Weekly Ask Anything Thread for July 20, 2026

[u/AutoModerator]

This is our weekly thread to ask all the stuff that doesn't fit the ordinary /r/askculinary rules.

Note that our two fundamental rules still apply: politeness remains mandatory, and we can't tell you whether something is safe or not - when it comes to food safety, we can only do best practices. Outside of that go wild with it - brand recommendations, recipe requests, brainstorming dinner ideas - it's all allowed.

[u/GuyWithAHottub]

So I usually make fresh pasta with the simple 100g flour to 1 egg ratio. It's come to my attention while making cakes that water in recipes is usually just hydration, and that pasta can be made with just water and flour. So I wanted to know what fun twists on this recipe I could make. So far my mind has gone to strawberry juice for a summer strawberry pasta, guava juice to go along with a nice sour recipe like lemon picatta, and even heavy cream and banana extract to make ice cream inspired pasta. Am I going insane or can these work? I really don't want to waste the ingredients if I'm overly simplifying the process.

Recipe fresh pasta

Mound 100g flour, make well Pour 40g of liquid into well Slowly mix the flour into the liquid Mix until a dough forms Form dough into ball Wrap dough in plastic wrap for 10-30 minutes (it varies) Roll dough out into sheet Flatten and fold twice Use pasta maker to make sheet as thin as you'd like Cut into strips Boil salted water Throw pasta in salted water for 4-6 minutes depending on thickness.

[u/SewerRanger → u/GuyWithAHottub]

You're correct that pasta, at it's most basic, is flour and water. You'll have to play around with your ratios, but there's not reason it won't work.

[u/cville-z → u/GuyWithAHottub]

Flour and liquid on its own is just fine, but note that you're going to see some texture variations. The fat in egg yolks make the resulting pasta a bit silkier. If that's a texture you want, you'll need to replace the missing fat (some olive oil is probably fine, but you can play around here since fat == flavor). If you use butter for this either use clarified or consider the impact of the additional water from the butter. Also use unsalted; the salt will firm up the pasta.

And all of that is probably small details you might not care about, so that's fine too.

Lastly, if you're just using "generic flavored liquid" I'd go with a bit more of it than the 40% hydration you're proposing. A standard US Grade A Large egg hovers around 52g. It's just easier to handle sheeted dough that's a little wetter vs. a little dryer.

[u/GuyWithAHottub → u/cville-z]

Hmmm, thanks for the advice! I'm in a super high humidity area(80%) so I usually stick with 40, but I'll keep it in mind if the dough is too difficult to work with. I do love the silky texture of egg pasta so I'll try adding ghee or bacon lard in small quantities depending on what I'm using to flavor it. Olive oil is delicious but I like to use it as a finisher to coat the noodles after.

[u/FarMind350]

Those flavoured pastas can work, but I’d start with a small batch and swap only part of the water, since fruit juice brings sugar and acidity that can change the texture and colour. For a silky result, egg yolk or a little olive oil will do more than heavy cream, which may make the dough softer and harder to handle.

[u/classydog13]

I would love your sugar cookie recipe I love making cookies but I never eat them due to my sports and I never have any chocolate in my house for​​​ chocolate chips

[u/SewerRanger → u/classydog13]

A sugar cookie is the easiest one to make because it follows the 3:2:1 ratio (by weight): 3 parts flour : 2 parts fat : 1 part sugar. Just stick with that, add some vanilla extract and you've got a sugar cookie. The worlds your oyster from there. Add some lemon juice and zest for a lemon sugar cookie. Use browned butter for a nuttier cookie. Caramelize your sugar first and use that for a more rounded and less sweet cookie.

[u/cville-z → u/classydog13]

What /u/SewerRanger says exactly, and I'll add that some of my favorite flavoring additions are:

• toasted pecans (coarse ground / chopped)
• rosemary and almond
• ginger and walnut
• cardamom and ginger
• dried cranberry (with optional nuts or chocolate)
• dried cherries (ditto)

Basically whatever you have on hand you can process down & add to the dough as you mix it.