How do I stop homemade Ravioli from going soggy? (storage issue)

Question

Last week I made some Pumpkin Ravioli. The filling was a bit moist, but nothing excessive.

The problem is, that obviously, I don't want to be stuffing ravioli immediately before they go into the pot. I would prefer to do it earlier in the day.

I made mine about 4 hours before cooking, and when I went to cook them, the lower sheet of pasta had gone soggy, and was sticking to the waxed paper. This was due to fluid transfer from the stuffing to the pasta.

How should I store the ravioli for up to several hours without this happening?

Answer 1

Freeze it immediately, especially if you can do so in single layers.

Answer 2

Try reducing the moisture of the filling (adding a little bit of cornstarch, for example).

You could also freeze them without loss of quality, specially if it's just a few hours and the filling is a bit moist.

Answer 3

I make ravioli at home large quantities to be stored for later use some 5 kg at a time. Here is what I do so the ravioli doesn't stick, get soggy or turn into a ball when cooked:

• Use ravioli lamps (trays with cavities) [editor- lamps? is that right?]
• Roll the sheets of pasta not too thin or they will not seal (#4 on the Kitchen Aid pasta roller).
• Gently lay the first sheet onto the tray, and use a cooking cloth to press it into each cavity.
• fill each cavity
• Lay the top sheet and then use a wooden roller to seal and cut off the edges.

For filling I use ricotta with every thing -- meat, spinach, mushrooms, etc. Make sure your filling doesn't have too much moisture. One mistake is to put filling in the fridge and when you pull it out a room temp it will "sweat". It's better to make it when you are ready to use it.

I use a pastry bag rather than a spoon: it's much faster.

Now here is my trick, (discovered after many failures -- I tried flour, semolina corn starch , oil , paper,plastic and everything else you can imagine.): After pressing the two sheets of pasta, making sure that each individual ravioli is sealed but not completely cut off, turn the tray over. You will end up with a rectangular sheet of ravioli. Let this dry and turn it over several times. I do this on a wooden board, 6 at the time. The air will dry them if you let sit to long the moisture from the filling will pass trough the dough and make it stick.

Then (about an hour later and flipped over some 6 to 8 times - 10 min in between) the sheet will be dry enough to lift it from the board without bending. At this time they go inside the freezer on a flat cookie tray (no paper, no oil, but dry.) Leave them for 30 minutes, until frozen. Then, you can separate each ravioli, breaking on the edges like you will do with a chocolate bar. Leave them in the freezer until ready to cook, storing them in a Zip-lock bag if you're not using them soon.

Answer 4

To avoid sogginess, be sure to drain the ricotta through a cheesecloth before mixing with ingredients.

Answer 5

Add breadcrumbs to the filling to absorb excess moisture.

Answer 6

make sure to place the fresh pasta on well floured surface, I actually use semolina as it absorbs the moisture better. good luck!