How to shop for Fresh Pasta using Japanese

Today, and the 7th of every month is "Fresh Pasta Day" in Japan, which I have previously introduced on City-cost. In honor of the day, let's take a look at some of the Japanese vocabulary associated with Fresh Pasta in Japan.

If you've ever stood in front of the chilled section at a Japanese supermarket wondering which pack is actually fresh pasta, hopefully these few simple Japanese words can make shopping a bit easier. First and foremost, the term for fresh pasta is 生パスタ (nama pasta). "Nama Pasta" is the key term that tells you it’s the fresh, soft kind rather than dried. 

You'll often see specific shapes written in Katakana too. For example:

• フェットチーネ (fettuccine) 
• タリアテッレ (tagliatelle)
• ラビオリ (ravioli)
• ニョッキ (gnocchi) 

Packs labeled ソースセット (sauce set) mean the pasta comes with a ready‑to‑heat sauce, which are handy for quick lunches. Most fresh pasta lives in the 冷蔵コーナー, "reizou ko-na-" meaning the chilled section, usually near pizza dough, tofu, or chilled noodles. The pack might say 冷蔵保存（れいぞうほぞん) "store in the refrigerator" or

要冷蔵（ようれいぞう) "keep refrigerated."

I hope these small Fresh Pasta vocabulary clues makes finding fresh pasta in Japan a little bit easier. Are there any other Fresh Pasta terms you think are useful you'd like to share?