Pasta, Per Favore

Looking for healthier pasta? Try a whole grain variety. Typically, whole grain pastas have 25 percent more protein, three times the fiber, and fewer calories than white pasta. They are a little harder to find, but it's not impossible. Check with your local grocery store to find out which brands they carry.

Should you rinse your pasta after you strain it? The bad news is, there's no right answer; the good news is, there are particular reasons you might want to lean one way or the other. Just keep these things in mind when deciding:

• Rinsing pasta in cold water stops it from continuing to cook, which is especially helpful if you are cooking your pasta al dente.
• Rinsing the pasta can cool it a bit, but it's nothing a hot pasta sauce can't remedy.
• Starches on the cooked pasta help the sauce to cling to each noodle, and rinsing the pasta removes these starches. You can remedy this by keeping some of the water the pasta was cooked in, adding it to your dish to thicken the mixture if needed.
  
  

Did you know that … ?

• There are more than 600 pasta shapes made worldwide.
• The average person eats pasta for dinner more than 40 times per year.
• October is National Pasta Month
  
  

• Dry Pasta: store for up to a year in a cool, dry place.
• Cooked Pasta: refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days--store separately from the sauce.
• Freezing Pasta: stick with pasta meant for baking, such as lasagna or manicotti. Prepare dish as the recipe indicates, then freeze before baking. Thaw in refrigerator (overnight or longer), then bake.