We will explain in this article how to keep pasta fresh. There are four main techniques for keeping homemade pasta fresh.
You’ll find out how to store pasta fresh or dried, storage times, and our helpful tips below.
How to store fresh pasta under a vacuum?
The most common preservation technique is vacuuming and, if you think about it, it is also the one used by pasta factories to guarantee a good shelf life of fresh pasta and also to keep all the properties of the pasta. product. When you buy fresh pasta it is always vacuum-packed. It is an efficient and functioning system.
It is important to be aware that fresh pasta becomes hard on contact with air and bacteria proliferate in this environment. So the secret is to use a good vacuum machine to remove as much air as possible. Professional vacuum cleaners can remove 99% of the air. The cheaper ones take off a slightly lower percentage but also at a much more affordable cost.
For the conservation of fresh pasta under a vacuum, it is necessary to take care of it quickly and to act within 3 hours after the end of the preparation. In practice, within 3 hours of preparing fresh homemade pasta, you should keep them in a bag and vacuum them with a dedicated machine.
How long will fresh vacuum-packed pasta keep?
It depends on the machine you are using. A good vacuum machine allows you to keep fresh pasta under a vacuum for 10 to 12 days. The fresh egg pasta as for them will keep for 8 to 9 days.
If you have any doubts about which vacuum machine to use, the next machine is the one I use “ the Food Saver V2860-I ”, which you can get on Amazon! It is very efficient and powerful and has an excellent value for money. When choosing a vacuum machine the suction pressure must be at least -0.6 bar for a successful result.
Storing raw fresh pasta in a freezer
Can you freeze fresh pasta? Yes, you can do it. Ideally, you should freeze fresh raw pasta and store it under a vacuum. Then you can cook them by soaking them in boiling water to thaw them.
If you want to freeze fresh pasta, you can also freeze it without an air vacuum, which is more convenient. Keeping them under a vacuum will improve conservation and above all will not alter the original flavor. Whether in one case or the other, the duration will be 2 to 3 months. This technique applies to both fresh egg pasta and fresh pasta made without eggs.
How to freeze fresh stuffed pasta?
You must have realized that the stuffed pasta is already precooked when you get it at the supermarket. The principle is the same at home. You also need to prepare them, cook them and then freeze them.
You must then blanch them before you can keep them in the freezer. Pre-baking is not only encouraged but also highly recommended for stuffed pasta such as for fresh cannelloni, lasagne, or ravioli.
If, despite our recommendations, you decide to freeze the fresh stuffed pasta without cooking it first, then when you thaw it to cook it, it will break!
Pre-baking makes them more elastic and rubbery. Pre-cooking is a simple process, it is half of the normal cooking time (as if you wanted to eat them right away). It’s even better if you add a little oil or if you grease your pasta with butter. It is important to season them in this way for better preservation to prevent the pasta from sticking together. A quick tip: it is important that pre-cooked pasta cool to room temperature before putting it in the freezer. It’s the same principle for egg pasta.
Note: In practice, pasta is blanched in boiling, unsalted water for a few minutes, as described above.
Store fresh pasta in the refrigerator
Fresh pasta can be stored for 48 hours in the refrigerator. If you do a pre-cooking as explained in the previous paragraph, the storage time is a little longer but remains 3 or 4 days maximum!
The process of drying fresh pasta
The dried pasta homemade (you can see all tests of pasta machines here ) is a traditional operation to remove moisture from the product. It is used for egg pasta and traditional pasta. However, drying can not be done for fresh stuffed pasta, unless you have previously used a dried and dehydrated filling.
To dry short pasta, simply place it on a frame or on a perforated rack that maximizes air circulation. The air must flow freely above and below the paste to a uniform drying, optimal, and faster.
To dry the long pasta, you will need to use special dryers or in any case wooden sticks or homemade supports to arrange and spread the tagliatelle, spaghetti, or fresh lasagna pasta sheets. It is important that for drying they are well spaced for maximum ventilation.
In either case, if you are not using special rugs and accessories but homemade items you will need to turn the pasta frequently. Minimum twice a day to allow them to dry on each side equally!
Depending on the thickness of the fresh pasta, the drying time varies from 12 hours for small formats to 2 days for larger ones.
How long can fresh homemade pasta keep?
The shelf life of homemade pasta, as mentioned above, depends on the method of preservation.
So, if you’ve followed our advice, this is what your pasta should look like:
Fresh dried pasta
Homemade pasta dried as described in the section on drying pasta will keep for a maximum of 90 days, but only if it is properly dried (dry and free from moisture). Conversely, if the drying has not been successful you will notice the appearance of mold.
Dried and vacuum-packed pasta
To increase the shelf life of dried pasta, you can store it under a vacuum. The shelf life, if the fresh pasta has been properly dried can be more than 6 or 7 months. This is the longest type of conservation!
Fresh frozen pasta
With freezing, fresh homemade pasta can be stored for 2 to 3 months.
Vacuum-frozen fresh pasta
When fresh pasta is frozen and vacuum packed, the shelf life is extended up to 4 to 5 months.
Fresh pasta in the fridge
The shelf life is 48 hours. You must consume them within 2 days of their preparation. This is valid for both egg pasta and fresh pasta without eggs!
Fresh pasta pre-cooked in the refrigerator
Once blanched, you can keep them for 3 or 4 days in the refrigerator.
Fresh vacuum-packed pasta
The shelf life is 8 days for egg pasta and 12 days for fresh pasta that does not contain eggs. Note: To keep fresh pasta under a vacuum, you will also need to use the refrigerator!
Tags: How to store homemade pasta, store homemade pasta
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