Before starting consider that different types of pasta will cook in a different way. Ribbed pasta (like rigatoni) will attract the dressing better, but a non-ribbed pasta on the other hand will cook more evenly.
Pasta needs boiling water and a saucepan, even the worst cook in the world knows that. But how much water? Well, a lot, consider 1 liter for every 100g. That would be 4 liters for 400g. Pasta needs to swim.
Salt has to be added before adding the pasta, but after the water has started to boil, otherwise it will take longer to reach boiling point. 10 to 1 is the rule here: for every liter of water, 10g of salt. If the sauce contains ingredients with lot of salt, add less.
Unlike what many people think, there's no need to add oil to the water. If the pasta turns out sticky, it means that the its quality was bad, or you used too little water.
When the water has diluted the salt, add the pasta. If you're using spaghetti, refrain from breaking them so they won't stick out. Broken spaghetti are not spaghetti.
Pasta is at room temperature so it will make the boiling stop. This is a very delicate stage: you have to be quick in bringing back the boil, by covering the pan and turning up the heat. When the water is bubbling again, let the steam go out and turn down the heat, but keep it lively.
Stir the pasta a couple of times while it's cooking so it won't stick to the bottom of the pan. For how long should it cook? A great underestimated reference is the packet itself: there you'll find the number of minutes necessary to get pasta al dente (dente means tooth). Al dente means not too soft nor too raw.
Al dente is how pasta should be in the end. Don't overdo, for at least three reasons: pasta won't stop cooking until it's cold, and long before you've finished eating it, it will be like chewing gum; if it's too cooked your stomach will take longer to process it. And finally: this is the way the do it in Italy. Once you become an al dente expert, you can taste it to know when it's time to drain it, using the packet as general guide.
Drain the pasta completely. Keep some cooking water if you need it (it would depend on the recipe). Put it back in the sauce pan with the sauce, and stir vigorously for 2-3 minutes at low heat.
If you're preparing a cold pasta dish (like pasta salad) or you're eating it later at work, you can stop the cooking with cold water, after it's drained.
Pasta needs boiling water and a saucepan, even the worst cook in the world knows that. But how much water? Well, a lot, consider 1 liter for every 100g. That would be 4 liters for 400g. Pasta needs to swim.
Salt has to be added before adding the pasta, but after the water has started to boil, otherwise it will take longer to reach boiling point. 10 to 1 is the rule here: for every liter of water, 10g of salt. If the sauce contains ingredients with lot of salt, add less.
Unlike what many people think, there's no need to add oil to the water. If the pasta turns out sticky, it means that the its quality was bad, or you used too little water.
When the water has diluted the salt, add the pasta. If you're using spaghetti, refrain from breaking them so they won't stick out. Broken spaghetti are not spaghetti.
Pasta is at room temperature so it will make the boiling stop. This is a very delicate stage: you have to be quick in bringing back the boil, by covering the pan and turning up the heat. When the water is bubbling again, let the steam go out and turn down the heat, but keep it lively.
Stir the pasta a couple of times while it's cooking so it won't stick to the bottom of the pan. For how long should it cook? A great underestimated reference is the packet itself: there you'll find the number of minutes necessary to get pasta al dente (dente means tooth). Al dente means not too soft nor too raw.
Al dente is how pasta should be in the end. Don't overdo, for at least three reasons: pasta won't stop cooking until it's cold, and long before you've finished eating it, it will be like chewing gum; if it's too cooked your stomach will take longer to process it. And finally: this is the way the do it in Italy. Once you become an al dente expert, you can taste it to know when it's time to drain it, using the packet as general guide.
Drain the pasta completely. Keep some cooking water if you need it (it would depend on the recipe). Put it back in the sauce pan with the sauce, and stir vigorously for 2-3 minutes at low heat.
If you're preparing a cold pasta dish (like pasta salad) or you're eating it later at work, you can stop the cooking with cold water, after it's drained.
About the Author:
Andrea is passionate about cooking. Cheese and Pears is his blog about Italian food. If you think you know more about pasta after reading this article, start with an easy pasta recipe.
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