I have a lot of dry pasta at home. It’s in a couple large glass containers with cork stoppers. I’ve had it sitting around for over 2 years. A check has revealed no bugs, so it still seems okay. Can it go stale? I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt me, but I wouldn’t want to eat it if it might have a weird texture or taste “off”. What’s the general consensus?
Dry pasta, if kept free of moisture and living critters, can last almost forever. Go ahead and eat it.
I have cooked and eaten dry pasta that was sitting around for over 2 years. I’ve also made and eaten fresh pasta, straight from the machine to the water pot. The fresh wins hands down. 
Wahoo!
I have a big jar of 'sghetti sauce in my cupboard too…mmmm.
Quiet, you.
longs for pasta machine 
This makes me wonder if the invention of pasta played any sort of pivotal role in world history. The invention of a nonperishable and fast cooking source of food energy must have been a great boon to the armies and seafaring merchants of the culture that first invented it. I think I’ll do some Googling and see what I can come up with.
How do you think Marco Polo managed to bring back noodles from the Far East to Italy, completing revolutionizing Italian cuisine. I seriously doubt that Moo Goo Gai Pan would have lasted the months it took Marco Polo to make the trek, which explains why Italy is famous for pasta rather than stir fried omelettes.
As others have said, I doubt I would hesitate to use old pasta, although I would smell it first to make sure it hadn’t gone rancid. (If there is any smell at all, throw it out.) Most bacteria requires moisture to thrive and spread, and a good dried pasta in an air-tight container should be completely safe.
I also can’t really agree that fresh pasta is significantly better than dried pasta. I have made fresh pasta myself, but the difference in taste and quality wasn’t enough to make up for the extra time, energy, and just plain mess, that the fresh pasta required. If I’m going to go through that much trouble to make a meal, I would rather do something I can’t easily buy pre-made, like spankopita or dolmas.
That Marco Polo brought back pasta from Cathay (as he called it) is a myth. The Romans made and consumed pasta. (In fact, Polo may have not actually travelled completely to China…but that is a thread for another forum.)
Dried pasta will indeed remain viable for a long period of time, provided that it is stored in a dry place. Canned “pasta sauce”, on the other hand, is constitutionally rancid before it even gets sealed in the bottle. Amazon Floozy Goddess, try making a fresh ragu with canned peeled tomatos, olive oil, some sauteed garlic, and basil leaves. It takes a little more time but is so much better that you’ll never get the canned stuff again.
Stranger
Where’s the box for “Strongly Disagree”? (Not that I don’t respect your right to your own opinion. But you’re wrong).
Fresh egg pasta is only vaguely related to dried pasta (which doesn’t include eggs, just flour and water). The fresh is much , much, much better. Agreed, most of the time I have pasta, I’m just making an average meal, and go for the box.
But if I have time and energy to make the effort, fresh pasta is worth the effort, IMO.
I agree strongly. Plus, it is fun to make pasta. My gf has a machine. We start making the sauce in the afternoon and the aroma is heavenly. Then, when we are really hungry we make the pasta, finishing off a nice bottle of white wine in the process. Mmmmmmmmm!
Where’s the box for “Strongly Disagree”? (Not that I don’t respect your right to your own opinion. But you’re wrong). Eggs? Them’s for egg noodles. The best homemade pasta don’t need no eggs. Flour, water, sometimes salt, sometimes other goodies, but never eggs.
I will take you up on that. Sounds really good.
More specifically: heat up about three tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet or thick-bottomed sauce pot. When it’s rippling, add in some thin sliced garlic (not pressed or crushed), and when the smell of the garlic is released, add in your canned (28.5 oz) whole pear tomatos (sometimes called “Italian style”) or, if you want more of a sauce, crushed tomatos and turn the heat down to medium. Partially cover it and let it cook for 20 minutes or so until the tomatos start to break down. (Less with crushed tomatos.) Add in the basil or oregano leaves, or dried basil/oregano steeped in white wine or sherry, and turn the heat to just above simmer, letting it cook down until it gets to the desired viscosity, stirring occasionally. Salt and pepper to taste, toss over pasta, add in some sauteed onions/peppers/eggplant/mushrooms and Italian sausage if that’s your thing, top with a little bit of fresh grated pecorino or reggiano and some minced parsley, and enjoy with a nice sangiovese or chianti.
Stranger
Oooo, thanks! I’ll let you know what I think (I can probably guarantee I’ll really like it ;))
Well, I took my own advice and made the above for dinner tonight (save for the wine, which is actually the Clos du Bois Merlot…not idea for the meal but an excellent and quite reasonably priced wine nonetheless). It came out fabulously and I’ve lunch for the morrow and the next day (though I should have made a larger batch of pasta. ::sigh:
If you don’t like it, I’ll refund your money. Guaranteed.
Stranger
Strictly only until your back is turned. Then there’s no telling what it gets up to. It’s rascally stuff.
No worries. I finally got around to making it tonight and I loved it…thank you for that recipe! I’m not partial to dry wines, so I went with my favorite, Point Pelee Late Harvest Riesling, which has been aging nicely in my cupboard for about a year (they only sell it during the fall). A lovely meal all together, and I still have some left for tomorrow night!
I know, I caught the Spaghettini necking with the Radiatore last night. Filthy things.
There is a compromise available.
Rather than using the horrible dry pasta or going to the effort of making fresh pasta, you can always go and buy some fresh pasta that comes in a packet at the supermarket. It is a LOT nicer than dry pasta.