I don't think this article is about regular pasta (e.g. for use in Italian dishes), I think it's specifically meant for ramen noodles, hence the added baking soda to make the water alkaline. There isn't any real advantage in adding so much to your prep time otherwise.
Besides, if you're cooking Italian pasta just get the fresh stuff, it'll take 4 minutes to cook and it'll taste better anyway.
Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but you seem to think that fresh pasta is "normal pasta made fresh", therefore it's "better" -- but that's not true.
Fresh pasta is technically a dough; it's made with eggs. Dried pasta is made of durum wheat only. Fresh pasta tastes completely different and won't just work in any dish; works best for the more delicate dishes such as Alfredo.
Okay, perhaps? Not sure I've ever had a pasta that didn't taste better fresh. Can you name an example? I'm no expert but I'm not a complete noob either.
I don't think fresh pasta goes well with bolognese or ragu, for example. The composition of fresh pasta is much more delicate; it is softer, coarser and has less of a bite to it than dried pasta. Because it's so delicate and overcooks easily, it works best with minimal amounts of sauce that doesn't overwhelm or end up overcooking it.
My point is and was, it's simply a different product, much like egg noodles vs. rice noodles. One is not necessarily superior to the other.
Semolina is durum wheat (same stuff for dried and fresh), so I don't think there's a difference there. And I don't think I agree with regards to the flavor of a bolognese or ragu.
Then again, good fresh pasta is pretty easy to come by where I live (across the street from Raffetto's in NYC).
Anyway, thanks for the clarification. I don't think I really agree with you, but I'll make it a point to cook something with some high quality dried stuff and check the difference. Cheers!
> The composition of fresh pasta is much more delicate; it is softer, coarser and has less of a bite to it than dried pasta.
That can be true -- particularly, essentially all dried pasta is hard-wheat pasta, fresh pasta may or may not be hard-wheat pasta. But I don't think the distinction you draw is particularly true when comparing dried pasta with fresh pasta using similar wheat.
Ah. . . . gotcha. Yeah, all of the things I've seen on alkaline noodles are in relation to asian noodles. I'll have to give the pre-soak a shot sometime if I ever end up stuck with dry noodles. How much difference in flavor is there from fresh pasta?
Besides, if you're cooking Italian pasta just get the fresh stuff, it'll take 4 minutes to cook and it'll taste better anyway.