If you add pasta to cold water, and then bring it to a boil, the starches will begin to dissolve. This will cause a very sticky surface on the pasta, and it will clump together. By adding the pasta to boiling water, the surface starches cook right away.
Pasta about doubles in size once cooked, so if you need 2c I suggest boiling a little over 1c of pasta.
It depends on the size and type of pasta. Orzo and angel hair need about 6 minutes or a little more. Thicker pastas need 10 - 12 minutes, or longer. Take out a piece to taste it and test the doneness.
A dry to cooked pasta calculator helps you figure out the amount of dry pasta needed to make a specific quantity of cooked pasta for your recipe. Simply enter the desired cooked pasta amount and the calculator will tell you how much dry pasta to use.
When you add salt to boiling water, it increases the boiling point of the water. This means that the water will need to reach a higher temperature before it boils. Additionally, the salt can enhance the flavor of the food being cooked in the water.
Pasta, cooked and cooled. Then what ever you want. Usually the bits are smaller in size that the pasta shape. Some pasta salads have no sauce or oil in them. Try aromatic leaves, bits of cooked or raw veggies, bits of cooked meat, nuts, cheese.
Life needs water. Due to this simple fact, any kind of wet climate will naturally attract mold, because mold is a living "thing". When you cook pasta, you boil it in water, right? Well, during this process, the pasta absorbs the water and retains it. As time progresses, mold will begin to settle in your cooked pasta, because like all living things, we need water and will go to desperate measures to get it if we have to. Putting it in the fridge will slow down the process, but will not eliminate it. Sticking in the freezer, on the other hand, is much more beneficial, considering that not many things (including mold) will survive in such a climate. Dry pasta, as you may now understand, contains no water or any nutrients that would attract mold. This is why anything damp or wet will attract mold quickly (especially at room temperature), where as dry foods will vary (depending on the ingredients and how it was cooked) and rarely attract mold.
One pound of dry pasta equals 2.5 pounds of cooked pasta.
Pasta added to water before it starts to boil gets a heat start on mushiness. Pasta quickly begins to break down in tepid water as the starch dissolves. You need the intense heat of boiling water to "set" the outside of the pasta, which prevents the pasta from sticking together. That's why the fast boil is so important; the water temperature drops when you add the pasta, but if you have a fast boil, the water will still be hot enough for the pasta to cook properly. http://whatscookingamerica.net/Pasta_Rice_Main/pasta.htm
You can make your own using semolina flour, egg and water. But usually people purchase the dry product in the pasta aisle, then boil it for 7 minutes in salted water and serve it with a tomato sauce or garlic-and-oil sauce.
Vermicelli typically needs to be cooked for about 3-5 minutes in boiling water to be perfectly done.
According to the National Pasta Association , 8 ounces of uncooked long pasta, such as spaghetti will yield 4 cups of cooked pasta. Thus, a "serving" of 2 oz. uncooked spaghetti will be the nutritional equivalent of 1 cup of cooked spaghetti.
Yes to cook dry pasta it should be boiled in plenty of salted water for the time indicated on the packet (usually 5 to 10 mins.) However some pasta (e.g. Lasagna) may be added to the dish dry as it will absorb moisture as the dish cooks. Also freshly made pasta will only need 2-3 mins boiling.