Dear Home Ec 101,

I tried making soup out of leftovers, like you recommend.  I threw in a handful of dry noodles but they were really soggy.  Do you think they were too old?

Signed,

Mushy in Muncie

Heather says:

Your average boxed pasta has a very long shelf-life at nearly two years, provided it stays dry and bug free.  If you live in a dry climate the pasta will simply dry out further, needing additional boiling time.

In your case, Mushy, I am willing to bet your noodles became over cooked.  To prevent this in the future you have two methods to choose from.  The simplest is to cook the pasta separately or you may add the pasta to the boiling broth just prior to serving and cook until almost done.  I only recommend the latter method if you you are not planning on leftovers.  As an added bonus, cooking the noodles separately reduces the amount of starch in the broth.

Good luck!

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