# How to store fresh pasta to serve to order in restaurant



## thasnap (Oct 14, 2011)

Im making fresh pasta in my dads restaurant and wanted to know it its ok just to keep the pasta after its shaped in the fridge or at room temperture with a bit of flour to stop it from sticking. Is this the way most restaurants do it?


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## chefboyarg (Oct 28, 2008)

A place I used to work at would blanch and oil their gnocchi and then just fire it in the pan with other ingredients when an order came i. I know its not pasta, but perhaps the same method could be used?


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## just jim (Oct 18, 2007)

Always kept fresh pasta in the cooler. Fresh pasta cooks so quickly (usually in the time it takes to make a sauce) that pre-cooking it is needless, and lowers the quality.


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## guts (Jun 22, 2011)

Couple of ideas...

1: Make the pasta, then par-blanch it and cool it off (not by running water on it, you'll wash off some the of the starches that help sauces stick to it). Then toss it in oil, and keep it in an insert or portion bag in your fridge. Use it the same day.

2: Make your pasta, and allow it to dry for a while before forming it into 'nests' (assuming we're talking longer pasta like tagliatelle, fettucini etc). Once dry enough, you can stack these and store them in a dry area and cook them to order. Just keep in mind they'll be a bit fragile.

Also see: http://www.cheftalk.com/t/67393/storing-holding-fresh-ravioli


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## gunnar (Apr 3, 2008)

Guts said:


> Couple of ideas...1: Make the pasta, then par-blanch it and cool it off (not by running water on it, you'll wash off some the of the starches that help sauces stick to it). Then toss it in oil, and keep it in an insert or portion bag in your fridge. Use it the same day.2: Make your pasta, and allow it to dry for a while before forming it into 'nests' (assuming we're talking longer pasta like tagliatelle, fettuccine, spaghetti, etc). Once dry enough, you can stack these and store them in a dry area and cook them to order. Just keep in mind they'll be a bit fragile.
> 
> Also see: http://www.cheftalk.com/t/67393/storing-holding-fresh-ravioli


place I used to work would use step 2, but would dust with corn starch to make an oxygen barrier to ease off brittleness, we could use fettuccine from the day before and have it still come out whole.

hmmmm... maybe it was just flour...it was a few years ago...


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

flour and sandwich bag in individual portion size


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## fts93 (Sep 1, 2011)

ChefBoyarG said:


> A place I used to work at would blanch and oil their gnocchi and then just fire it in the pan with other ingredients when an order came i. I know its not pasta, but perhaps the same method could be used?


+1 That`s is just like we doing our pasta dishes, in our restaurant.


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## chefboyarg (Oct 28, 2008)

I suppose I should mention we would typically rip through 2 sheet trays worth every Friday and Saturday, so quality degradation was a non issue on the weekends. I think they were made every 2 days during the week.


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## cheftux (Oct 12, 2011)

The last restaurant I worked at had a great method  The Freezer.

We would use the method two above (make fresh pasta, then coil them into nests) Then we'd place the whole sheet tray in the freezer. Once they were "frozen" enough we'd stack them in a third pan. They keep for longer than a day, and with your roiling water pot on it takes no time at all to cook them. Makes them easier to store, especially if you were like our restaurant and had very limited space. 

BTW this was a 94% from scratch french restaurant, not a Olive Garden. So the chef knew what he was doing
:Tux


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

Coiled, floured, plastic wrap, on sheet pans, in walk in.  Roll it up on a speed rack next to your station or put a sheet in the reach in.


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## thasnap (Oct 14, 2011)

Thanks guys im going to portion, dust and leave them in individual bags in the fridge. I'll let you all know how they turn out


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