How to boil penne pasta?
In this brief guide we will address the question, “How to boil penne pasta?” as well as other questions pertaining to the subject at hand like how to store leftover pasta and the tips for boiling.
How to boil penne pasta
Boiling pasta is simple. Here is a step by step guide to help you.
- Take a large pan and start boiling water in it. Add salt or olive oil to taste. The ratio for water and pasta is 500ml for every 100g pasta. Add your pasta and wait for it to boil.
- Keep the water boiling with the pasta for 10-12 minutes. This is the time period for penne pasta. Other types of pasta that are thin usually take less time.
- Take out a piece of pasta from the container after this time, and check the doneness of the pasta. If you think it needs more time, put it back and check again after a minute.
- Before you take the pasta out of the container, be sure to steam dry it and drain the excess water.
- Your pasta is done and ready to be served!
How to store leftover pasta?
Freshly boiled penne pasta should not be stored in the refrigerator immediately. This is because there will be a drastic change in temperature and your pasta can get infected with microorganisms along with changes in texture and flavour.
It is best to let the pasta cool down for some time and then put it in the refrigerator. You can now use this leftover pasta as a cold pasta salad on the next day. Add vegetables, spices, and mayonnaise to make the salad stand out and enjoy the richness of a cold, creamy pasta salad. Always remember that you should consume leftover refrigerated pasta within 5 days. Otherwise it will go bad.
Other FAQs about Pasta which you may be interested in.
How much does a cup of cooked Pasta weigh?
Boiling Hacks (Tips for boiling)
If you cook regularly, knowing when and how to boil is an essential part of your cooking regime. Boiling is a quick way to clean and disinfect food items. Not to mention that it retains original flavour while also eliminating the harmful microorganisms that may be inhabiting your food product.
Boiling is a moist-heat cooking method when the temperature of the liquid reaches 212F. The food product is completely submerged in water for even heat distribution. It is an explosive phase change between liquid state and a gas state.
It is one of the safest and most reliable methods for cooking till date, and a lot of health professionals recommend boiling water before using it. Here are some tips that will facilitate you in boiling any food product.
Use a food thermometer.
Well, this is the oldest trick in the book. When boiling any particular food product, you need to make sure that the temperature is neither too low nor too high. A quick and effective way to solve this problem is by using a food thermometer. A temperature of 212F is just right for you to boil any food product. But wait! Shouldn’t the temperature be different for different food products? Well, not really.
Since the technique in itself revolves around the use of water, and you are using that heat to boil your food product, it remains pretty much the same for all food items. Of course, there can be minor changes in the temperature range, but 212F is a benchmark.
Use salt for quick boiling
The reason you should use salt is because salt actually lowers the boiling point of water, which in turns speeds up your boiling process. It does add some salty taste to your dish, and most of the dishes use salt inevitably. So it is not really a problem unless you don’t like salt or have hypertension
It is important to note that you should not unnecessarily add salt to shorten your boiling time when it comes to chicken, because adding extra salt will harden the surface of the chicken and it will not be as tender as it can be without the addition of salt.
Use pots reasonably
Boiling involves cooking in water, therefore you need to know when to use which pot. This actually saves you a lot of time because if you are just boiling an egg in 1 litre of water, you are just using more water than needed. Moreover, it will require more time to reach the boil.
When boiling, make sure that your pots can be covered – avoid using pans. Using deeper pots actually help to keep the food submerged properly and evenly distribute the heat. Afterall, it is the water that is cooking!
Other facts about boiling
On top of it being the best way to cook food, boiling actually concentrates the flavour of your food. It also allows you to cook a large amount of food with ease. Although some nutrients leach out in the water that is used in boiling, boiling does not affect the nutritional status of the food product. Just use the water that you boiled in along with the dish and you will not lose any nutrients while cooking!
Conclusion
In this brief guide we have addressed the question, “How to boil penne pasta?” as well as other questions pertaining to the subject at hand like how to store leftover pasta and the tips for boiling.
References
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/how-cook-pasta
https://www.livestrong.com/article/424443-how-to-cook-brown-rice-pasta/
https://www.jessicagavin.com/boiling/https://www.jessicagavin.com/boiling/
