Mama Mia, That�s Italian

One pasta Web site asserts that there are 350 different kinds of pasta shapes. A culinary school education can give you the culinary expertise for even this monumental food challenge.

Pasta, so what�s not to love? For some, a plate of spaghetti and meatballs is the ultimate comfort food. Culinary school classes teach you, however, that pasta goes way beyond pedestrian spaghetti. In some form, pasta has been around for hundreds of years, as either dried pasta [pasta seca] or fresh pasta [pasta fresca].

Culinary Education--the Pasta

At culinary school, you can learn to make pasta from different flours like semolina, wheat, buckwheat, rice, soy, and oat. Your culinary education can provide instructions on how to flavor pasta with herbs like garlic, saffron, and curry; vegetables such as tomatoes, beets, spinach, chilies, peppers, and carrots; and even lemon, strawberry, and chocolate. You can shape pasta into tubes and strands, put smaller pasta in soups, and stuff some types of pasta with a variety of ingredients including savory cheeses and garden vegetables.

Culinary Education--the Sauce

Using your culinary education, you can learn to make the following basic pasta sauces:

• Pesto-- olive oil, parmesan, and pine nuts or walnuts
• Mushroom sauce-- cream, oil, lemon, or tomatoes
• Fish sauce--shellfish, clams, anchovies, salmon, or tuna
• Cream sauce--cream and cheese and sometimes tomatoes
• Marinara--herbs and vegetables and occasionally meat

Culinary Education--the Blend

In culinary school, you can learn the nuances involved in combining the correct type of pasta with just the right sauce. Culinary school classes teach you that lighter pastas, such as angel hair, call for lighter and thinner sauces; pasta with holes or ridges, such as penne and rigatoni, calls for thick and chunky sauces that can include meat and vegetables; and thicker pasta such as fettuccine needs a heavy sauce--think Alfredo sauce. Pasta is so versatile that it can be an appetizer, an entr�e, or a side dish to accompany another entr�e. If all roads lead to Rome, your pasta culinary school training can prepare you for the journey.

Sources

Hormel Foods
Online Gourmet Foods
Life in Italy

About the Author

Judi Sandall is a technical writer and a regular Chef School Review columnist. She is a graduate of the State University of New York, with a BA in English Literature.

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