I've seen people rinse spaghetti in cold water after it's been cooked, and some boxes tell you not to, just wondering why you would do it in the first place.
2007-06-22 05:17:04 · 18 answers · asked by Jess 2 in Food & Drink ➔ Cooking & Recipes
Even though you have removed the pasta from the water, the heat inside it continues to cook the pasta. If you don't shock it with cold water to stop the cooking, the pasta will go past the 'al dente' stage and can become overcooked.
2007-06-22 05:20:13 · answer #1 · answered by Shelly M 1 · 4⤊ 1⤋
I would only rinse spaghetti (or any other pasta) if I'm making a cold pasta dish. It helps cool the noodles down so that the heat doesn't conflict with the rest of the ingredients - like mayo for example, will separate if it gets hot. Other than that, the directions say not to rinse it because it stops the cooking process. If you cook pasta to al dente, it's still a little uncooked in the middle, and the heat will cook it all the way through and make it perfectly tender for serving.
2007-06-22 05:21:30 · answer #2 · answered by MILF 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You identify the consistency of the spaghetti at the outset and cook until that consistency is reached. If you continue to cook then the spaghetti consistency will continue to change becoming more and more "mushy" overcooked till it disintegrates.
When you reach the desired consistency, you remove the spaghetti from the hot water and rinse it with cold water to arrest the cooking process to the desired consistency.
Summary: remove the spaghetti from hot water and rinse it in cold water to help keep the spaghetti consistency at the level you desire.
Rule: cold water maintains the spaghetti consistency
2007-06-22 05:51:28 · answer #3 · answered by Kat G 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you don't rinse spaghetti, it is starchy and sticky. Also, any that is not eaten right away will glue together and be unusuable. Cool water works best. Hot water doesn't make a complete rinse and cold water... well just makes the pasta too cold. Hot sauce and warm pasta. Yumm.
2016-04-01 11:53:13 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Rinsing the pasta gets rid of some of the starch. It keeps the pasta from sticking together.
It is recommended that you do not rinse pasta because the starch not only adds flavor it helps any sauces to stick (for lack of a better word at the moment) to the pasta a bit.
2007-06-22 05:21:42 · answer #5 · answered by ~~∞§arah T∞©~~ 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I've never heard of rinsing spaghetti?? i used to work with Italians..they never rinsed theirs..it takes out all the good vitamins that your body needs, and plus who wants cold spaghetti?!?..I guess you would do it for maybe a cold pasta dish?
2007-06-22 05:30:16 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
To stop the cooking process and remove starch...I would not suggest it unless making a cold pasta salad.
2007-06-22 05:26:28 · answer #7 · answered by Ridiculous 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
to rinse off the extra starch still clinging to the pasta from being cooked out of it.
2007-06-22 05:25:32 · answer #8 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You don't rinse it if you are using a hot sauce (such as marinara) because you want the pasta to soak in the sauce and stick to it.
You do rinse it if you are using it for any other reason...pasta salads, and so forth.
I heard it from Rachael Ray.
2007-06-22 05:36:28 · answer #9 · answered by elizabeth110dfw 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It halts the heat in the noodles from continuing to cook them and ruining the texture and the flavor.
2007-06-22 12:51:42 · answer #10 · answered by kdon752003 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋