The 7 Pasta Sins You Don't Realize You're Committing
Many common pasta-cooking practices are based on myths that can lead to poor results, according to chef Filippo de Marchi. Techniques like throwing pasta against the wall or adding oil to water do not improve cooking and can create messes. Proper methods include tasting pasta for doneness, using ample salted water, and retaining some starchy water to help sauce adhere.
- ▪Tossing pasta against the wall to test doneness is ineffective and messy, as it doesn't accurately reflect texture.
- ▪Adding olive oil to pasta water is unnecessary because oil floats and doesn't prevent sticking.
- ▪Salt should be added to pasta water for flavor, not to speed up boiling, as it has minimal effect on boiling point.
- ▪Leaving the lid off the pot prevents boiling over and allows steam to escape during cooking.
- ▪Retaining a small amount of pasta water helps bind the sauce to the noodles for a more cohesive dish.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Pasta is the ultimate culinary safety net. It's the $2 lifesaver that gets dinner on the table in 15 minutes when you're too tired to mess about with cookng. But just because it's a pantry staple doesn't mean you should treat it like an afterthought. Most of the pasta-centric "rules" we've been following for decades are actually based on kitchen myths that do more harm than good. The result? Terrible pasta. And you know that's true.If your sauce keeps slipping off the noodles or your cooking water resembles a failed chemistry project, you need a fresh approach. I'm cutting through the confusion to reveal how professionals manage pasta and a pot of boiling water.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at CNET.
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