Mise en Place

Moist-Heat Cooking

Combination Cooking

4) Sel Gris
5) Smoked Salt

There are many benefits in producing our own concasse tomatoes. The flavor from fresh garden varieties that may grow ourself is incredible, and on top of that tomatoes are generally inexpensive. Because we choose what to include in our tomatoes, your do without the salt additives and preservatives as well. Even if concasse’ing your own tomatoes costs more than the canned variety, the difference in quality more than makes up for it.

The ribbon category includes Lasagna (Long, and very fat), Fettuccine, Linguine (Smallest tongue pasta) Spaghetti (No tongue), Tagliatelli (Broader than Linguine), Pappardelle (Largest tongue behind Lasanga) and Capellini (Angel-hair).

Tubes are the cylindrical tubes made by extrusion. They are generally short, but can be long (Canneloni, for example). They include Manicotti, Rigatoni, Ziti, Penne, Spira.

Shapes cover the rest of the pasta-sphere. These come in many different sizes and shapes, and there are new forms coming out on a regular basis. We’ll see these as Penne, Conchiglie (Shells), Farfalle (Bow-tie), Rotelle (Cart-wheel), and Orzo (Rice-shaped).

The Japanese have their own types of noodles made from wheat as well. The thin variety is known as Udon, while the thicker variety is called Somen.

Rice Noodles – These are the dried, thin noodles made from rice flour. Ideally, you’ll want to soak these in hot water before cooking and rinsed in cold water after cooking to remove any starches and prevent sticking.

Buckwheat Noodles – Buckwheat noodles are used in Northern Japan and in the Tokyo region. These are called Soba noodles. They are available fresh or dried and do not need to be soaked before cooking. They are often used in soups or broth, but can be substituted for Italian-style pasta.

- Ragu
- Seafood Sauces
- Vegetable Sauces
- Cream Sauces
- Garlic-oil Sauces
- Uncooked sauces.

Ragu is defined as the sauce that remains after braising a dish. The flavorings, meat or poultry are browned, and then a tomato product and stock, water, wine, milk or cream is added. Very common in classic Italian dishes in which much of the tougher cuts of meat are cooked in this method and then combined into the sauce and poured over the pasta.

Seafood Sauces

There are two types of seafood sauces – White and red. White seafood sauces are made and flavored with herbs and made with white wine or stock. A red seafood sauce uses tomato as its base. Very common in Cajun cooking and central American cuisine.

Vegetable Sauces

This type of sauce include both traditional sauces (Made from tomatoes and stock, flavored with garlic and peppers) and modern sauces, such as primavera.

Quite simple. Uses cream or milk and sometimes a roux. Cheese is usually added for increased flavor. A common base for these sauces is the bechamel sauce.

Olive oil is used as and is flavored with garlic and herbs. It can be served hot or cold, cooked or uncooked. Pesto is a popular uncooked, cold sauce.

There is an endless variety of uncooked sauces that can be used and are generally dressings and garnishes such as fresh tomatoes, basil and olive oil, or olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, basil and hot pepper flakes. Capers, anchovies, and olives are common due to their strong flavor. Fresh vegetables and cubed cheeses can also be used.

There is an order to the chaos that is pasta. It is one of the areas that has seen so much change that the classics have been all but lost. As long as you understand the different sauces and how to create those sauces you are farther ahead than the majority of amateur cooks.