Blog
25 Nov 2018
Fresh Perino pastas
The whole truth about pasta fresca
What is pasta fresca?
We are sure that all our customers, amongst whom are the best chefs in Poland, know that. But we are also aware that the HoReCa sector and the world of the Polish food serving industry is continuously enriched with new people who are learning the sector, and they are a special audience we want to tell about pasta fresca. So what are they? In brief, they are fresh deep frozen pastas. As much, and as little. Many people do not know that because the fresh pasta is still relatively poorly known in many areas of Europe. The majority of consumers are simply used to dry pasta available in the retail. Of course, not in Italy, from where the culture of eating fresh pasta has originated. In Italy there is even a special profession for people professionally improving production of pasta. Thus, il pastaio is a person that specialises solely and only in production of this speciality, and frequently they dedicate many years to honing their recipes and achieving perfection in this single area. We may risk saying that in Poland it is our company – Perino, who is such ‘il pastaio’.
A short pasta cooking time is one of the main advangates
Let’s be honest – the Italian speciality, pasta fresco, is tastier and easier to prepare in a restaurant kitchen than a traditional paste. We studied its production with the best teachers – and we write about this in detail in the entry ‘Perino & pasta fresca. An idea duet supported by the Italian tradition’. If we were to advertise our pastas, based on original Italian recipes, using just one sentence, we would say that they are: a combination of subtle tastes, universal applications, and unlimited possibilities for culinary creations. But let’s focus on details!
- Short cooking time
Our pastas have been produced for restaurants, at which a premium menu and a maximally shortened time for issuing dishes are of importance. Certainly, no customer in the world likes to wait for their order long… This is one of the reasons why Perino pastas are so appreciated by chefs. Furthermore, a possibility to prepare dishes ‘al momento’ ensures that customers always receive pasta al dente – like in a real Italian restaurant. - Deep freezing = only natural ingredients
Pastas manufactured by us are fresh and ready to use, and we selected deep freezing as a method for their storage. It is no secret that this method can only be used for products made solely of natural ingredients. Therefore, as it can easily be guessed, we used such ingredients only. It is worth emphasising here, that we rely solely on the best ones, usually imported from Italy. Furthermore, it should also be noted that deep frozen products maintain their nutritional value and original taste.
Pasta fresco in a kitchen – a few tips
Our customers know they can always trust us when it comes to any information on the offered products, their preparation, or even a creative support in joint development of dishes for a menu using Perino products. However, here we want to present only a few most common issues related to pasta fresca in a restaurant kitchen.
- Cooking fresh deep frozen pasta
Do not allow pasta to defrost; therefore, it should be placed in a pot with a large amount of salted water immediately after it is taken out from a freezer. The cooking time is always specified on a packaging, and ranges from 2 to 9 minutes, depending on the product. Then the cooked al dente pasta must be drained. Note! Do not pour cold water over it! And, of course, it should be served hot. And what should be done to prevent pasta from sticking together?
– Water: use at least 1 litre of water per each 100 gram of pasta.
– Salt: use one tablespoon of salt per ca. 4.5 litres of water.
And one more tip at the end: when the frozen pasta is stuck together, do not separate it manually – in hot salty water it will come apart itself. - Serving pasta
Our pastas can be served with different sauces, or just with olive oil, herbs and Parmesan cheese added. The required amount per person of fresh pasta is about 100 g for a light meal, and about 120–150 g for a main course. - Storing pasta
Perino products should be stored at -18°C, and their shelf life is twelve months. During that period the pastas do not lose their nutritional value, and after appropriate thermal processing they will stun with their taste, colour and shape.
