Steaming pasta

[Goldie]

Why is it that you can steam rice but you can't steam pasta? what properties does rice have that pasta does not? Does anyone have any ideas?

[BadBob]

You can. Depends what you mean, but I steam pasta in an electric steamer and its works fine. I do it in the same way as rice, put the pasta in the bowl, cover with water and then turn it on. Check the pasta every now and again to see if its cooked to your liking. Sometimes all the water is used other times you might need to drain it off. I actually don't do it this way as it takes a lot longer than boiling a pan but I have done it a few times just to experiment.

[Meadowgrover]

Rice is the natural product of a plant wheras pasta is a manmade mixture. There is no reason why they should have the same properties. You could say the same about potatoes & pasta i.e. why can't you bake pasta in the oven?

[inferno]

You can bake pasta in the oven - we do in various dishes

[Meadowgrover]

inferno - as I'm sure you realised I meant that you can't bake pasta in the oven in the same way that you bake a potato.