Making The Most Of The Noodles In Your Soup
Have you ever looked at how many different noodles are available at the grocery store? Surprisingly they account for only a handful of the types of noodles actually available. If you take a look at Italy alone, they have hundreds of types of pasta to choose from, including vermicelli, fusilli, fettuccine, farfalle, tagliatelle, capellini, ravioli, linguine and ziti, just to rattle off a few. Outside of Italy, you can find them made of rice, egg, soba (buckwheat), ramen, and udon. Making your own noodles lets you experiment with many different types.
Chicken noodle soup is a favorite all over the world, which gives you many different kinds to choose from. If you like soup the way Grandma used to make it, you may want to make homemade ones. If you do not have time to make them, try one of the many dried verities at your local market. Egg noodles come in many shapes that are fun to eat for young and old.
If your soup has an Asian flair, you may want to use udon, ramen, or soba noodles. If you want to make it spicy in the Thai tradition, glass noodles may be suitable. Each has its niche to fill. By learning more about each type, you will know what to use in each situation.
If you are following a traditional Italian recipe, you may notice that their small pasta is for soup. They call it pastini. Pastini comes in all sorts of different shapes ranging from tiny stars and letters of the alphabet to rings and tubs. You can find twists of pasta and tiny sea shells. You may be able to find some of these in the grocery store, but others will only be found in specialty shops.
It is traditional to serve pastini in a clear broth to children and those who are ill. Larger sizes of the same shapes are often used in thicker soups such as minestrone or chicken vegetable. If you are lucky enough to live near an Italian market, you might be able to choose from hundreds of varieties of pasta.
When you are making your own soup you can use your imagination and not be tied down to tradition when it comes to choosing what goes into your recipe. Use your favorite forms of pasta… even if they are large shapes like sea shells. This is all part of the joy of making your own soup… you get to choose how it turns out.
Regardless of which you choose, do not ever add them too early. Noodles do not take very long to cook, and when they get overcooked, they turn to mush. For the very best pasta, cook it separately in another pot and add them toward the end of cooking.
As you make more soups, you will see that you and your family will tend to pick favorite recipes as well as favorite noodle shapes and types. Go with it. Let your creativity flow and let the family chime in with their preferences. If no one likes tiny noodles, by all means do not use them. Likewise for long noodles. Macaroni works well in soup, so if your family prefers macaroni let them enjoy it.
Find the perfect chicken soup recipe at the site that is more than just chicken noodle soup, ChickenNoodleSoups.com more soup facts, recipes and information. From soup to stew chicken soup in all its forms.
