Pasta? and other grains . . . .?!
Just one of those random questions that got in my mind.
Answers: So we were making lasagna tonight and I got to thinking why is it that with the pastas the grains stick together so well but other grains do not do so?
Just one of those random questions that got in my mind.
Pasta is made with flour (usually milled from wheat), not whole grains. Flour sticks together very easy when you add any liquid. If you mill ANY grain into a flour it will stick together like that when you add liquid.
Those that have more starch in them may stick together more than those that do not. When you cook a high starch food and you see the white foam form that is the starch cooking out. When said food is cooled so does the starch and it becomes sticky and they cling to each other.
It's the starch in the pasta(made from hardy Durham wheat flour) which is a very good reason for using a large pot with a lot of water as this prevents a lot of the sticking together and stir occasionally. Italians are well known for putting a little olive oil either in the water or a slight coating of oil when draining. Not too much either or the sauce wont stick to the pasta, especially the long pastas.
noodles stick together (hold their shape) because of the kneeding of the flour which activates the gluten in the wheat flour (don't see 100% corn noodles do you?) to form a tight webbing framework. same as in bread. other wise, there would only be a mass of wet flour. in bread this gluten framework is what traps the co2 bubbles which makes the bread rise. because there is no yeast in noodles, they don't rise but they do stick together