Pasta means "paste" in Italian and refers to the dough made by combining durum wheat flour and semolina with a liquid usually water or milk. The term pasta is used to refer to hundreds of shapes, sizes, thicknesses and colors of pasta. Pasta comes in both dried and fresh forms. Fresh pasta needs to be refrigerated, but dried pasta will last almost indefinitely in a cool dry place in an airtight container. As a rule use light sauces with delicate pastas and heavy sauces with thicker pastas. See individual listings for specific pasta varieties.