Today, I am going to share tips that I have learned about cooking one of my favorite foods – pasta. I often hear from people who have problems cooking pasta. Whether it is over-cooked, under-cooked, or stuck together, some people struggle with cooking pasta.
Be There
First of all, 90% of cooking pasta is simply being there! By tending to the pasta, you’ll be able to do the only test available to judge its doneness: to taste.
Not Created Equal
All pasta is not created equal. The best pasta is made of 100% semolina (the label will say durum – wheat semolina or semolina). Pasta made from durum wheat retains their shape and firmness while cooking. When cooked properly, they do not get mushy or sticky. Pasta that is not made with semolina produces a softer noodle, so use these pastas for casserole-style dishes. Noodles are the only pasta products made with egg solids.
Substitutions
You may substitute for another type of pasta in recipes, but if you want to use another type, remember that, as a general rule, it is best to substitute one pasta type with another of similar characteristics. It is important to match the shapes of the pasta to the sauce. Flat or long pasta is best with thin sauces; other short shapes have nooks and crannies to catch pieces of chunkier sauces.
Helpful Cooking Tips
Most dried pasta doubles in volume when cooked. The general rule is one pound of dry or fresh pasta serves four as a main course.
- 4 ounces of uncooked pasta (elbow macaroni, shells, rotini, wheels, penne, or ziti) = 1 cup dried pasta = 2 1/2 cups cooked pasta.
- 4 ounces of uncooked pasta (spaghetti, angel hair, vermicelli, fettuccine, or linguine) = a 1-inch diameter bunch of dry pasta = 2 cups cooked pasta.
Don’t Overcrowd
Use a pot large enough to accommodate the pasta without crowding. A too-small pot and too little water encourage the pasta to clump and stick together, thus cooking unevenly. Pasta needs room to move freely as it cooks. For one pound of pasta, use nothing smaller than a six-quart pot.
Be Patient
Bring the water to a full, rolling boil before adding pasta. When you add pasta to water that has not reached the boiling point, the starch dissolves and acts like glue, making the strands stick together.
Time Your Salt
Salting the water makes pasta taste better by bringing out the natural flavor of the pasta to create a well-seasoned dish. Do not add your salt until the water has come to a full boil! There are two reasons for this:
- First, unsalted water has a lower boiling point than salted water, so it will come to a boil faster.
- Second, salt dissolves faster in hot water. Un-dissolved salt crystals in cold water can mar the surface of your stainless-steel pots with dots or pits.
Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of sea or kosher (coarse) salt per pound of pasta. Most of the salt drains off with the water. NOTE: If you are on a sodium-restricted diet, please follow your doctor’s orders before adding salt.
Adding Oil?
Never add oil to the pasta cooking water. The oil coats the pasta and prevents the sauce from adhering to it when you put the entire dish together.
Cooking
Add the pasta, all at once, to the boiling salted water. Stir the pasta until it has become submerged in the water, then cover the pot until the water returns to the boil. When the water boils, uncover the pot and finish cooking. Stir the pasta two or three times throughout the cooking process.
Start timing when the water returns to a boil. Don’t rely on the package to give you the correct cooking time (this is only a guideline). If preparing pasta for baked dishes, it should be boiled until just flexible but still quite firm (about a 1/3 of the suggested cooking time). Otherwise, cook the pasta to the ‘al dente’ state. The only way to judge this is by tasting. Pasta should be tender but still firm – not soft, overdone, or have a hard center.
Carryover Cooking
Once it reaches “al dente,” immediately remove the pot from the heat. Add 1 cup of COLD water to lower the temperature of hot water and stop the cooking. Remember there will be a small amount of carryover cooking between the time you remove the pasta from the stove and combine it with the sauce.
Drain immediately into a large colander standing in the sink and shake it to remove excess water.
Rinsing Pasta?
Never rinse pasta. When you rinse pasta, you’re washing away most of the starches and nutrients that you were seeking to enjoy in the first place. EXCEPTION: Rinse the wide pasta, such as lasagna noodles. If you don’t, you will have a hard time separating the noodles without tearing them. Also, rinse when making a cold pasta salad. The thin coat of starch on the pasta will be sticky when cold.
How Much Sauce?
Many people drown their pasta in too much sauce. The Italian way is to toss pasta with just enough sauce to coat it without leaving a big pool on the plate.
Pasta should be prepared just before serving. Be attentive. Taste, and learn when pasta has cooked to the consistency that you like. Follow these easy steps, and you’ll develop a reputation as a pasta guru. Ciao down!
Written by Vicki Hayman, MS, University of Wyoming Extension Nutrition and Food Safety Educator