Pasta Use and Care

How to Remove the Combs for Deep Cleaning the Cestari Pasta Machine

How to Dry Fresh Pasta

Sometimes, you’ll be cooking your pasta as soon as you make it, but when you get carried away and make more than you can consume in an evening, you’ll need to store it properly so it doesn’t clump or stick together, which would cause a problem when you want to cook it in the future.

There are two basic methods – creating “nests” of several strands or hanging it to dry.

Nests

Let the noodles dry on a baking sheet for 1 to 2 minutes, then dust well with flour so the strands will not stick together,and wrap several strands at a time around your fingers to form small nests. Let them dry for about 30 minutes more, then wrap the nests and refrigerate for up to 2 days. The pasta may be frozen for longer storage. Commercially made nests can be stored at room temperature, but those are dried more thoroughly than you will be able to dry them at home, so it’s best to refrigerate the pasta.

Hang to Dry

Hanging is the traditional method, with Italian nonnas enlisting every chair in the kitchen to drape with pasta. Modern cooks typically use a pasta drying rack…but if you don’t have a rack, or have made more pasta than a rack can handle, a coat hanger makes a great improvised drying rack for pasta. You’ll want to lightly dust the pasta with flour, as with the nests, then hang to dry for 12-24 hours until each strand is totally dry. You can then store the pasta in an airtight bag or long container at room temperature.