Pasta PDF page 87

San Remo

1. How many different types of pasta and noodles can you find? How does gluten-free pasta differ from traditional pasta? In the San Remo website, there are 7 different sub categories that the pasta is broken into: short pasta, long pasta, fresh pasta, egg pasta, flavoured pasta, lasagne and cannelloni and specialty pasta. There are 20 types of short pasta, 13 long pasta, 23 fresh pasta, 8 egg pasta, 6 flavoured pasta, 5 lasagne and cannelloni and 16 specialty pasta types. Most pasta is made from durum wheat, which contains gluten. After the wheat berries have been harvested, they get ground up and formed into dough with water. Gluten free pasta uses grains that don’t have gluten, and gluten free pasta can be used as an alternative in a gluten free diet.

       Heinz

1.       Heinz Spaghetti is high in fibre, lycopene and sustaining carbohydrates and is low in sugar and fat.
2.       How would you serve canned spaghetti? I would serve canned spaghetti on a piece of toast that has some cheese on top of it. This is so you get the crunchy texture from the toast, a delicious taste and gooeyness from the cheese, and the great taste of the Heinz canned spaghetti.
3.             What different kinds of children’s shapes are available? Some kinds of children’s shapes available are in cans such as ‘Wiggle Spaghetti Shapes’, ‘Oops spaghetti O’s’, ‘Shark attack special shapes’ and ‘Space riders’.
4.       Design a new variety of canned spaghetti. What shape would it be and what would you call it? Sketch the shape and label design. My variety of canned spaghetti would have the themes of princess for girls and superheroes for boys. The girls’ pasta shapes would include mini castles, tiaras and unicorns and for the boys’ pasta, the shapes would include the Batman, Superman and Spiderman logo shapes as well as masks and capes. 

                         5.     Canned spaghetti in tomato sauce is high in lycopene. Search the Internet and find out what lycopene is. Lycopene is an antioxidant compound that gives tomatoes and some other fruits and vegetables their colours. It is a major carotenoid in the diet of North Americans and Europeans. Carotenoids are pigments that give yellow, orange and red fruits and vegetables the colours. 

        Fantastic snacks

1.             What is the origin of udon noodles? A Buddhist priest named Kukai travelled to China around the beginning of the 9^th century to study. The Sanuki Province of Japan claimed to have been the 1^st to adopt udon from Kukai. Enni, a Rinzai monk, went to China in the 13^th century; Hakata (a place in Japan) had claimed to have produced udon that was based on Enni’s recipe.
2.        What are the handy hints for cooking fresh noodles? You boil some water, and then put the noodles in. Because they are fresh noodles, you pull them apart gently before adding them. When you think the noodles are ready, you take a bite out of it. If the middle is still white, then it isn’t fully cooked.
3.       Name three uses for rice noodles. Rice noodles are used in various cuisines and dishes. 3 uses that have rice noodles in it include asam laksa (Malaysian cuisine), pad Thai (Thai cuisine) and beef chow fun (Chinese cuisine) 

Pasta worksheet - worksheet 23b

1 Why is it important to have the water boiling rapidly before adding the pasta?

Pasta quickly begins to break down in lukewarm water starch starts to dissolve. The intense heat of the boiling water creates a 'barrier' around the outside of the pasta, which stops the pasta from sticking together. The water temperature drops when the pasta is added, however with rapidly boiling water, the water will still be hot enough to cook the pasta.

2 How do you test if pasta is al dente?

One way of telling if the pasta is al dente is if you cut a pasta piece in half. If you are able to see a different between the center and outer ring of the pasta, then it is not completely done. If the pasta is one constant shade and texture, then it is done.

3 Why is the garlic and onion cooked first when making most pasta sauces?

You sauté the onion and garlic before the rest of the ingredients is added because if they haven’t been sautéed enough, the onions and garlic would stay relatively crunchy in the dish.  You also cook the garlic and onion first so that you can bring out the sugars in the onion and garlic by caramelizing it. If you don’t do this first, they will still be a bit sweet, but not caramelized. 

4 A bolognese sauce is simmered uncovered for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Why does it need to be cooked for this long?

A bolognese sauces takes that long because it takes a long time for the flavours in the sauce to develop and mature, which results in a tasty sauce. It also takes a while so it can break down the meat and so that the meat can absorb all the flavours.

5 What are some reasons for the popularity of pre-made bottled pasta sauces?

Some reasons for the popularity of pre-made bottled pasta sauce would be the connivence of having pasta sauce without all the hassle and because people are busy, the taste and quality is really good and you can get different flavours and varieties that you wouldn't normally expect.

6 These sauces do not contain many vegetables. This often leads to pasta dishes that are made from a packet of pasta and a jar of sauce. What are the health problems associated with eating this style of meal?

Vegetables provide substance for the body, along with essential vitamins and minerals. When lacking vitamins and minerals, the body may not function to the best of its ability, and would therefore cause your body to possibly fatigue quicker and you would not be able to function as well as you could.

7 What are some other disadvantages of buying ready-made pasta products?

Some disadvantages of buying ready-made pasta products would include that the consumer may not be fully aware of the ingredients in the product, and they may not know if a certain product is dangerous for them or not. You are also not sure if the ingredients used are 100% fresh, or have even passed the expiry dates (there was a report on a ready-made food product that used no fresh ingredients)

Pasta PDF - page 86

Let’s remember

1.       Where did noodles originate? It is believed that noodles had originated from China. In 2005, there had been a discovery of some 4000 year old noodles in Qinghai, China, which had dismissed any doubts that the noodle originated anywhere other than China. This discovery also proved that the first noodles had not been made of whole grain wheat, but of foxtail and broomcorn millet. The first written account of the noodle was from the East Han Dynasty between 25 and 220 A.D. In 300 A.D. the Chinese appeared to create noodles from a whole grain wheat paste. It is believed that Marco Polo brought the Noodle to his homeland from China in the thirteenth century.

2.       What kind of wheat is used to make pasta? Why is it used? The type of wheat that is used to make pasta is Durum Wheat (also known as macaroni wheat) which in turn makes durum wheat flour. Durum wheat is used to make pasta because it is more course than regular wheat, it has a good amount of gluten and it doesn’t require as much kneading as regular flour. Regular flour would also cause the pasta to fall apart. Durum wheat also makes the pasta easier to digest.

3.       Why have pasta and noodle dishes become popular in Australia? Pasta and noodle dishes have become widely popular in Australia mainly because of the impact from the multicultural influences, and the increasing number of food products that have now become available and can be bought almost anywhere.

4.       What is the difference between noodles and pasta? There are a number of differences between noodles and pasta. Although both noodles and spaghetti are long cylinders, noodles are thinner than spaghetti. The main ingredient of spaghetti is wheat flour; however noodles can contain different types of ingredients (e.g. rice starch and flour, potato starch and canna starch). Traditionally noodles are eaten with chopsticks, and spaghetti is eaten with a fork.  Noodles are normally boiled in water or a broth until they are softened, and then are served with sauce and other dishes like meat, seafood or vegetables. Spaghetti is generally boiled in water with olive oil or salt, and then is served with sauce and additional toppings such as herbs, oil, basil leaves, meat and vegetables.

5.       Name three kinds of pasta that are hollow in the middle. There are numerous types of pasta that are hollow in the middle. 3 kinds of pasta that are hollow will include cannelloni, macaroni and penne pasta.

6.       Which noodles are sometimes referred to as cellophane noodles? Why? The noodles that are sometimes referred to as cellophane noodles are glass noodles or bean thread noodles. The cellophane noodle is a type of transparent noodle that is made from starch (such as mung bean, yam, potato, or canna starches) and water. They are called cellophane noodles because of their appearance when they are cooked, which resembles cellophane (a clear material/translucent light grey colour)

7.       What do carbohydrates provide us with? Carbohydrates provide the body with fuel and energy that is mandatory to proceed with the daily activities and exercise we do. Any extra energy is stored until needed.  Our bodies need a constant supply of energy to function properly, and a lack of carbs can cause tiredness, poor mental function and lack of stamina. Carbs are also important for correct working of the brain, heart and nerves, digestive and immune systems.

8.       Is pasta a good source of protein? Explain. No, pasta is not a good source of protein. This is because the protein amount in pasta is between low to medium, depending on the type of flour used. Most pastas are made from durum wheat; this contains both protein and gluten. Once the pasta is digested, the protein in the pasta may be burned as fuel after being converted to sugar.

9.       How can we classify carbohydrates? We can classify carbohydrates in a number of ways. The most common classification system divides the carbs into groups that are according to the number of individual simple carbohydrate molecules.  There is monosaccharaides, which contain a single unit; disaccharides, which contain two carbohydrate units; and there is polysaccharides, which contain many carbohydrate units.

10.   Why do athletes eat carbohydrates? Athletes eat carbohydrates because they benefit the most from the amount of carbs that are stored in the body. In early stages of moderate exercise, carbohydrates provide 40-50% of the energy required. Carbohydrates produce more energy per unit of oxygen eaten than fat. During digestion, the body breaks down carbohydrates to glucose and stores it in the muscles as glycogen. During exercise, the glycogen is converted to glucose and is used for energy. The ability to withstand long vigorous exercise is directly related to the original levels of the muscle glycogen.       

Let’s investigate

1.       Choose five different types of pasta and find one suitable recipe for each. The five types of pasta I have chosen is spaghetti, macaroni, ravioli, lasagne and cannelloni. A recipe for spaghetti would be the traditional spaghetti Bolognese. For macaroni, a suitable recipe would be macaroni and cheese. With ravioli, a good recipe would be roast pumpkin and herb ricotta ravioli. A good recipe for lasagne would just be the classic lasagne. With the cannelloni pasta, a recipe that would be suitable would be spinach and ricotta cannelloni.

Spaghetti Bolognese

In this Hospo lesson, we made Spaghetti Bolognese. This was the 2nd thing in our recepie book for the multicultural theme. We had a thicker type of fettucini, which was quite nice. I chopped up all the ingrediences finely, and added them in the fry pan with the mince and liquid. Once it was done, my partner and I ate it, and it was quite good, although my partner added too much oregano. I can't wait to eat it.

Pasta with Spring Vegetables

In this hospitality lesson, we made pasta with spring vegetables. We had to cook the pasta first, then chop up all the vegetables to be cooked with the pasta. The carrots had to be choped up like matchsticks because they take longer to cook. The milk made the pasta really creamy, but we had to make sure that it wouldn't bubble. When the pasta was cooked, we added extra cheese. It was delicious