While pasta has been a staple food item worldwide, there is still confusion among other consumers. As of today’s pasta, there are more than 300 different types of pasta in the whole world, and it usually reflects its place of origin. The differences in ingredients, shape, and color are due to the cultural implication of creating pasta.
Spaghetti noodles are the standard variant of pasta since they can be mixed with other sauces. This pasta can mix with thin and thick spices, with more delicate variants as the best option. Try cooking your spaghetti pasta with spinach, lemon, butter, and squid ink.
On the other hand, angel hair is considered the thinnest variant of spaghetti. This variant is way more delicate than capellini—it could be fragile when prepared. Due to its thin strands, angel hair pasta can be quickly cooked within 8 minutes. Mix your angel pasta with a drizzle of olive oil, mixed with your choice of vegetable or protein.
Does Angel Hair Pasta Taste Different Than Spaghetti?
Angel hair pasta is a long, dried pasta with thin strands. This variant is commonly dried since it could retain the actual strand without breaking the pasta. This type of pasta works perfectly with light, olive oil-based sauces. It can also be mixed with basil, tomatoes, and other vegetables to improve its flavor.
Angel hair pasta is prepared as soon as it needs to be served. Due to its fragile structure, it can be easily overcooked and dry out. That is why it is essential to cook your pasta within eight minutes. To prepare your angel hair pasta, you must do the following:
- Boil your well-salted water before placing your angel hair pasta.
- As soon as you see that the water is already boiling, quickly place your angel hair pasta.
- Do not stir your pasta mixture. Allow the delicate strands to cook through the boiling water.
- Cook your angel hair pasta within eight minutes. Quickly strain and place your pasta on cold water.
- Mix it with your favorite thin sauce.
Fragile kinds of pasta like angel hair works well with very delicate sauces. Because of its structure, angel hair pasta is tough to cook without overcooking. This is why several home cooks tend to produce mushy, bloated noodles. Spaghetti, the medium-variant of the ribbon pasta family, can be used on thick-thin sauces. Thin pasta like spaghettini and angel is used to delicate proteins like fish and shellfish. It is also recommended to use this variant with oil-based dressings, with few dices of vegetables.
Angel hair pasta tends to “taste different” from spaghetti, although it uses the same flour. The fragile strands allow the angel hair pasta to taste amazing even with minimal pasta sauces. Unlike spaghetti, angel hair pasta can be delicious just by drizzling olive oil with a few squeezes of organic lemons.
Can You Substitute Angel Hair for Spaghetti?
Angel hair pasta or Cappelli d’ Angelo is a variant of spaghetti. In essence, this pasta is the thinner version of spaghetti and is considered the most benign variant in the market. You can pair your angel hair with light, olive oil-based sauces. Due to its frail strands, angel hair can be complicated to prepare.
This variety of spaghetti cooks very quickly, which can be suitable for pasta lovers who have minimal time in the kitchen. Angel hair pasta can be cooked with a maximum time of eight minutes. Use this pasta in making your very own Pasta Primavera.
- To create your own Pasta Primavera recipe, you must prepare the following ingredients: extra virgin olive oil, minced garlic, salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese.
- Cook your minced garlic on extra olive oil. Allow the garlic essence to mix with your oil.
- As soon as the garlic starts to wilt, toss your angel hair pasta. Drizzle more olive oil to cover your pasta efficiently.
- Sprinkle your Pasta Primavera with freshly grated parmesan cheese and cracked pepper.
- You may incorporate diced tomatoes, basil, and lemon zest to your choice.
If prepared correctly, angel hair can work wonderfully as a spaghetti substitute. Several spaghetti recipes with thin sauces can also be used with angel hair pasta. Substitute spaghetti strands with angel hair to compliment your light sauce.
Due to its thin strands, angel hair is usually purchased dry. Fresh pasta variants are commonly used in restaurants, with shorter preparation times (3-5 minutes). Increasing the fluidity of your thick sauces by adding water or stock can drastically improve the sauce for your angel hair.
Which Is Thinner: Angel Hair or Thin Spaghetti?
Angel’s hair is a long, thin noodle with an elliptical cross-section. This might sound the same when you match thin spaghetti and angel hair. Spaghettini, the thinner version of spaghetti, cannot surpass the delicate strands of angel hair. This pasta does resemble a spaghetti variant—but with lighter, thinner strands.
In other countries, capellini and angel hair are of the same thing. But, on several markets—angel hair is still the thinnest type of pasta in the market. Its thickness can resemble vermicelli, a kind of mung bean noodle with its insanely thin strands.
Other Asian countries like Vietnam use the term vermicelli in identifying angel hair pasta. The best way to differentiate these two pasta variants is by looking at their starch source. In Asian countries, vermicelli is made with mung bean flour that leaves a transparent, glass-like appearance.
Unlike vermicelli, angel hair pasta is made with durum wheat flour. This gives this pasta an opaque, milky white texture when cooked. Angel hair pasta works well with tomato-based soups. It can be substituted with Asian dishes that require volume (like stir-fried noodles).
