How do you keep pasta from sticking to itself after you boil the noodles??

Question

I have been perplexed as to figuring out how to keep spaghetti noodles from getting all stuck together.
Newly divorced dad trying to get back in the swing of cooking!

Answer 1

awww I love watching men cook

I put a little Olive Oil in it and never have a problem with it sticking together..

Answer 2

Add olive oil to the water before you boil the noodles. That is what everyone will most likely tell you. However I find that the pasta sauce will also not stick to the oiled noodle. What has worked for me is to cook the pasta sauce in a large pan. Large enough to fit both the sauce and all of the cooked pasta. After you drain the pasta add all of it directly to the large pan with sauce and turn the noodles until all of them are coated in sauce. If you put hot pasta on a cold plate and spoon sauce on top they will always stick but getting them covered in hot sauce while the noodles are still hot, no problem.

Answer 3

You don't want to rinse the "extra" starch off. This is what makes the sauce adhere to the noodle. You can apply a little olive oil, yes, but the main issue here is that you actually want the noodles to be sticky, so the sauce will stick to them. Toss the noodles with sauce right away and serve them fresh. I'm sure you've had pasta before where there was practically no sauce on the noodles, and a puddle of sauce underneath. That's what happens if you remove the stickiness from the noodles.

Answer 4

You can add 1 TB olive oil along with the salt when the water has just started boiling. I wouldn't do anything differently once you've strained your pasta unless you want it for a cold pasta salad. Otherwise try to use the pasta right away. Coat in your sauce. Or you can just take the pasta right out of the cooking water and add to your sauce, or skillet without using a big colander.

ps. that starchy cooking water will bring everything together when using a sauce, and it will help the pasta stick to whatever your cooking. Just a ladle or two will do. But don't do this if you are using jarred spaghetti sauce.

Answer 5

Cook the pasta to just the right amount, not too soft. Take it off the stove and put it in a colander an the sink and run it in COLD water for about a minute.

This does two things:
1) It washes the starch off the sides of the noodles
2) It cuts out heat and immedeately stops the cooking process (Eventhough you take the pasta off the stove, the pasta will actually stop cooking only when it cools down beyond a certain temperature. You hasten that cooling process by running cold water)

Be sure to loosen the noodles with a serving fork and give the colander a few hard shakes before you take it off the sink, to keep the dish from becoming soggy.

Answer 6

My mother always told me to add a little salt to the water. I also add a tablespoon of oil to the water, bring it to a boil and then add the noodles....handful at a time, returning to boil and stirring constantly.

Best way to test to see if done is still to throw a noodle against the wall. If it sticks, remove the pan from the heat..let stand for a 5 minutes, stir and then strain.

Answer 7

Add a Tablespoon or 2 of oil. However, if you do this, the sauce will not stick to the noodles as well. Just something to keep in mind!

Answer 8

after you finish cooking the pasta rinse it good with cool water.this washes away the starch that causes the pasta to stick together.If you are eating the pasta plain you can toss it with a little olive oil.If you are using the pasta with a sauce don't use any oil on it.The oil will cause to sauce not to stick to the pasta.the sauce will slide right off the pasta.

Answer 9

As mentioned above tossing with olive oil, other oil, or butter will help. Many people believe in rinsing their pasta but some chefs say it's a major no-no. You may find you like to rinse the rotini but the ravioli just gets limp if you do.

Answer 10

Just add some vegetable oil to the water before you put in the pasta

Answer 11

When you first put the water in the pot to boil add a 2 TBSP.
(that is a tablespoon for future notice) in the water, then add the pasta, stir it around ; it will not stick together.