You may have to join Pasta Anonymous 
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I should probably just swear off of condiments and things in jars for life 
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Oooh, that’s a great resource! Thanks for linking.
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Archangel Hair, angel hair that fights the tooth.
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That’s why I hang out here — safe space for food obsessives anonymous or otherwise 
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Whole wheat elbows
Lentil rotini
Bean threads
Knife cut noodles
Plain air-dried ramen
Rice sticks (medium)
White noodles (thin)
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Fun question - I made a serious effort last year to use up the overstock. But there are still currently 15 kinds in my cupboard , 1 in freezer. Uses/recipes noted.
Tri-color rotini - all purpose – salads, soups, sauced
Tortellini – fresh/frozen – all purpose – salads, quick chicken veggie soup, one-pan-sausage stew
Wide egg noodles – ground ham hotdish, chicken soup, bacon/alfredo/tomato skillet
Fettuccini – alfredo, shrimp scampi
Angel hair / thin spaghetti – sauced, quick bacon & spaghetti, garlic chicken/spinach/tomato skillet
Spaghetti – all purpose – pilaf w rice, under oriental stir fry, sauced
Elbow macaroni – Mac & cheese, salads
Lasagna noodles – regular and oven ready, for lasagna soup, chicken rollups
Bow ties – mini-lasagna casserole, BBQ ranch chicken casserole, Easy Greek salad w chicken
Small rings - chicken/green grapes/mandarins salad
Orzo – for side dishes
Shells – medium and large – bought for specific recipes – stuffed taco shells, salad, casserole
Pad Thai rice noodles - specific recipe - aging in place now, likely to get tossed
Cellophane rice noodles - ditto, likely to get tossed
Ramen – for Oriental Chicken Salad
Often, but not now – for specific recipe - Penne – mustardy steak/green beans, small shells - salad
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exactly. If I make fresh then I use it that day
I would have to count. It would be more than 10 and fewer than 30 in each of two houses. I maintain a “strategic pasta reserve”–a large plastic tub–I draw from.
I tend to buy what interests me at the point of sale, which usually means that the shape suggests something to cook. It may or may not be used for that dish.
I’ve grown away from staight, solid “string” pastas like spaghetti, linguini and the like, in favor of shapes that better capture sauces and hold looser shapes. If I want that long look, I now almost always choose #6 bucatini.
Probably 75% of my pasta dishes are hot and sauced, or casseroles. Maybe 20% salads, 5% stuffed.
I like having many shapes around to choose from, rather than having to totally dream up a dish and then go searching for what may never be found.
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papardelle one of my favorites, though most of the time I don’t have in stock.
never heard of paccheri before, will have to try it!
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All this negativity about dried pasta is unfair and inaccurate. Fresh pasta’s flavor can be preserved such that it isn’t remotely like anything commercial you can buy, no matter what artisanal brand. As indicated above, I’ve made a lot of pasta (for over 40 years) and dry it at very low temperatures, essentially slightly above room temperature, at very low humidity. It is pure semolina and water, no oil, no salt, no egg. Here’s the post link.
Every commercial producer uses heat to speed up the drying process, which evaporates some flavor molecules. The lower the drying heat, the more flavor gets preserved. Storing dried pasta in a dark, airtight & cold place helps it keep flavorful. (It must be fully dried.) I store the semolina in a deep freezer, since it’s bought in bulk. Sealing semolina in mylar bags, with oxygen absorbers, is also a great way to long-term store it, and most fully dried wheat products.
Ironically, for me, the problem is that, even at room temperature, pasta dries too quickly if left in the open. The pasta, while it contains water, is actually cooler than the air, because evaporation cools it slightly.
Another reason to dry pasta is setup time. If I’m going to get all the gadgets out to make pasta, making enough for one meal is not time efficient. While everything is ready, I’ll make several batches, which makes setup and cleanup much more worthwhile. Make a big mess. Make a lot of pasta, and reduce the hours per pound production time.
Everyone, especially the Italian side of my family, has remarked how deliciously different my homemade dried pasta is. I’ve cooked the same batch fresh and (later) dried, and the flavors are essentially the same; though, cook times vary wildly. Tomato sauce is never used. Olive oil or butter, and freshly-grated parmesan, maybe a little black pepper is all that goes on it. The semolina flavor really comes through.
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I didn’t memorize the entire thread, but don’t recall any such negativity regarding dried pasta. Some members questioned the necessity of fresh pasta’s existence, but that’s about it.
Both dried and fresh have their applications.
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@bogman nice to see you here!
Your pasta sounds like a labor of love.
I think the negative comments were on a different thread — we’ve mostly been discussing dry pasta types here.
Which types do you dry at home? Is it mostly long shapes?
I was a bit perturbed the first time I tasted fresh spaghetti — the texture was pretty different, imo (or the restaurant overcooked it maybe?)
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fresh pasta is an entirely different thing than “dried / boxed” pasta.
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The dried pasta I make are usually Fettuccine and thin spaghetti, the latter being much more challenging. I’ve used these fresh and dried at low temperatures. Aside from the cooking times, the flavor is nearly identical. There’s no comparison with the commercial types. The flavors of semolina are easily lost with hot, dry air, or improper storage.
Maybe so! I get lost in the multiple “threads”.
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I always keep spaghetti and rigatoni on hand. They are pretty versatile and I can make one of them work with most pantry pasta sauces. There’s also a half-open box of orzo if I decide I need a quick bowl of soup.
If I need another shape I just buy as I go.
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Well, there’s its close cousin, the strategic pandemic pasta reserve - and I’m still eating my way through mine. Ditto the big plastic tub for storage.
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Just bought more bc pasta
No way this’ll be cooked before Berlin, but it’ll join the rest of the gang in the basement.
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Interesting. Do you live above 3,000’? I wonder how altitude and lower boiling temps work. I have heard that water boils at 202 degrees, not 212, in Denver because it is the Mile High City. This is probably more of a thing in Quito at 9500’.
I am at 3,000’ and do not notice much of a difference. I usually simmer for a minute less than the recommended for al dente, check it and it is usually a bit too firm for me. But it is usually just a minute or two from being ok/al dente. I do not mind pasta cooked past al dente, especially for sesame noodles, but I usually do not wait to get past it.
