2007-03-21 01:27:11 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Food & Drink ➔ Cooking & Recipes
Over cooked pasta is soft and mushy.
In a lot of pasta recipes you'll see, "boil until 'el dente'". That's Italian for, firm to the bite, or something close to that.
What it means is that the pasta should still have some firmness to it when you bite it, not soft and mushy. Here in America, Mac-n-cheese is really popular especially with children and a lot of us think pasta should be cooked until it's soft because that's what we grew up with. Actually pasta is better when it's still got a little firmness to it, it holds it shape better and feels like you're eating something.
Follow the directions on the box for cooking your pasta, when it's boiled as long as the direction says, pull out a piece, let it cool so you don't burn yourself and then sample it. If it's still hard in the very center, let it boil for a few minutes longer and then sample it again.
The actual firmness desired is a little bit of a personal preference so whenever your sample of pasta reaches a consistency that you like, it's done.
Keep in mind that if you're putting your pasta into a sauce and then cooking it more, the pasta will continue to cook and get softer, you may want to get it out of the original pot of water while it's still a bit firm. An example of this is, a casserole style dish that the recipe says to cook the pasta, add it to a casserole pan with other ingredients and then put in the oven for some time.
2007-03-21 01:55:16 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It will have turned into a gummy mess and your pasta water will be almost opaque.
2007-03-21 01:54:43 · answer #2 · answered by Tom ツ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
because it gets too soft like mush
2007-03-24 10:32:25 · answer #3 · answered by bernadette d 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When it's slimy and taste like MUSH!
2007-03-21 01:31:04 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It gets sticky and gummy.
2007-03-21 01:30:58 · answer #5 · answered by rustybones 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it gets all mushy and begins to stick together.
2007-03-21 01:35:53 · answer #6 · answered by quoarrieesmommy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Even my dog doesn't want to eat it !
2007-03-21 01:55:52 · answer #7 · answered by Lifeinblue 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
when its not al dente, it's hard and sticky
2007-03-21 02:15:48 · answer #8 · answered by yungd 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it becomes really really soft
2007-03-21 03:14:17 · answer #9 · answered by Crazy_German 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋