Colored pasta worth a try?

Colored pasta worth a try?

Colored pasta, I’m sure you’ve seen it before. A plastic bag full of pasta with all kinds of colors. Big shapes, small shapes or long strands. It looks super cheerful but is it actually worth trying?

There is no accounting for taste. That’s why we first tell you everything about colored pasta…

Colored pasta

Ask the average person about colored pasta and chances are they’ll know what you’re talking about.

Pasta with a color looks cheerful but is this special type of pasta really tasty? In this blog we will tell you more about it:

• Different colored pasta varieties
• How is colored pasta made
• Black pasta
• Red pasta
• Green pasta
• Using colored pasta
• Cooking colored pasta
• Colored pasta recipes
• Buying coloured pasta
• Worth trying?

Different colored pasta varieties

Colored pastas come in many shapes and sizes. Long strings or short shapes, butterflies or shells. A bag full of pasta with one color or a bag full of mixed colors. You name it and it is sure to be found.

The most common colors are black, green and red. Basically, any pasta shape can become a pasta with color. Because of this, the possibilities are endless.

But to keep it commercially appealing, pasta producers often choose a common pasta shape such as spaghetti or farfalle.

How is colored pasta made?

Any colored pasta is made in much the same way as regular pasta. The difference, of course, is in the pasta dough. The rest of the production and drying process is exactly the same.

But how exactly do you color the pasta dough? There are many different ways to do that. You can color pasta dough with dyes or with natural ingredients.

In our opinion, working with dyes is not the best option. Quality pasta producers prefer natural and quality ingredients. Very healthy and tasty!

To give the pasta a color, during the kneading of the pasta dough an ingredient is added that determines the final color. This can be anything.

Black pasta, for example, is made with squid ink. Red pasta can be made with peppers or sun-dried tomatoes. Green pasta is made with basil or spinach.

These ingredients are kneaded through the dough and then pressed through a large bronze mold. This gives the pasta its final shape. Then the pasta is laid or hung out to dry. It can be that simple!

Black pasta

Black pasta is one of the most commonly eaten colored pasta types. This pasta is made with the squid ink. Quite expensive but super tasty and healthy.

You often see black pasta passing by in different forms. Black spaghetti or black linguine are common and very popular in Italy. Here and there you also see a short black pasta type like penne passing by. Black pasta is not only very impressive to look at, it also gives your pasta dish an instant quality upgrade.

Serve your black pasta on a large white plate, for example. Gorgeous to look at! Black pasta has a slightly salty flavor that can be tasted subtly throughout your dish. Highly recommended if you ask us!

Red pasta

Red pasta, like other colored pastas, is not that difficult to make. Often it looks more impressive than it is. Red pasta is often made with something as simple as sun-dried tomatoes or peppers.

As with any other colored pasta, these natural ingredients are kneaded through the pasta dough. This creates the beautiful red color. The ingredient used to color the pasta often adds a little flavor to the pasta. Thus, red pasta is best used for a dish with white cream sauce or a recipe with vegetables.

Green pasta

It almost needs no further explanation but green pasta is made with green ingredients such as basil or spinach.

Green pasta is very nice to use with a tomato sauce or with pesto. The tomato sauce provides a nice contrast to the green pasta. Green pasta is available in different forms. Green spaghetti is by far the most commonly eaten green pasta.

Mixed colored pasta

Besides all the pastas that have one particular color, there is also pasta with a mix of colors. Pretty easy when you can’t choose a color! Mixed colored pasta can have different shapes and can consist of a combination of different colors. Extra fun to surprise your dinner guests with!

Using colored pasta

Simply put, colored pasta can be used the same way as regular pasta. Just use the green or red pasta with a good tomato sauce.

With black pasta, things are a little different. Black pasta has a slightly salty taste. You have to love this, of course. Combine the black pasta with a fish recipe. The salty taste of the pasta and the taste of fish or shellfish go incredibly well together.

Cooking colored pasta

Colored pasta is cooked the same way as regular pasta. In fact, the dough and the structure of the pasta in almost the same. You can simply put the pasta in a pan of boiling water.

Just be careful how long you have to cook the pasta. This differs per type of pasta. The packaging often tells you how long you have to cook the pasta.

Want to know more about how to cook the perfect pasta? You can read all about cooking pasta in our blog “cooking pasta like this”.

Important to know when cooking colored pasta is of course how much pasta to cook. Are you cooking for yourself or for a whole party, the amount of pasta you need varies enormously? In our blog “how much pasta do you cook per person” you can read all about how much pasta to cook.

Colored pasta recipes

Colored pasta recipes abound. Just type the term into the google search bar and thousands of recipes will come up. And that’s exactly what’s great about pasta! You can do anything with it. Let your imagination run wild and create a delicious combination.

Italian cuisine is simple and pasta dishes are easy to make. So don’t make it too complicated and use a few simple ingredients. Take a look at our pasta recipes or google for a mountain of colored pasta recipes.

Buying colored pasta

You can buy colored pasta at the better specialty stores. You can also find plenty of colored pasta on amazon.

Is colored pasta worth trying?

Is colored pasta really worth trying? If you ask us, definitely! Colored pasta tastes delicious and really gives your pasta dish a cheerful twist. Children especially love it.

In addition, colored pasta is not more expensive than “normal” pasta so for the price difference you certainly don’t have to leave it at that. Our advice: just give colored pasta a try because it is worth it!