
The pasta will end up oily, and the sauce will just slide off. And by the way, do not add oil to the water. If you’re boiling long strands, push them down gently in the middle to make sure the ends are submerged, too. For every 3 quarts of water, you’ll need 1 tablespoon of kosher salt.Īfter adding the pasta to the boiling water, give it a stir or two (and that should be enough). For 1 pound of pasta, you’ll want to boil 6 quarts of water (though 4 quarts will do if you don’t have a pot large enough). This prevents the pasta from sticking and mostly eliminates the need to stir during cooking. So let’s cover the basics of pasta cooking, regardless of variety. Of course, since pasta shapes, sizes and thicknesses vary widely, the proper cooking time for each pasta variety also varies. What you’re aiming for is al dente, Italian for “to the tooth.” It’s just a way of saying that properly cooked pasta is tender all the way through, but still ever so slightly firm to the bite. Undercook it and the pasta is chalky and tough. Whichever type you’re cooking, you want to make sure you cook your pasta properly. And pasta boasting nooks and crannies - like fusilli - are perfect for sauces with bits of meat and vegetables. Tube-shaped pastas - such as penne, rigatoni and macaroni - team up well with chunky sauces. Pastas in long strands - including spaghetti and linguine - are best paired with smoother sauces. Pasta comes in all sizes and shapes, all of them designed with a purpose. It’s the base of a zillion easy-to-make weeknight meals and the friendly playmate of 2 zillion ingredients, including leftovers.

What’s the one ingredient you should always have in your cupboard? Dried pasta, of course. If the pasta is perfectly cooked and you want to prevent it from cooking any more, splash it with some cold water after you take it out of the pot.Digital Replica Edition Home Page Close Menu If you choose to shock the pasta with some cold water, I see nothing wrong with it. Some culinary experts say you should not rinse the pasta with cold water after you take it out of the pot, because the sauce or dressing will slide off the pasta if you do. It’s a good idea to use a timer to avoid over cooking your pasta.

You can also check to see if the pasta is cooked al dente by breaking the pasta as it cooks. More specifically it means that the texture of cooked pasta is a little chewy when biten, but not excalty soft either. It falls right between undercooked and done. Generally speaking it means that the pasta has been cooked until it is nearly done, but not quite done. You read it in the instructions for cooking pasta, you hear waiters and cooks talk about it but what does it really mean? The term al dente describes a certain amount of doneness acheived when cooking any pasta. Almost everybody that has cooked pasta before has heard of the term “al dente”.
