Left over pasta is dry.
By mermaidivy
@mermaidivy (15395)
United States
March 22, 2011 9:22am CST
When I make stuff stuffed shells, pasta etc, when they are kept for one day, it gets so dry they next day, is there anything I can do with it, I don't want to waste it especially when I make a whole tray of shells. I don't like cold pasta so I reheat it in the oven which make it worst, I add water to the tray before heating it up but still..
Is there anything I can do to help with this?
6 people like this
17 responses
@marguicha (223077)
• Chile
25 Mar 11
I boil the pasta with some oil and when itñs done and after I take the water out, I add some olive oil. Leftover pasta should be placed in a closed container, as any food that you are keeping in your fridge. That way it keeps ok for days.
1 person likes this
@mermaidivy (15395)
• United States
25 Mar 11
I don't boil the pasta with oil but I have seen people done that, wonder what does it do to the pasta, make the pasta smoother?
1 person likes this
@marguicha (223077)
• Chile
25 Mar 11
THe pasta does not stick together if you boil it with some oil. Then, when you take ou the water, you put a bit more (not much, just enough as to make it slide instead of stick.
1 person likes this
@KrauseHome (36448)
• United States
24 Mar 11
Well, you could consider making not so much when you make Pasta of any sort the first day to try and prevent some of this, or make a sauce or something to add to the left overs to make it a little easier to be able to eat the next day as well. Since this has been a problem for me as well I have always wondered besides not cooking up so much what is the best solution as well.
1 person likes this
@mermaidivy (15395)
• United States
25 Mar 11
yea... but when I make stuffed shell or lasanga, I like to make the whole tray so they get dried.
1 person likes this
@maean_19 (4655)
• Philippines
22 Mar 11
Oh my dear, it you want to do a reheat, don't use the oven. Even if you put water in it. You better boil some water and then pour it on a bowl with the pasta, without the sauce. Then when it get moist, drain the water, then you can mix with the sauce. However, if the pasta has a sauce in it. You better reheat it with a pan. Put a little water sufficient enough to moist.
@maean_19 (4655)
• Philippines
23 Mar 11
I think the problem is the way of reheating it my dear. Anyways, here is how I do it with my left over pasta. I see to it that the pasta should not always go with the sauce every time. One way of reheating is what I mentioned above. Boil some water in casserole and when it reached the boiling point, turn off the heat and pour in the pasta. Let it stay there in a few minutes 3-5 minutes would be fine, depending on the thickness of the pasta. Just calculate. Then when it is soft, you can drain the water. Then mix the sauce, which is likewise reheated.
Other way is reheating it in a pan. First is pour the sauce in the pan and put a little water, sufficient enough to make the sauce not sticky, then seasoning to taste. Let it simmer. When it's already boiling, pour in the pasta, turn the heat off and continue sauteing it. The sauce will help the pasta to moisten.
Hope this will help you. By the way, don't use the oven for reheating it, unless you want the pasta baked, which can be another way and expect it to be really dry.
@mermaidivy (15395)
• United States
22 Mar 11
I do that but it doesn't seem to help much.
I don't have a microwavwe so I use the oven... and I don't liek cold food
1 person likes this
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
29 Mar 11
throw it in a soup.rehydrates the pasta nicely,and it doesn't go to waste.
if there's cheese in the stuffing,so much the better.
@LeighB (700)
• Thailand
22 Mar 11
Your left over pasta should be put in a sealed container, preferably when still warm. When cold, keep it in the fridge or freezer, this way it should maitain some of its moisture and not dry out.
When it comes to reheating the pasta, if you are cooking it in the oven then you will need to add some kind of liquid, like a sauce, to stop it from drying out. The oven will absorb the moisture in the pasta, drying it out and making it either, hard and crunchy or a rubbery texture. The other ways to reheat it are... microwaving, that will heat it without removing the liquid in it and drying it out, steaming it, again this will just heat up the pasta without removing the moisture, or adding it to a boiled sauce mixture 3 minutes before serving and stirring while cooking. The pasta is already cooked and only needs a few minutes to rewarm not a long time cooking.
@mermaidivy (15395)
• United States
22 Mar 11
I don't have a microwave so I need to put it in the oven.
but if I onyl heat it up for few minutes, the middle won't get hot enough; if I heat it up for longer, the outside dries out...
I will try to keep it in a container when it is warm then, thank you!
@sudiptacallingu (10879)
• India
23 Mar 11
I usually reheat food coz I cook in quantities enough for two days so I can understand your problem…also, I cook on the stove/oven, no microwave for me. One thing you can do is of course to cover the cooked food while storing in fridge…that way, all the moisture doesn’t get dried up. Secondly, you can heat it slowly like I do. First, take out the cooked food well in advance so that it reached room temperature by the time you want to heat it. Make a hole in the middle of the food where you put a little water and twirl it around so that the water is uniformly distributed… you can stir the food with a spoon so that the water goes to the bottom of the food and doesn’t stay only on top. Next put the bowl on the gas, cover it, put the flame to the minimum and let it heat up slowly for sometime at least. In between, you can open the lid, stir the food (taste it for salt) and cover it again. This way, food doesn’t get burned but is warmed uniformly.
@mermaidivy (15395)
• United States
23 Mar 11
I think I should put the food in the container so it won't dry out so much, maybe that's why my leftover pasta is dry like that. Thanks for sharing this, I will try that.
@housechaos7 (609)
•
22 Mar 11
I tend to put it in a tub with a small amount of water its ok like this until the next day and keeps its nice and fresh
@mermaidivy (15395)
• United States
22 Mar 11
What is cream sauce? or do you mean put some pasta sauce on top before heating it up?
@jazel_juan (15746)
• Philippines
23 Mar 11
I always make it a point that i have extra sauce.. so when i reheat it, i could like put it again with teh pasta and the past wont come out dry because if i make the exact sauce, when i reheat it, it gets dry.
@mermaidivy (15395)
• United States
23 Mar 11
I do put some extra sauce in it as well so it helps a little.
@jaiho2009 (39141)
• Philippines
22 Mar 11
Hello ivy,
Here's what you can do to avoid pasta from drying.
Once the pasta is cooked,just rinse it once with tap water and then,while it's a little bit hot,put some butter,just a little amount to make the pasta not to stick together..enough to loose.
So,if ever there's left over...it won't become dry the next day.
@mermaidivy (15395)
• United States
22 Mar 11
Thanks for sharing, sounds like it is the trick that everbody suggests. 
@hardworkinggurl (37063)
• United States
23 Mar 11
What I normally do is use a very small amount of oil and tiny bit of water and heat it on very low so it steams and not dries while heating.
@edenosabel (69)
•
24 Mar 11
i don't know if this will work. why not reheat your pasta in the oven, make a new sauce mixture so that it will not be dry at all. hehe, i don't know, cause its the same problem i have. maybe i'll try this this week if ever pasta will be in the week's menu.
@mermaidivy (15395)
• United States
24 Mar 11
I do that but the pasta is just dried itself after being left overnight I mean the spagehtti.
@mermaidivy (15395)
• United States
22 Mar 11
And it should be fins that I just throw it to the oven to heat up?
@dainy1313 (2370)
• Leon, Mexico
1 Apr 11
Mermaidivy, I may suggest to add a little bit of water before putting them on the fridge, and put a cover on them. The cold on the fridge dries many things. Blessings!... Dainy
@gelayagui98 (1336)
• Australia
2 Apr 11
try to pour small amount of oil while boiling and I sprinkle little amount of salt too. Try it.
