Debunking pasta myths: Tips for perfect, non‑sticky noodles
Soft and flexible pasta tastes great even without sauce. It's not true that good additions can always save overcooked spaghetti. Sometimes, weak pasta can ruin the entire dish. Therefore, it's important to remember a few simple tips to make your dish perfect.
9:32 PM EDT, October 25, 2024
Cooking pasta seems like the easiest thing in the world. However, there's no shortage of experts offering advice like, "To prevent pasta from sticking, add a tablespoon of oil to the water." This is one of the most frequently repeated myths. Oil added during cooking will always float to the top and won't improve the condition of sticky strands. The key factor is maintaining the right proportions.
Why does pasta stick?
Pasta sticks because it contains starch, which starts to stick when cooked in hot water. Wheat pasta contains about 60-70 percent starch, so it's no wonder it's most prone to sticking.
Special care should be taken with regular wheat pasta with egg additives. The strands you usually cook for broth are very thin and delicate, so even a delay of half a minute can lead to disastrous results.
Less sticky durum wheat
Today, most pasta is made from durum wheat, which is harder and contains more gluten than white wheat. Gluten is responsible for the elasticity of the strands, so this pasta – even when cooked a little longer than recommended on the package – should not turn into mush. Durum wheat pasta has a characteristic yellow color.
Too little water – the ideal proportions are 3.5 oz of pasta per 34 fl oz of water. To ensure accuracy, it's helpful to use a kitchen scale.
Cold water – you might be adding the pasta before the water in the pot begins simmering. It's worth waiting a little longer. The longer the pasta stays in the water, the more it releases a sticky substance.
Exceeded cooking time—It's advisable to stick to the time recommended for cooking pasta al dente. This is especially important if you plan to mix it with olive oil or sauce, which will soften it a little more.
How to save sticky pasta?
Everyone occasionally exceeds the recommended cooking time or hastily throws in a few more strands. Fortunately, there are simple tricks to save sticky pasta, provided it hasn't turned into total mush yet.
You can pour the drained pasta with oil – this is when this hack makes sense. Mixing pasta with sauce also works. We do not recommend rinsing spaghetti with water. Italians never do that.
