Thanks, that’s helpful. I went back and looked, and one of my very thin Asian style noodles is labeled as vermicelli, but it’s more of a balled up mass vs nice, straight lines of the stuff.
My comment about relative thicknesses as between vermicelli and angel hair was when I was stuck in Italian style mode and had already forgotten about my Asian style rice verm.
Anyone make their own fresh pasta and dry it at home?
if I go to the trouble of making “fresh” - it gets eaten “fresh”
dried pasta I can buy.
(actually… some “fresh” is sometimes available . . . . but . . . )
Agree. If I want fresh, it’s going to be really fresh.
A friend of mine in a cooking group I host does. I suppose if one has endless storage options to dry the pasta - especially long-strand shapes, I’d say go for it.
For me, it’d kinda defeat the purpose of having fresh pasta.
I’ve seen it a Wegman’s.
You may have to join Pasta Anonymous 
I should probably just swear off of condiments and things in jars for life 
Oooh, that’s a great resource! Thanks for linking.
Archangel Hair, angel hair that fights the tooth.
That’s why I hang out here — safe space for food obsessives anonymous or otherwise 
Whole wheat elbows
Lentil rotini
Bean threads
Knife cut noodles
Plain air-dried ramen
Rice sticks (medium)
White noodles (thin)
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
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.
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!
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.
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.
@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?)
