Alimentary Paste

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• Alimentary Paste or Pasta in Italian refers to the family of macaroni
products of varying sizes and shapes. The most popular ones are
spaghetti, macaroni, vermicelli, egg noodles and lasagna. Macaroni
may assume the shape of stars, shell, bowls, alphabets, etc.
• Alimentary paste is made from unbleached durum wheat middling,
called semolina. Durum wheat is a type of hard wheat with higher
protein content than most hard wheat. Its natural creamy to yellow
color makes it unique for pastas.
• The market forms of pasta are all made of semolina, which is mixed
with water to form a stiff dough. The dough is then forced through
appropriate perforated disc to give the shape desired. The pieces
are dried in hot air and packaged.
• Pasta are generally enriched with B- vitamins and iron. Other
ingredients like monoglycerides, seasonings, vegetable, eggs, milk,
etc provide variety in flavor.
• Noodles may be prepared from flour other than durum wheat flour
and in referring to them, the source of flour is specified, Ex: rice
noodles, whole wheat noodles, mung bean noodles etc.
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• Whether it’s long strands of spaghetti or tender ribbons of
fettuccine, there’s no denying the universal appeal of pasta.
Indeed, it is probably the only food, aside from rice, that can
transcend cultural and geographical boundaries. Pasta can
transformed to suit your taste just by virtue of its sauce.
• Contrary to popular belief, pasta does not refer solely to Italian
noodles like spaghetti or macaroni. Pasta is a large clan of noodles,
ribbons, tubes and shells that count the Chinese won ton, the
Japanese udon, and even our very own pansit and lumpia among
its relatives.
CLASSIFICATION OF PASTA ACCORDING TO SHAPE
A. Long Strands
Spaghetti, or long strands comes in many sizes.
1. Capellini - or fine hairs, can be used in soups or with a sauce and
can be sold coiled, others are straight like spaghetti
2. Vermicelli – or little worms are slightly thicker than capellini and
may come straight or in coils.
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3. Parciatelle – is fat spaghetti with a hole in the middle, and used as
you would in spaghetti (usually with tomato or meat sauce).
4. Bucatini – thin spaghetti with a hole through the middle
5. Fusilli – long strands of spaghetti-size pasta that appear to have
been twisted in a spindle.
6. Gemelli – twin strands of spaghetti about 3 inches long, that are
interlocked and twisted like embroidery thread.
7. Linguine – or little tongues, oval shaped noodles that are half way
between a flat ribbon and a cylindrical strand
• Udon is a Japanese wheat noodles and come in various widths,
while soba are Japanese buckwheat noodles with slender,
spaghetti-like strands. Both are ideals for soups

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B. Ribbons
All the noodles that are flat in shape belong to the ribbon family o
pasta.
1. Fettuccine – or little ribbons, are about 1/4-3/8 inch wide and
may be used in place of spaghetti
2. Tagliatelle – or little cut noodles, another term for fettuccine
3. Lasagna – the widest of all pasta, is a noodle with a mysterious
past. Nobody knows its origin. It is 1-2 ½ inches wide ribbon,
which comes in curly and straight edges, but it has inspired the
invention of layered casseroles of which every town in Italy has
its own version.
4. Mafalde – are long noodles, about 3/4 inch wide and are rippled
on both edges.
5. Margheritas – are about as wide as fettuccine, with only one
curly edge.
6. Papadelle – are one-inch wide long noodles, often homemade,
with pinked edges.
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C. Squares and Circles
• Stuffed Pillows are squares or circles of thinly rolled dough filled
with a savory filling. Prime examples are ravioli and won ton.
1. Ravioli – are square, stuffed pasta served with sauce or in a soup.
2. Agnolotti – are large ravioli or fat little lambs
3. Pansotti – which means “pot bellied” is the triangular ravioli
4. Tortellini – or “little twist” is rumored to have been fashioned
after Venus’ belly button. They are often served in soups.
5. Won ton – is the Chinese version of ravioli and it is about as
popular and as versatile. They may be simmered in soups,
sauced for dumplings, or fried and served as appetizers. It is 3
inches square wrappers that are wrapped around meat filling.
6. Egg roll wrappers and spring roll wrappers are larger than won
ton but may be served in the same way.

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D. Tubes and Giant Shells
1. Macaroni – is the US pasta industry’s generic term for any dried
wheat pasta product. Macaroni are dried pasta tubes of assorted
sizes, most popular of which is the elbow macaroni commonly
used in salads and soups.
2. Cannelloni – large reeds are 4-6 inches rectangles rolled around a
filling then sauced and baked.
3. Manicotti – “little muffs” may be ridged or smooth and are one of
the larger tubes of pasta available
4. Mostacciolis – are 2 inches long ridged or smooth “moustaches”
with diagonally cut ends that look like quill pens and are good
with a chunky meat or robust tomato sauce.
5. Lunache – “snails” come in small and medium sizes for salads,
baked dishes and sauced entrees.
6. Pastrina – is the general term used for pasta meant for soup
• Generally, you can judge the pasta’s size from its suffix – oni
means large while elle, ina, ini, and iti – all diminutives mean the
pasta is small.
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KINDS OF NOODLES:
1. Miki – flat yellowish noodles made from wheat flour, lye, salt,
water and fat that are mixed and formed into dough. The dough
is then flattened to desired thickness and cut into strips into
desired lengths and boiled. The noodles are drained and oil is
applied on the surface.
2. Sotanghon – long, thin, round, translucent noodles sometimes
called “nylon” or “silk” noodles from mung bean and cassava
starch. Mung beans are soaked in water and ground into slurry,
which is spray-dried to obtain the dried mongo starch. The starch
then is made into a paste, shaped into large balls compared to
the size of a basketball, and cooked in boiling water until the
resulting product is pasty and thick. After cooling, it is extruded
into thin strands by machine, subjected to freezing temperature
for 3-4 hrs and then dried under the sun for 6 hours before
packing. To keep it white and glistening, dried sotanghon is piled
in a room with burning sulfur.

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3. White Bihon – thin noodles made from white rice and corn, or rice.
The rice and corn are soaked, ground, drained and further ground
finer in stonerollers. At this point, cornstarch is added. The
resulting “galapong” is shaped into oval balls, about the size of a
large bowling ball. It is then kneaded with stonerollers and passed
through the extruder.
First class bihon is made entirely from white rice, which is well
polished. Strands of bihon are boiled until the noodles float on the
surface of the water. These are cooled and wounded around
bamboo poles forming into rectangular shapes having about 10
inches long by 6 inches wide. Then, it is dried and packed in 2 or 3
sheets.
4. Fresh Bihon – the same as dried bihon except for the omission of
the drying process. Therefore, being quite moist, it is thick and it
does not keep long. It is used in pansit palabok or pansit luglug.

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5. Pansit Canton – egg noodles, flour, duck’s egg, salt and soda ash are
combined and brought into a kneading machine. This is the
machine where the dough is cut and pressed hard. Then as
followed, it is boiled, flattened between rollers, cut, washed, and
drained. Lastly, the noodles are being dried in deep fat before
packaging.
6. Miswa – made from cassava flour and wheat flour. These “thread-
like white noodles” can be cooked almost instantly. It is also called
“hairy noodles”. This product is salted so this has to be taken into
consideration when seasoning a soup prepared with it. This is the
least expensive of all the noodles.
7. Instant Noodles – in our country, the product is popular in having
different choices of its various flavorings under several brands of
marketing. It is usually packed with the flavoring in a separate
packet. The cooking instructions in the label recommend boiling
water for 2 minutes.
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PROPER COOKING OF PASTA:
• Pastas are usually packaged with the manufacturer’s tested
methods and instructions as written in every label of each of their
products.
• In the absence of direction: Use 6 c water/8oz/1/4k pack of 2 c cut
macaroni. Then add 1t salt and 1 t oil to the boiling water in order
to prevent foaming and sticking of the noodles. When the water is
boiling vigorously, gently lower the pasta and simmer it with
occasional stirring for uniform swelling. Cook to the “al dente”
stage, which refers that the noodles are already cooked, yet firm
and chewy. There is hardness of its core without having any raw
starch flavor on it, with every piece be cut easily by the fork, and
won’t mashed when mixed with another food. Its shape is
retained and the pieces do not stick together.

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PRINCIPLES OF COOKING PASTA
The principle is the same as cereals and starchy pastas:
1. There should be enough water to gelatinize the starch
completely.
2. Noodles swell to twice their original volume.
3. The time-temperature of cooking is carefully regulated to avoid
uncooked starch granules.
4. Retention of shape is imperative.
For Other Noodles, here are some precautions:
1. Dried bihon and sotanghon must be washed and be soaked in the
water, it may be needed plenty of time to make the pieces limp
and soft. Drain it well. For bihon, break a 6 by 8 inches sheet only
into quarters. For sotanghon, it is cut with a kitchen shear into 3
inches strands, or the length of the mid- finger.
2. Canton – which is precooked by frying in deep fat, needs less
liquid, and a shorter time for cooking as compared to bihon and
sotanghon.
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3. Miswa, with its fine fragile strands, is best if cooked in a manner
of dropping it into the boiling broth, or stock. Do not wash miswa.
Remove the pot immediately from the heat; stir gently to
distribute miswa and keep it covered not over 5 minutes. It
should be served immediately right after cooking, otherwise,
miswa gets mushy and the mixture will become thick and sticky.
4. For guisados, all three noodles are best cooked in a meat stock
that is well seasoned with soy sauce or fish sauce as desired,
together with salt and pepper. Avoid too much grease.

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SELECTION AND CARE OF NOODLES:
• In buying noodles, one can see through the clear plastic package for
the absence of weevils, moldy spots, broken pieces, foreign
materials, and dirt. If the alimentary paste are in cartons, buy from
reliable grocers with rapid turnovers of stocks. Also, for a particular
brand, the consumers may call up the company if the code on their
products’ label indicates old stocks.
• Package macaroni and other noodles that are quite dry can be
stored as long as 6 months provided that they are kept in a dry and
cool place.
• As soon as pinholes on the packaging material are present, they are
vulnerable to insect infestation and moisture absorption.
• It is best to use dry noodles within a month.
• Miswa is especially attacked by molds and pansit canton, which is
fried, may become rancid. For these noodles, use immediately for
not over a week.
• Fresh bihon which is not dried should be used within the day or up
to 2 days if stored properly in the refrigerator. Do not freeze. 15
• Cereals – the edible seeds of the grass family. They appear as
grains.
• Kinds, Uses and By-Products of Cereals
1. Rice
2. Corn
3. Wheat
4. Barley
5. Oats
6. Rye
Selection and Storage of Cereals

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