasta..so no
> need.
> But i do like you do alan and i serve wife more noodles then meat sauce and
> i eat less noodle and more sauce and lots of parm.

We do Dreamfields, too. I do rinse it quickly with cold water to stop
the cooking process. It also helps it from getting sticky. While the
pasta is in the strainer, I heat the sauce in a pot then put the pasta
into the warm sauce and stir. This way one uses less sauce ( I figured
about half as much) but gets the pasta coated well enough.

I have found that the 2 ounce serving recommended by Dreamfields is
enough for two adults. If I'm making lo mein with the Dreamfields
spaghetti, I use even less pasta as there are lots of veggies in it.

We can't get the linguini at home so I bought 5 boxes in NJ that I'm
carting around New England

--
Janet Wilder
Bad spelling. Bad punctuation
Good Friends. Good Life

Julie Bove · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 494

"Alan S" wrote in message @4ax.com...
> On Thu, 02 Aug 2007 05:35:10 GMT, "Julie Bove"
> wrote:
>
>>
>>"Eddie" wrote in message
>>@catskill.net...
>>> Maybe you all know this or not. Chefs on TV will say not to wash your
>>> cooked pasta because the starch that is on the surface of the pasta
>>> helps
>>> to stick the sauce to it.
>>>
>>> Following that logic, I wash my cooked pasta in warm water to remove the
>>> starch which would quickly turn to glucose. Although I haven't done any
>>> controlled experiment, it just seems to make sense for us type 2's to
>>> wash
>>> our pasta.
>>>
>>> Do you wash?
>>
>>Heck no and that just makes no sense. Washing it off will cool it. And
>>I've never heard a chef on TV say to do that. I only rinse it in cold
>>water
>>if I'm making a pasta salad and I want it chilled.
>>
> He didn't say cold water. He said warm water. I use hot
> water.
>
I know he didn't. But it makes no sense to me to wash it off. Like I
said... Standard procedure for making pasta salad is to rinse it in cold
water to stop the cooking process. I hope you are not using hot or warm
water from the sink to rinse it with. Yick!

krom · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 55

I love the stuff!
MY endo asked me if feel deprived food wise as a diabetic,and i was glad to
honestly answer no!

Smile

Amazing what good food you can eat if you re-learn portion size.

KROM

"Janet Wilder" wrote in message $0$24995$c3e8da3@news.astraweb.com...
> krom wrote:
>> I dont rinse mine because i dont spike at all with dreamfields pasta..so
>> no need.
>> But i do like you do alan and i serve wife more noodles then meat sauce
>> and i eat less noodle and more sauce and lots of parm.
>
> We do Dreamfields, too. I do rinse it quickly with cold water to stop the
> cooking process. It also helps it from getting sticky. While the pasta is
> in the strainer, I heat the sauce in a pot then put the pasta into the
> warm sauce and stir. This way one uses less sauce ( I figured about half
> as much) but gets the pasta coated well enough.
>
> I have found that the 2 ounce serving recommended by Dreamfields is
> enough for two adults. If I'm making lo mein with the Dreamfields
> spaghetti, I use even less pasta as there are lots of veggies in it.
>
> We can't get the linguini at home so I bought 5 boxes in NJ that I'm
> carting around New England
>
> --
> Janet Wilder
> Bad spelling. Bad punctuation
> Good Friends. Good Life

Jeffrey Kaplan · Joined: 31 Jul 2007 Posts: 15

It is alleged that Joan and Papillons: Cosmo & Midge claimed:

> I always rinse any pasta in hot water, yes excess starch is great for sauce
> to cling but I prefer mine with out excess starch.
> When I cook pasta, I add a bit of salt and a Tbs oil to prevent foaming.

Salt should be added to the water prior to cooking the pasta for
seasoning, not to "prevent foaming". Adding oil to the pot of cooking
pasta only makes the pasta too slick to hold onto the sauce. (According
to Alton Brown, the water should be almost sea-water salty to get the
right amount of salt into the pasta. Salt is not bad for you!)

The trick to preventing foam-over isn't additives, its heat control.
Quite simply, back off the heat (med-high, around 8 on a dial that goes
to 10). What I do is bring to a boil, covered, at 10, add the pasta
and drop the heat to 8. Removing the cover and adding the pasta will
drop the temp just enough, and lowering the heat will keep it from
getting "foam over" hot again. And put the lid back on skewed to let
steam escape and prevent pressure build-up that would raise the temp
and lead to foam over.

Your pasta will taste better, and hold onto the sauce better.

--
Jeffrey Kaplan www.gordol.org
The from userid is killfiled Send personal mail to gordol

"How will this end?" "...In fire..." (Emperor Turhan and Amb. Kosh,
B5 "The Coming of Shadows")

Frank t2 · Joined: 31 Jul 2007 Posts: 9

G'day cobber ..

We use boiling water too, to keep the temp high
To us, it makes sense to get rid of the 'goo' before eating

In fact, we rinse before and after cooking.

"Alan S" a écrit ...
> "Julie Bove" wrote:
>
>>
>>Heck no and that just makes no sense. Washing it off will cool it. And
>>I've never heard a chef on TV say to do that. I only rinse it in cold
>>water
>>if I'm making a pasta salad and I want it chilled.
>>
> He didn't say cold water. He said warm water. I use hot
> water.
>
>>If you think about it, pasta is the same throughout. I used to make it
>>from
>>scratch. Pretty much just flour and eggs. Why would there be any more
>>starch on the outside?
>>
>
> Cheers, Alan, T2, Australia.
> d&e, metformin 1500mg, ezetrol 10mg
> Everything in Moderation - Except Laughter.
> --
> http://loraltraveloz.blogspot.com/
> latest: Mossman Gorge in the Daintree Rainforest
> http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/
> latest: Self-Testing and Type 2 Management

Jeffrey Kaplan · Joined: 31 Jul 2007 Posts: 15

It is alleged that Joan and Papillons: Cosmo & Midge claimed:

> Hi Jeff,
> thanks for your post. I don't always agree with Alton Brown ( grin ) And
> my pasta method works well for me!
>
> Different strokes for different folks.

Ok.

I just know that I used to oil the water, but I stopped when I saw that
ep of Good Eats, and IMO the pasta came out better.

--
Jeffrey Kaplan www.gordol.org
The from userid is killfiled Send personal mail to gordol

"If I am ever the Hero top 100 list: #51. When I state my intention to
do something and one of my robots interrupts me, I will at least hear
it out.

Joan and Papillons: Cosm · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 27

Hi Jeff,
thanks for your post. I don't always agree with Alton Brown ( grin ) And
my pasta method works well for me!

Different strokes for different folks.

When it comes to cooking and baking and eating, I am always amazed how
differently people do things.!!

And I have to come to respect other people's suggestions although I may
disagree !

Joan

"Jeffrey Kaplan" wrote in message@gordol.org...

Jackie Patti · Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Posts: 61

Eddie wrote:
> Maybe you all know this or not. Chefs on TV will say not to wash your
> cooked pasta because the starch that is on the surface of the pasta
> helps to stick the sauce to it.
>
> Following that logic, I wash my cooked pasta in warm water to remove the
> starch which would quickly turn to glucose. Although I haven't done any
> controlled experiment, it just seems to make sense for us type 2's to
> wash our pasta.
>
> Do you wash?

I use fried shredded cabbage or zucchini as "pasta" so it'd not make
much sense to rinse it. Wink

--
http://www.ornery-geeks.org/consulting/