Pasta is one of the most popular dishes in the whole world. It is tough to find someone who doesn’t like pasta. Ever wondered, how to store uncooked pasta? Does uncooked pasta expire? You’ll know everything in this article.
“In a general sense, pasta can be stored either by drying it or keeping it in the freezer. How long you want to store pasta for the future will determine which way you should choose.”
No doubt, pasta comes with an amazing shelf life. But you should follow the right steps to get the job done properly. Continue reading to have a detailed idea about storing uncooked or fresh pasta.
How to Store Uncooked Pasta?
First of all, you need to keep in mind that the shelf life of pasta may vary based on how it was made. Typically, commercially manufactured pasta has longer shelf life than a homemade one.
As I mentioned above, there are two common ways for storing pasta-drying up and keeping it in the freezer or refrigerator. Let me tell you first how you can dry up pasta.
How to Dry Uncooked Fresh Pasta?
When you talk about drying up uncooked fresh pasta, you need to follow every step very carefully. Take note that you must do the job very carefully. You don’t want to put your pasta in the freezer or refrigerator, right?
So, you should remove the moistures from the pasta properly. Otherwise, it will not last long. Check the necessary steps below.
Step-1: Toss Pasta with Flour
This should be your very first step. You need to toss the pasta strands with flour. Make sure that you have taken only a small amount of flour. It will help the dough not to stick.
Step-2: Set Pasta Out to Dry:
Now, you need to lay the pasta strands on a baking sheet. Lay them in a single layer only. You can use a clean cloth instead of a baking sheet or even hanging them from a drying rack will do the job perfectly. Dry the strands in the air for 12-24 hours.
The drying time will depend on the overall humidity and temperature of your kitchen. If you want to make the process quicker, use a fan. In that case, make sure to run the fan at a lower speed for a gentle breeze only.
Step-3: Monitor the Progress:
Don’t forget to monitor the overall progress of the drying process. Check the pasta strands every few hours. If your pasta breaks in half when twisted, you can assume that the drying process is almost done. But, if you see that pasta is still bending or it flexes, without any doubt, you will need more time.
Step-4: Store the Dried Pasta in an Airtight Container:
When your pasta is successfully dried completely, you need to store it in an airtight container. Make sure that you have placed it in a dry place where the temperature is not extreme.
How to Freeze Uncooked Fresh Pasta
When it comes to freezing fresh pasta, you can do that in multiple ways. I know everybody has his plans. You should follow the way based on your preferences. You can freeze pasta in a completely rolled and cut position.
Method-1: Dry Out Cut Noodles and Freeze
It is one of the popular methods for storing uncooked pasta. Want to know how to uncooked pasta in this method? Read on!
Step-1: Toss It with Flour
As you want to store batches of cut noodles, you need to make them nonstick. That is why apply a light flour coat to get the job done properly.
Step-2: Set Pasta Out to Dry
Take a baking sheet, clean cloth, or even a cutting board. Lay pasta strands in a single layer on that surface. You can also hang them from a drying rack. Dry the strands for around one hour.
Step-3: Store in an Airtight Container
At this point, you must place it in an airtight container. This is now in a semi-dried condition. As you are going to freeze it, using a freezer bag can be a good idea. Or any other airtight container will do the job. After placing pasta in the airtight container, you should store it in the freezer.
Method-2: Making Pasta Nests, Dry and Freeze
Here is another method by which you will also be able to store uncooked pasta in the freezer. In this method, you must turn the pasta strands into nests. Explore all of the steps of this method below.
Step-1: Coat with Flour
First of all, take some pasta strands and coat them into a light amount of flour.
Step-2: Let Them Dry
Dry the strands of each batch in a baking tray for around 5 minutes. You can also use other clean surfaces instead of using the baking tray.
Step-3: Wrap Pasta into Nests
This step is quite important. Firstly, you need to take a small bundle of noodles and make a nest shape. You can easily do it by using your thumb and forefinger. A little bit of twisting work and you will be all set to go. When you make the nest successfully, place it into the baking tray again.
Step-4: Dry The Nest Shape Pasta
At this step, you need to dry the nest-shaped pasta for one more hour. It will help it to retain its shape. Notice carefully, whether the shape is breaking up.
Step-5: Place It into Freezer
Place the pasta nests into an airtight container and place them into the freezer to complete the task.
How to Freeze Pasta Dough?
Sometimes you may face a situation when you have leftover pasta dough. You may also like to prepare dough for your future use. In this case, first of all, you need to turn the dough into a large ball. Now, make your dough flatten right into a disk.
Wrap it properly with plastic wrap. The wrap should be double-layered and quite heavy-duty to get the job done. Now, place it into the freezer. If you complete the process properly, your pasta dough will remain fresh for at least four weeks.
If you plan to use it at a later time, you need to move it into the refrigerator for a whole night. It should be thawed properly, once done, you are all set to go to make your favorite pasta recipe the next morning.
How long can you freeze fresh pasta?
To be honest, fresh pasta can be stored in the freezer for up to 1 month. However, it may depend on some factors. You must follow the steps I have mentioned above before placing it in the freezer. Otherwise, you may not get the expected shelf life from your frozen fresh pasta.
When you plan to use it again, you need to reheat it. In that case, the sleeper bag should be removed properly. Then you will need to drop the pasta in the salted water. Then eventually, you can start your normal cooking process.
Wrapping Up!
You will find only a few people who don’t like pasta. There are many delicious dishes you can make with pasta. It is also true that you may not want to use the whole amount of pasta at the same time. In that case, you need to store it for the future. I hope now you know how to store uncooked pasta correctly.
