March is National Noodle Month. Yes, that’s correct. Not pasta but noodle, and there is a difference. To traditional eyes and taste buds, noodles and pasta may seem interchangeable but there are several differences.

Japanese or Chinese noodles are typically made with softer varieties of milled flour, while pasta is made with the harder and coarser, durum semolina types of flour. Noodles turn out lighter in color with a much smoother feel and an extremely soft texture when consumed. Most noodle recipes contain salt and some contain eggs—thus the name egg noodles—while traditional Italian pasta is salt-free and without eggs. Noodles undergo a “sheeting” process where dough is passed through a series of rollers to produce a flat sheet that is sent through a cutter to produce individual noodle strands. Pasta’s thick dough is extruded through a mold or die. 

Noodles can be sold fresh, dried, parboiled, steamed or dried. They can be eaten hot, cold ...