Dee wrote on Sun, 30 Sep 2007 14:09:06 -0400:


DD sf wrote in message
...
?? I'm turning into a stabber. I just don't like to twirl
?? anymore unless it's linguine and clams. So, intead of
?? spaghetti - I prefer rigatoni with my meat sauce. --
??
?? I LOVE penne!
??
?? Me too. In all sizes. Have you tried the mini penne?
?? --

I like all the various thicknesses of spaghetti (I know there
are fancy names for them but I've never straightened them out
:-). Tho' I like other forms of pasta too, I'm a twirler (no
spoon) for spaghetti. I't's pretty much the same as spaghetti
but I find chopsticks great for eating the noodles in Vietnamese
pho. There is a difference in that I think the individual
strands are shorter.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

On Sep 30, 9:16 am, ChattyCathy wrote:
[snippage]
OK - one other thing - we live at an altitude of approx. 1600 meters
(about 5000 feet) above sea level - so our water boils at a little under
100 Deg C. Wonder if that has anything to do with it?? [snip]

At about 5000 feet water boils at about 205 degrees. If the temp is
lower then the time has to be longer to accomplish the same cooking
result. Type of pasta, size of pot, volume of water are irrelevant.
How can that not be automatic in the thinking of someone who lives at
altitude? Did you just move there?

Incidentally, if the package recommends adding oil to the cooking
water, find a different brand. They don't know how to cook so why buy
their product? If you want to dress your pasta with oil, toss in a
little after draining the pasta. It serves no efficient purpose in
the water. -aem

aem wrote:

yet more snipping

At about 5000 feet water boils at about 205 degrees. If the temp is
lower then the time has to be longer to accomplish the same cooking
result. Type of pasta, size of pot, volume of water are irrelevant.
How can that not be automatic in the thinking of someone who lives at
altitude? Did you just move there?

Incidentally, if the package recommends adding oil to the cooking
water, find a different brand. They don't know how to cook so why buy
their product? If you want to dress your pasta with oil, toss in a
little after draining the pasta. It serves no efficient purpose in
the water. -aem

You comments are duly noted - thankyew.

--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Garlic: the element without which life as we know it would be impossible

"ChattyCathy" wrote in message
. ..
Heh. I am talking store-bought (dried?) spaghetti here.... so sue me!

The cooking "destructions" say that it should be cooked in boiling
(salted) water (with a tablespoon of oil added to the water) for 10-12
minutes...

Yeah right!

Mine always takes *at least* 25 minutes before it's "al dente" i.e. it's
not "soggy".
And yes, before anyone asks, the water is *boiling* the whole time...

Is it just me or...???

Comments welcome

That length of time is strange.

And, adding oil to the water serves absolutely no purpose.

"ChattyCathy" wrote in message
. ..
jmcquown wrote:


Cathy, I've never had dried pasta take that long to cook. In fact,
sometimes after I get the water to a rapid boil I add the spaghetti
(broken
into 3rds for manageability) then simply remove it from the heat and
cover
it. It cooks 'al dente' in 10, maybe 12, minutes without further ado and
I've freed up a burner for other things. I have noticed some pastas
labelled "whole wheat" (an oxymoron? they do look more brown in colour)
take
a little longer to cook, but not by much.

Here's what it says on the package:

What brand of pasta is this?

"ChattyCathy" wrote in message
. ..

The cooking "destructions" say that it should be cooked in boiling
(salted) water (with a tablespoon of oil added to the water) for 10-12
minutes...

Yeah right!

Mine always takes *at least* 25 minutes before it's "al dente" i.e. it's
not "soggy".
And yes, before anyone asks, the water is *boiling* the whole time...

Is it just me or...???

Comments welcome


Based on so many of the comments here, most of you really need to learn some
basics of Italian cooking.

1. You NEVER put oil/butter in the water. Never.
2. Never rinse the pasta.
3. Don't salt the water till its come to a rolling boil.
4. Use enough water - the pasta needs to move around freely in LOTS of
water.

Cathy, your problem might stem from your definition of *boiling*. The water
has to maintain a rolling (vigorous) boil the whole time (except for
ravioli). Try a "real" brand of pasta, like De Cecco, or even Barilla. No
pasta company should be telling you to oil the frigging water!

Sorry to say, but once you get away from the Northeast, Italian food is an
abomination. You Midwestern types could use a lesson from a good old Italian
grandma like so many of us in the NY/New England region grew up with.

Best of luck.

Davlo wrote on Sun, 30 Sep 2007 16:02:57 -0400:


D "ChattyCathy" wrote in message
D . ..
??
?? The cooking "destructions" say that it should be cooked in
?? boiling (salted) water (with a tablespoon of oil added to
?? the water) for 10-12 minutes...
??
?? Yeah right!
??
?? Mine always takes *at least* 25 minutes before it's "al
?? dente" i.e. it's not "soggy". And yes, before anyone asks,
?? the water is *boiling* the whole time...
??
?? Is it just me or...???
??
?? Comments welcome

D Based on so many of the comments here, most of you really
D need to learn some basics of Italian cooking.

D 1. You NEVER put oil/butter in the water. Never.
D 2. Never rinse the pasta.
D 3. Don't salt the water till its come to a rolling boil.
D 4. Use enough water - the pasta needs to move around freely
D in LOTS of water.

D Cathy, your problem might stem from your definition of
D *boiling*. The water has to maintain a rolling (vigorous)
D boil the whole time (except for ravioli). Try a "real" brand
D of pasta, like De Cecco, or even Barilla. No pasta company
D should be telling you to oil the frigging water!

D Sorry to say, but once you get away from the Northeast,
D Italian food is an abomination. You Midwestern types could

Hmmh! I thought Cathy was a South African!

D use a lesson from a good old Italian grandma like so many
D of us in the NY/New England region grew up with.



James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

Also here in Italy we have pasta which cook in 25 minutes. And after 25
minutes it is "al dente"!
But not for this, it is a good type of pasta. A good pasta cook in 10 - 13
minutes!
And yes. I agree with you: better brands are DeCecco (my favourite) and
Barilla.

--
Kisses
Pandora
----------------------------------------

"Davlo" ha scritto nel messaggio
...

"ChattyCathy" wrote in message
. ..

The cooking "destructions" say that it should be cooked in boiling
(salted) water (with a tablespoon of oil added to the water) for 10-12
minutes...

Yeah right!

Mine always takes *at least* 25 minutes before it's "al dente" i.e. it's
not "soggy".
And yes, before anyone asks, the water is *boiling* the whole time...

Is it just me or...???

Comments welcome


Based on so many of the comments here, most of you really need to learn
some basics of Italian cooking.

1. You NEVER put oil/butter in the water. Never.
2. Never rinse the pasta.
3. Don't salt the water till its come to a rolling boil.
4. Use enough water - the pasta needs to move around freely in LOTS of
water.

Cathy, your problem might stem from your definition of *boiling*. The
water has to maintain a rolling (vigorous) boil the whole time (except for
ravioli). Try a "real" brand of pasta, like De Cecco, or even Barilla. No
pasta company should be telling you to oil the frigging water!

Sorry to say, but once you get away from the Northeast, Italian food is an
abomination. You Midwestern types could use a lesson from a good old
Italian grandma like so many of us in the NY/New England region grew up
with.

Best of luck.

"Pandora" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
...
Also here in Italy we have pasta which cook in 25 minutes. And after 25
minutes it is "al dente"!
But not for this, it is a good type of pasta. A good pasta cook in 10 - 13
minutes!
And yes. I agree with you: better brands are DeCecco (my favourite) and
Barilla.

Be careful here.
We're dealing mostly with USAns here. The simple fact that there are 10
different
thicknesses for Barilla spaghetti (I prefer numero 3) might cause a
culture-shock.

Cheers,

Michael Kuettner

Davlo said...

No pasta company should be telling you to oil the frigging water!

The reason to add oil to the water is to prevent foam overs, not for the
pasta's benefit. Oil is going to ride on the surface anyway and has that
effect. A couple drops would probably do.

Maybe that company's pasta foams over more than other brands and they're
trying to solve the problem that way instead of making better pasta?

Andy

In article ,
ChattyCathy wrote:

cybercat wrote:


TWENTY FIVE MINUTES FOR PASTA???


Yep.

Cathy just finished eating her pasta with meat sauce

Altitude: 5000 feet

When we lived at 6,000 in California, boiled stuff did take a bit longer
(I was a kid so don't remember the details) but that might account for
it some.
--
Peace, Om

Remove _ to validate e-mails.

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down." -- Steve Rothstein

In article , Andy q wrote:

ChattyCathy said...

Heh. I am talking store-bought (dried?) spaghetti here.... so sue me!

The cooking "destructions" say that it should be cooked in boiling
(salted) water (with a tablespoon of oil added to the water) for 10-12
minutes...

Yeah right!

Mine always takes *at least* 25 minutes before it's "al dente" i.e. it's
not "soggy".
And yes, before anyone asks, the water is *boiling* the whole time...

Is it just me or...???

Comments welcome


Cathy,

That sounds like too long for spaghetti. Are you making it in a pot with
LOTS of water or are you crowding the spaghetti into "shallow waters?"

My vermicelli takes 8-10 minutes.

Good luck,

Andy

Andy.

Atmospheric pressure affects the temperature at which water boils, and
that is affected by altitude.

Her boiling water is not as hot as yours, so it's going to take longer
to cook stuff.

There is not a lot that can be done about that, but it's one major
reason mom got to be really good with a pressure cooker when we lived at
8,000 ft. in Colorado.
--
Peace, Om

Remove _ to validate e-mails.

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down." -- Steve Rothstein

"Michael Kuettner" ha scritto nel messaggio
...

"Pandora" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
...
Also here in Italy we have pasta which cook in 25 minutes. And after 25
minutes it is "al dente"!
But not for this, it is a good type of pasta. A good pasta cook in 10 -
13 minutes!
And yes. I agree with you: better brands are DeCecco (my favourite) and
Barilla.

Be careful here.
We're dealing mostly with USAns here. The simple fact that there are 10
different
thicknesses for Barilla spaghetti (I prefer numero 3) might cause a
culture-shock.

Cheers,

Michael Kuettner

Yes. But I was generally speaking!BTW I would say that some brands of
pastas which cook in 25 minutes (and which are very expensive) can be
replaced with Barilla or De Cecco which are better and less expensive.
Ofcourse, some types of pastas cook in less minutes, but for this you must
look on the package

--
Kisses
Pandora

Michael wrote on Sun, 30 Sep 2007 22:36:31 +0200:


MK "Pandora" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
MK ...
?? Also here in Italy we have pasta which cook in 25 minutes.
?? And after 25 minutes it is "al dente"! But not for this,
?? it is a good type of pasta. A good pasta cook in 10 - 13
?? minutes! And yes. I agree with you: better brands are
DeCecco
?? (my favourite) and Barilla.
??
MK Be careful here.
MK We're dealing mostly with USAns here. The simple fact that
MK there are 10 different
MK thicknesses for Barilla spaghetti (I prefer numero 3) might
MK cause a culture-shock.

It's quite a number tho' I can't say that I have ever been
concerned or even thought much about it :-)

I have seen Barilla and DeCecco on sale quite often in the US
and I think I did see some numbers but I bought the spaghetti by
inspection. To tell the truth, I can't tell much difference in
taste betwen imported and domestic. I tend to give it 8 minutes
to cook and test for "al dente" at that point. It's often quite
enough time for my taste.


James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

In article , "cybercat"
wrote:

"Goomba38" wrote in message
. ..
jmcquown wrote:
In fact,
sometimes after I get the water to a rapid boil I add the spaghetti
(broken
into 3rds for manageability)

clutching chest in pain
Oh no no no, Jill. Don't do this! This is horrible. Just twirl a few
strands on your fork to make a compact package you then can lift to your
mouth. It isn't hard, and is a more grown up way of eating.
Short broken pieces of spaghetti don't twirl worth a shit.

Why are you telling anyone how to eat pasta, FFS? I like mine
the way you like yours, but I make my husband's the way HE likes
it--broken in to thirds.

Because she _likes_ to tell people what they can and cannot do.

We always break pasta noodles in 1/2 to make them easier to eat.

Really long noodles make for too big of a bite and are a pain in the
ass, unless you have a really big mouth!

Oh.

Nevermind.

eg
--
Peace, Om

Remove _ to validate e-mails.

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down." -- Steve Rothstein