A Pasta Drying rack is an essential bit of kit for successful home made pasta.
Pasta is a staple food throughout the Western world. Most of us have spaghetti or linguine at least once a week.
Mediterranean food is healthy and filling, and ideal for families. Dried, ready made pasta is widely available, easy to prepare and convenient, but for a special pasta dish, why not make your own using a pasta drying rack?
Pasta is very versatile. Whilst dried pasta might be the most practical option for a mid-week meal with young children, it’s also perfectly at home served up at a dinner party or as part of a celebratory buffet.
Drying your own pasta on a Pasta Drying Rack
Making your own pasta can be fiddly, but fun. It’s a great holiday project for children, who will proudly serve it up for dinner. It takes practice to turn your freshly kneaded dough into narrow strips, but with a little perseverance, home made pasta could become your speciality! You’ll need some specialist equipment like a pasta drying rack. A hand operated or motorized pasta machine will transform your dough into spaghetti strands, tagliatelle, lasagne sheets and even penne. You can also experiment with coloured pasta, by adding puréed vegetables or food colouring. Spinach is used to make green pasta, tomato paste will make red. It will take time to perfect the consistency of your pasta, especially if you start adding other ingredients. Be prepared for a few disasters!
Types of Pasta Drying Rack
You’ll need to dry your pasta shapes on a specially designed pasta drying rack. These have been used for centuries in Italy. Another trick is to hang strands from coat hangers or laundry racks, but this can be unhygienic and the pasta could easily slip onto the floor. Dedicated racks have sturdy bases so they won’t tip over when loaded with wet pasta. Many small domestic models are reminiscent of ‘whirligig’ washing lines, and work on the same principle. Often, they have rotating spiral arms which maximise the amount of pasta that can be hung, and aid even drying. A pasta drying rack is typically made of metal or wood (plastic is too lightweight). Many designs of pasta drying rack fold for convenient storage (it’s not an item you’ll be using daily after all).
For specialist pastas such as ‘spiral’ effect fusilli or chonchiglie, you’ll have to invest in some very specific machines, and whilst these are available, most pasta drying racks are designed for ‘noodle’ style pastas. You’ve got to be pretty keen to attempt other shapes. Some racks are suitable for several types, and are worth the extra cost if you’re serious about pasta.
Look to Italy for the finest pasta making equipment. Marcato Atlas are the market leaders, but KithenAid, Norpro, Pinzon and Roma also make racks, along with a fascinating range of other gadgets. Pasta making using a pasta drying rack is an art and a science !