Food - Drink
The Real Difference Between Fresh
And Dry Pasta
By JENNIFER AMOS
There are many different pasta shapes and knowing when to use them is important, as each pasta is best paired with various sauces and toppings. Just like various pasta shapes, dry and fresh pasta have their own differences that make them suited for use in specific applications.
While both dry and fresh pasta are made with semolina flour, water, and salt, fresh pasta also uses eggs and more water. Fresh pasta doesn’t stay fresh for long, but it cooks up in a few minutes, whereas dry pasta can be stored for much longer and takes upto 12 minutes to cook.
Despite the shorter cook time, fresh pasta isn’t always better than dry pasta, as fresh pasta is more fragile than dried — which holds up better to thick, chunky meat sauces. Conversely, fresh pasta is best with smooth, creamy sauces that have either milk or butter as bases.