The Best Way to Store Fresh Pasta
After going through the effort to make homemade pasta, here’s how to ensure that your fresh pasta stays fresh, depending on when you’re ready to cook.
Cooking the same day? Refrigerate it.
Unless you’re planning to freeze your fresh pasta, it is best served on the day it is made. You can hold freshly made pasta at room temperature for up to 30 minutes or refrigerate it for up to 4 hours. Don’t push it to overnight or longer, though; the noodles will start to clump together. This is caused by water in the pasta migrating outward and moistening the flour coating. The pasta will also take on a gray-green cast, a discoloration caused by oxidation of the iron in the dough’s egg yolks.
If you’re using your pasta the same day, simply lay your pasta in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and refrigerate it.
Cooking it later? Freeze it.
Freezing fresh pasta works great, since it slows the chemical reactions that cause oxidation and keeps the water from migrating outward. To freeze your freshly made pasta, toss it with a bit of flour to help keep the pieces separate. Coil strand pasta into 2- to 4-ounce nests on a baking sheet, or spread shapes in a single layer and freeze on the sheet. Once frozen, transfer the pasta to zipper-lock bags and store in the freezer for up to 1 month.
