I suck at cooking pasta....?

Question

I'm generally a good cook. However, when I cook spaghetti or angel hair pasta, it's disgustingly sticky/starchy. What am I doing wrong? I always add salt and oil as it's cooking. I have read not to rinse it if it's to be served hot. Regardless....I'm always rinsing it to get all the starchy crap off! Help!!!

Answer 1

Worry no more! My "Perfect Pasta Everytime" recipe is the answer to your problem! Enjoy!

PERFECT PASTA EVERYTIME

1 lb. uncooked spaghetti
1 gal. water, rolling boil

Place spaghetti into a deep pot of boiling, salted water. The salt & excess water help to prevent sticking, & allows the starch to cook off. After adding spaghetti, return the water to a rolling boil (do NOT cover with lid). Boil spaghetti for 2 MINUTES EXACTLY, then cover with lid, & remove pot from fire, let set for 5 MINUTES for el dente (firm) spaghetti. Drain, toss with oil or butter—olive oil is best. Or better yet, instead of coating with oil or butter mix in a LITTLE bit of the sauce, because adding oil may keep the sauce from sticking to the pasta.

The same can be done with any type of pasta. Just adjust cooking & standing time according to size & thickness of pasta being cooked.

NOTE: 1 lb. uncooked spaghetti equals 4 servings, or so they say! It really depends on size of the appetite!

TIPS:
Never add salt to pasta water, because it will make the pasta tough.

When draining pasta in a colander heat the colander with hot water first, because a cold colander will make the pasta stick together.

Answer 2

I think you're over cooking it. I only add salt, no oil. Also, I don't rinse my pasta, because there's a lot of bacteria and such in tap water. Unless you have a filter, don't rinse your pasta.

Follow the basic instructions, every two minutes after you drop your pasta in, stir it and try to get as little sticking to each other as possible. Two minutes before the package or pasta recipe indicates that the pasta be done, try it and see if it's done yet. If not, wait another two minutes (the alleged time that it'll be al dente) and check to see if it's done. If it's not to your desire, then give it another 2 minutes and continue testing until you reach your desired texture.

Don't use oil, seriously, unless you the sauce you use afterwards has a large amount of it. Makes the pasta too smooth. Remember, the pasta absorbs moisture, that's why you want it a little sticky if it's dry because the sauce you add will just moisturize the pasta again. If you're using a sauce, you want the pasta to absorb it somewhat! Also in contrast to what another person said earlier, do not add too much salt to the water. The salt WILL NOT season the pasta in the water. The salt (if you remember your chemistry) is used to raise the temperature of the water so that it will boil faster. It may seem like adding a load of salt to the pot to season the pasta makes sense, but many foods you get each day already contain sodium, and you don't want the pasta to absorb the salt, you really won't taste it that much, if you're going to add salt, add it in the sauce. If it's for the water, only add a dash of salt. Sodium and chlorine are two important electrolytes, but you should NEVER EVER over do those two. NEVER! If you want to overdo an electrolyte, try some potassium (gotta love bananas!), you can never get enough of it.

It's not that hard =).

Answer 3

I agree with "mom" and "sfs_onfridays". Add a small amount of oil after you cook it and drain it. Make sure the water is at a rolling boil before you add the pasta. And use a big pot so there is lots of water. I think too little water and/or a too small pot will make it sticky.

More tips: Do not cover the pasta while it is cooking. Keep the heat on high. Don't overcook the pasta: depending on the type, it should only take 8-12 minutes. Make sure you drain the pasta well in a colander. If you do add olive oil, butter, or margarine, don't overdo it. After you drain the pasta, (rinse if you are going to do that), return to the pot or serving dish and add the oil, DO NOT cover the pasta - it will soak up the humidity and lose its texture. You should serve the pasta asap after it is done.

Usually, I only rinse my pasta if I am going to use it as an ingredient in a cold dish, e.g. in a macaroni salad. You do have to drain it adequately.

Answer 4

this happens to a lot of ppl. some people can be gourmet cooks but don't have the "hand" to make noodles/spaghetti/rice etc.
firstly, make sure u put enough (not too much, not too little) water. add the oil while the spaghetti is boiling and don't over boil. some people add the pasta after the water is boiling, while some let the spaghetti and water boil together- it depends on what you think will work for u. also, before cooking the pasta wash the pasta. then, once the pasta is cooked, strain it under cool water! that always seperates them!
hope this helps!

Answer 5

It sounds to me like you are not cooking it in enough water. For a pound of pasta, you need about 6 quarts of water. Add enough salt so that the water tastes like the sea. Once the water is boiling add the pasta.. stir it around for the first couple minutes so it doesn't stick and then cook it until it's just al dente. If you take a piece of linguine or spaghetti out and break it.. you should see just barely a pin dot of white in the center of the pasta. Pull it out then as it will continue to cook after it's out from the carry over heat.

Also, don't add oil to the pasta unless you are putting it in an oil based sauce, like garlic and olive oil. The oil fills the "cuticles" of the pasta (the bronze dies that they use when extruding the pasta leave little slits in the pasta just like your hair) and then the sauce won't stick because it's too smooth and slick.

Answer 6

You don't need to add oil to the water. It doesn't do anything. Just salt the water, add the pasta, cook for about 8 minutes, drain then add it to the sauce that you serving with the pasta, mix it up and you're done! You don't want to rinse the pasta or else the sauce will have nothing to stick to. You want that starch there so the sauce will stick to the pasta. I hope this helped you out a little with your pasta problem. Happy cooking!

Answer 7

When adding oil, use olive oil. But remember, your sauce will not marry as well with your pasta if it has oil on it. If you're not going to serve it right away, rinse in cold water other wise, even out of water, it will continue to cook, thus over cooking it. Just place it back in a hot bath when ready to serve. The only reason to add salt should be to aid in the boiling process. If you're boiling your water at a high temp setting, add a tbs. of butter. This will keep your water from boiling/bubbling out and splattering.

Answer 8

When the water is boiling and you put in the pasta, wait a second to add the salt, DO NOT ADD OIL.
It takes about 8-10 minutes for the pasta to cook thourghly. You don't want to undercook them so always check by eating a piece of the pasta as its cookin. If it tastes bland add some more salt. Once you feel the pasta is cooked you drain the pasta into a strainer then you pour it back into the pot and add some sauce to it. You add the sauce because it allows for the pasta to not get dried...do not add allot of sauce but just enough. stir and enjoy.

Answer 9

If it is sticky, it sounds to me like you are Overcooking the pasta. Make sure you follow the timing directions for al dente pasta, usally printed on the box. Remember, the pasta will continue to cook from the heat even after you drain it, so it may seem a little under done when you take it off of the stove.

I agree, you shouldn't rinse pasta. As another answerer said, make sure the water is at a rolling boil. Another important point is to make sure you use a large pot--if the pot is too small, the pasta will not cook properly and stick to itself.

Answer 10

everyone who said to use lots of water is right. however the oil
in the water is not. DO NOT RINSE PASTA AFTER COOKING,
rinsing the pasta after cooking removes the bit of starch that's
left. you want that cuz it helps the sauce cling to the pasta
remember boiling water . when you add the pasta bring the water back to a rolling boil. when it reaches that point lower the heat so
the water has a soft boil.