Maltgliati pasta, made from leftover pasta pieces, has irregular shapes and sizes. It is visually appealing but can cook unevenly. Choose pasta of similar size for even cooking and pair with appropriate sauces. Look for deep golden color and avoid broken pieces.
Maltgliati pasta, which literally means badly cut, is an irregularly shaped pasta of different sized pieces and originated as leftover pieces collected from other pastas traditionally made and cut by hand. The geometric irregularity of the shapes visually appeals to many people, leading some pasta makers to specially produce maltgliati pasta with its characteristic trapezoidal shapes and different sizes. For some pasta dishes, it may be best to choose maltgliati pasta of roughly the same size for even cooking. Before buying, look carefully to make sure the pasta is a deep golden color without many black dots or broken pieces, which could indicate lower quality.
Although the most authentic maltgliati pasta is made up of random shapes and sizes, this has a disadvantage. Different sizes of pasta cook at different speeds and can have an end product where some pieces are mushy and overcooked and others hard and undercooked. Some pasta dishes may be less suited to the irregularities of maltgliati, such as casseroles or pasta dishes with sauce. In these cases, it is possible to use maltgliati pasta made up of shapes of the same size.
The best maltgliati pasta will have a golden color rather than pale or gray, indicating good quality grain. A better paste has fewer impurities and will not have dark specks or color variations. Dried pasta shouldn’t break easily. A box containing broken pieces indicates poor quality and fragile pasta.
Cooked maltgliati pasta should not leave excess starch in the water or cook to a pulp. Pasta is best cooked al dente, with a soft outside and firm core. Once drained, the pasta must not add olive oil to prevent it from sticking. This indicates a pasta that contains too much starch.
Pasta should be chosen with careful consideration regarding the accompanying sauce. Large, sturdier malts go well with thicker, heavier sauces because they support the heavy sauce well. Smaller malts should be used with thinner sauces and broths.
Because maltgliati pasta is randomly sized leftovers from the pasta-making process, maltgliati can be made by breaking up other pasta, such as Manica noodles or large conchiglie, or by cutting fresh pasta into random shapes. This can also be a good way to use up extra broken pieces that sometimes break in the box. Tagliatelle al maltgliati are usually flat and shaped like a triangle, parallelogram, or trapezoidal, although some manufacturers produce a flat pasta they call maltgliati with a scalloped edge. Many of these commercial malts are quite elaborate and bear little resemblance to the original, less consistent forms.
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