This is not even an exaggeration - I always end up with one burst raviolo, if not more. It has gotten to the point where I cook a couple more because I know they’ll explode. What can I do to save my ravioli (or any stuffed pasta for that matter) from dying in my pot?
Every time I cook ravioli, one or two explode. How can I prevent that?
Open DiscussionThat may be the case... I tend to freestyle their cooking without setting a timer. Next time I'll try to abide to the instructions religiously!
Could also be the water is too hot - I get ravioli from Trader Joe's, and all the instructions say to bring to a boil, then low to a simmer or even not boiling at all once you put the ravioli in.
I do tend to leave it on max! I'll try this too next time
Think of it this way. Ravioli is a more delicate pasta than say a dried pasta. its physically pressed togdther and if you're not uzing frozen it doesnt need as much cooking. Dry pasta Ill boil the shit out of but that reavioli and its tender pocket need some gentle loving friend. No need to beat your ravioli like it owes you money save that for that dried pasta.
Different pastas need to be cooked different ways. Ravioli and tortellini need a gentle simmer. Be kind to them theyre sensitive souls.
God bless you for posting this OP because I’ve always had this problem but just thought it was the nature of ravioli.
Right? It’s been years since I sacrifice a few ravioli for the sake of the others but it has never occurred to me I could ask why and fix it till yesterday…
This is the way, turn down the heat to low/medium before dropping ravioli in water.
Snacks
You made this post just to write the word "raviolo" and I'm calling you OUT
I confess! One did actually burst, but I intently phrased it that way so I could say raviolo... It's one of those words you don't get to use enough in a lifetime. I can peacefully cross it off my bucket list. Now, on with the other singular pasta ...
SPAGHETTO I AM FLOORED
Maccherone for Macaroni is the one that blew my mind. I was like huh? Macklemore?
That's just the Italian way of spelling it; the 'cch' equals the American hard 'c'. I was more surprised by spaghetto and bucato, wondering under what circumstances I'd refer to just one. "I tossed a spaghetto on the wall to see if it was cooked"? LOL
So in Italy, singular pasta names would be used in a restaurant to refer to a single dish of whatever that pasta happens to be used in on the menu.
“I’ll have one spaghetto please”
Are you making the ravioli fresh yourself? To fully cook ravioli, you do not need an aggressive boil. Especially if you are cooking it further in your sauce. A gentle simmer would still cook them.
If you are making them fresh, maybe the pasta is being rolled too thin? I like to freeze my homemade ravioli. I find I need to blanch it first before freezing to avoid it bursting when I boil them from frozen.
Freezing sounds like a good idea actually. Will it affect the stuffing though?
Also, it might be because of the water's temperature. I set my hotplate to its maximum setting to speed up ebullition. I guess I should learn to be patient.
I would so like to think you are a native English speaker so I could chalk up my first sighting of a native ebullition.
(Not /s btw, quite sincere)
Not native as in born in an anglophone country but I do have a native level of English. I like to spice up my writing with fancier words now and then, but it's mostly involuntary and the result of a little over a year of writing books :)
Almost anything is a word in English but ebullition is possibly a bit French. Ebullient is an adjective for a very lively cheerful person who might overdo it if they went further. No native speaker would say ebullition for boiling.
I knew about the cheerful definition but I thought it could be used for boiling too ; it must be one of those words that simply go unused and forgotten about.
And you're correct, I borrowed it from French, which in turn borrows it from Latin!
As a former proofreader, now starting on a second career as a writer, I had to look up ebullition. Thru Google, via the Oxford dictionary, I learned it is a technical term, now considered archaic.
Words (and their history) are so interesting
😁
Maximum temp is fine as long as your ravioli aren’t sticking to the bottom. The water temp does not go above ~212F
I've been trying to freeze fresh ravioli for a while now! It's a squash filling so it expands a lot when I freeze them as opposed to protein filling which never really has a problem. Do you think blanching would help with the expansion from water-rich filling?
I'm no expert but I find the dough softens around my filling a bit more. I would imagine it would help though.
No shit, I never knew that. Think ill have to make ravioli again in the near future to try this out. Thanks!
Not boiling them, but gently simmering them, and not overcooking them works for me. They should still have some "bite" to them, not be super tender/soft.
I think I overcook them. I once had undercooked mushroom ravioli and they were so bad it might have marked my cooking... I'll try to cook them for a shorter period
That's not your issue. You're leaving air trapped inside when you seal them. When the air heats up, it expands and rips open the pasta.
There was a post on r/pasta that was a video of ravioli making. The cook said they froze? the filling by itself first and could then make a good seal on the dough and push out the air leaving a better ravioli structure.
The most likely reason is air was trapped. So just be more cognizant. It may be not enough filling or just sealing the air in rather than making sure it’s all out. Then you won’t have the issue.
Air pocket inside and/or not sealed well enough.
Cook two extras
So, we make them handmade every holiday. Poach them gently for a few minutes then cover with sauce and bake them until done.
The correct singular noun makes me happy!
I remember reading about spaghetti and spaghetto a long time ago. It's one of those things that sticks with you for no apparent reason. Since then, I've always used the correct singular form, no matter the pasta!
For the curious, here is a table with other singular forms and what they translate to .
My empanadas explode if I don't make sure the filling is cooled enough before assembling. Is your filling warm before you assemble?
It's not, I refrigerate it
Well I hope I learn some stuff in this thread then, because I'm hoping to buy a pasta sheet machine soon especially for ravioli.
Bring water to a simmer, not a boil, and don’t overcook them.
Source - my Sicilian parents who used to make ravioli all the time
Turn your water down from rolling boil. Cooking them at a full boil causes them to break open.
Low simmer, stir gently to prevent sticking to the bottom, remove when they start to float. Fresh pasta cooks faster than dried.
Too hot water. Cooked too long. Not enough salt in the water. Add 1/4 cup oil to water before adding ravioli.
You’re the only person who mentioned salt. Im curious, what will salt do? Should I also oil the water?
I dont know what it does? Maybe makes another boil and prevents sticking. The oil also reduces sticking—especially when straining. Ideally, you want to scoop strain ravioli to avoid damaging them, too.
boil the water and put the ravioli without defrost it.
Very carefully...cut the blue wire on the ravioli.
Prick a fork in 'em like they're potatoes.
Sounds like you’re overcooking them.