What is the best way to cook spaghetti to prevent it from drying up and sticking?

Question

After cooking the spaghetti, is it better to keep it without the sauce until serving or add the sauce after draining the pasta? I don't want it to dry up or stick together. Thanks

Answer 1

nothing tastes better than next day italian food, spaghetti being one of them....if you add just a little sauce to coat the pasta to keep it from sticking till you serve it...lots of people don't reccomend adding oil to the water or to the noodles after cooking, because it prevents the sauce from sticking to the noodles, you wind up with all the sauce on the plate instead of on the noodles...I know, I know, lots of people will be like, NO my grandmother always added oil to the water.....No, not everyone agrees with that...My mother and grandmother were full blooded Florence Italy Italian, and never added oil to either the pot or the noodles....always a little sauce to the pasta to keep it from sticking.....

Answer 2

I work at an italian grocery store-we sell many high quality pasta's I reccomend using the best pasta(italian) you can find- also bronze dyed pasta has a rougher texture and will help make the sauces hold better to the pasta (most us pasta uses a tephalon dye which creates a smooth surface thus sauces dont adher well. last cooking time is very important- start tasting the past 1-2 minutes before you think it's done Al Dente is what you want firm and a bit chewy. you can throw a dash of olive oil on the pasta after you have drained it! Buon appetito!

Answer 3

I always boil my spaghetti with about a half a cup of olive oil in the water. When you stir the pasta during cooking it will coat the spaghetti and helps keep it from sticking afterward. You can also add a little butter or margarine afterward if you like, but usually that will solidify in the fridge which will cause the spaghetti to clump up.

Answer 4

The starch from the pasta is what makes it stick together. The key element is the amount of water. If you try to cook a pound of pasta in a small sauce pan (even if it fits) the pasta is going to stick together. Try an experiment: Cook a half pound of pasta in the largest pot that you have full of water (don't add any oil). As long as you have enough water, you will never have sticky pasta again

Answer 5

Have your sauce ready before you cook the pasta.

When the pasta is done cooking, drain it quickly! Give is a few shakes in the collindar and add it immediately to the sauce.

You dont need oil. It ruins the patsa by coating it. Once coated, it wont absorb the sauce. Fresh, clean pasta will absorb the sauce and it's wonder flavor!

Want to try something diferent? Try cooking your pasta in red wine! It will turn burgandy in color from the wine and have a delicious subtle wine taste to enhance the flavor of the sauce!

2 buck chuck is great for this!

Answer 6

Hi, my prefrence is to put olive oil, a couple of capfuls during the boiling process. If you dont have olive oil, any oil like vegetable or whatever cooking oil you may have on hand. When I go to drain it, it is usually not stuck together and stays fairly moist if I should leave it in the collander, but try to serve right away to keep from eating cold spaghetti. Hope this helps!

Answer 7

Your timing is off. The culinary rule is that the sauce must always wait for the pasta, not the other way around.

If you are talking in terms of serving pasta hot, as part of a buffet service, you under cook the pasta by a good minute, drain it and toss it lightly with oil. Then you take up one serving's-worth of pasta, in a good-sized strainer, and plunge the strainer back into a pot of boiling water, to heat it through. Drain it well, sauce it and serve the individual portion. The pasta itself will have continued to cook after it was originally drained.

Answer 8

Boiling with oil is a myth. Most (99%) of the oil will drain out with the water. The trick is to NOT rinse the pasta, and then immediately toss it with a couple of tablespoons of oil. Then you can serve it however you like. I prefer a lot of sauce, and a little pasta. My girlfriend is just the opposite.

Answer 9

first off i am a chef, so trust me on this. for a pound of spag use four quarts of water and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and a pinch of kosher salt, boil it until it is tender probably 12-15 min dont rinse the pasta because the sauce wont stick to it that well. enjoy!

Answer 10

add a little butter or margarine to your pasta after it is cooked and it won't dry out. My preference is to warm the pasta sauce and serve it on the side because everybody doesn't like the same amount.