In article > ,
"Peter Aitken" > wrote:

> "Bob (this one)" > wrote in message
> ...
> > John Gaughan wrote:
> >
> > > I tried whole wheat pasta the other day. My wife and I both think it
> > > tastes good, but it does not hold sauce well. Most likely this is due to
> > > the fact that it has less starch, which helps bond sauce to the pasta.
> > >
> > > Is this true of all whole wheat pasta? What brands do you guys
> > > recommend? Any cooking tips, should I cook it differently than normal
> > > pasta? Normally I boil it until al dente, rinse in hot water, and toss
> > > in olive oil.
> >
> > Talking about one pound of pasta. Boil, drain, DON'T RINSE, toss with
> > about 2 tablespoons butter so it doesn't stick together (drop the
> > butter into the pot you cooked the pasta in; it'll still be warm
> > enough to melt the butter quickly). Sauce at service on the plates.
> > That way, the rest of the pasta (if any) can be used for other dishes
> > with no regard for the sauce used for the first presentation.
> >
> > Butter will leave a surface better able to accept and hold sauce than
> > oil will. Rinsing removes the surface starch that would
> > (ever-so-slightly) thicken sauce that touches the pasta. 20% of butter
> > is water and that helps retain the surface starch.
> >
> > Pastorio
> >
> This ignores the fact that the taste of butter is incompatible with many
> sauces.

Oh? What sauces are incompatible with the flavor of butter, especially
such a tiny amount?

Not being argumentative, just curious. I _love_ butter and can't think
of any sauces off the top of my head that it would not work with. Even
Marinara.

I've always used Olive oil for my pasta, but had planned to try this.
I only use corn or rice pasta since I'm allergic to wheat.

> Also, it seems unwise to compromise tonight's dish in order to have
> unsauced pasta for tomorrow.

That I have to agree with... I'd personally never cook more pasta than I
had sauce to go with, and my mom always added the pre-cooked pasta to
the sauce in a pan prior to serving, and I also like it that way.

Different tastes for different folks tho'. :-)

K.

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