As I was making spaghetti for the boys the other day (with my jarred sauce, sorry Mom)! I thought about why I make the noodles the way I do. Well of course, that is how my Mom always did it. So here is how I prepare my pasta:
1. Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil.
2. Once boiling, sprinkle salt in the water.
3. Break spaghetti noodles in half and add to the boiling water.
4. Stir and reduce heat to maintain boil.
5. Cook according to package directions.
6. Once done, drain pasta in colander in sink.
7. Rinse with cold water.
8. Scoop pasta into bowl and then top with sauce and grated Parmesan.
Well apparently my Mom has the salt correct, but rinsing pasta is a big “no no”! Who knew? I thought Mom was always right! So here are some tips provided by Fine Cooking on how to cook pasta properly:
To keep pasta from sticking, stir during the first minute or two of cooking
Add salt, but not oil. A generous amount of salt in the water seasons the pasta internally as it absorbs liquid and swells.
Hot pasta absorbs more sauce. Toss hot pasta with hot sauce quickly—without rinsing it—so the pasta absorbs more sauce and flavor.
What to do? Rinse or not to rinse?
My mom always made homemade sauce too. I still do, but will use jarred sauce in a pinch. I also rinse my pasta with cold water. Once again that's how my mom did it. I don't break mine in half before cooking it though. My mom never broke her's. Strange how we continue to cook like we were taught. My daughter also cooks like I taught her. She rinses her pasta.
ReplyDeleteI am married to an Italian (moved to US after we got married) and have learned to make so many wonderful dishes. I have also had my mother-in-law live with us for months at a time. The number 1 rule they taught me was NEVER rinse the pasta. Oh, did I get scolded the first time.
ReplyDeleteThe reason you don't rinse the pasta is that you want the extra starch on the pasta to help blend with the flavors in the sauce. Infact, for some dishes, like Pesto, you take some of the boiling water just before pouring out pasta to add to the sauce.