Boiling Pasta with your Saladmaster Culinary Baskets
Instructions
Notes
Use the appropriate size pan and Culinary Basket for the amount of pasta you are cooking.
Fill the appropriate size pan for the Culinary Basket three-fourths full with water. Do not fill the pan to the top with water. When the Culinary Basket and pasta are added the water level will rise.
Place Culinary Basket inside the pan with water. Place temperature setting on medium-high heat and bring the water to a rolling boil (this means a boil that will not stop when stirring). While stirring, add 1/2 teaspoon (3g) salt to the water to prevent the pasta from sticking together.
Using the guide above, measure the pasta you need according to the size pan and Culinary Basket you are using. Pasta generally doubles in size when cooked.
Slowly add the pasta to the boiling water. Continue stirring as pasta will stick together if it isn't stirred during the crucial first moments of cooking. Start timing when the water returns to a boil. Most pastas cook in 8 - 12 minutes. Check and follow the package directions.
You can regulate the heat so the pasta/water mixture doesn't foam up and over the sides of the pan. Slightly lower the heat and everything should be under control.
Pasta is cooked when the texture is 'al dente' - firm, yet tender, with a tiny core in the middle. There shouldn't be any solid white in the center of the pasta, just shading to more opaque cream color.
When pasta is done, turn off the heat. Place a large stainless steel bowl next to the sauce pan or roaster. Attach the Versa Loc™ Handles to the Culinary Basket. Slowly lift Culinary Basket and shake off excess water. Transfer cooked pasta into the large bowl. The mesh material of the Culinary Basket makes straining simple and fast.
Don't rinse pasta if you're serving a hot dish. Rinsing removes the starch that helps hold the sauce. If you are making a cold salad, rinse pasta so the salad isn't sticky. Use pasta as planned for any recipe.
Tips and Hints:
|
3 Qt. (2.8 L) Sauce Pan (with 2.5 Qt. Culinary Basket) |
7 Qt. (6.6 L) Roaster (with 6 Qt. Culinary Basket) |
10 Qt. (9.5 L) Roaster (with 6 Qt. Culinary Basket) |
| 1 cup (105g) uncooked pasta = 2 cups (280g) cooked pasta (yield: four ½-cup/70g servings or two 1-cup/140g servings) | 3 cups (315g) uncooked pasta = 6 cups (840g) cooked pasta (yield: twelve ½-cup/70g servings or six 1-cup/140g servings) | 3 cups (315g) uncooked pasta = 6 cups (840g) cooked pasta (yield: twelve ½-cup/70g servings or six 1-cup/140g servings) |
- Covering the pan when bringing water to a boil lowers the air pressure directly over the water, making it easier to boil. After adding the pasta, leave pan uncovered.
- Never mix pasta types in one pan. They all have different cooking times.
- Watch the cooking process carefully - pasta can overcook very quickly.
- If the pasta is to be used in a casserole, undercook it slightly. Pasta will finish cooking to perfection when the completed casserole is cooked.