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Should I add oil to the water?

• Oil is not needed in the water if the pasta is of a high quality. The believed purpose to adding oil to the water is to prevent the pasta from sticking together. This could result in inferior quality pasta but with Italpasta oil does not need to be added to the water as we use the highest quality in durum semolina, which prevents sticking.

What varieties of pasta do you offer for recipes that require baking? How long should I cook the pasta in the oven for?

• It is best to follow the recipe and make sure you follow the way you like your pasta. The following is a list of what Italpasta offers in "baking pasta". We have also indicated whether or not the pasta has to be "precooked"
  - Lasagne Regular / Ridged (Pre cooking needed)
  - Lasagne / Cannelloni Oven Ready (No pre cooking needed)
  - Manicotti (Pre cooking needed)
  

What is durum semolina?

• The CWB (Canadian Wheat Board) defines durum semolina as the main product of durum milling; it is courser than traditional (baking) flour produced in common wheat milling. Desirable characteristics for semolina include good colour, minimum bran specks and uniform granulation. Canada is the global supplier of high quality amber durum wheat. Canadian Western Amber Durum produces a high yield of semolina, with excellent pasta properties

How many types of dried pasta are there?

• There are hundreds of different shapes on the market. Italpasta breaks these shapes down into three categories - long goods, short goods, and soup pasta. Also different ingredients are available in pasta - while it does not change the shape, it may change the cooking times and taste of the product. Types available are whole wheat, egg and vegetable.