How to cook pasta

"True or False? Breaking long pasta into shorter pieces makes it easier to eat." TRUE!

"If spaghetti were better short, it would have been made that way!" WRONG!
Break the spaghetti in half. IT WILL BE THE PERFFECT LENGTH TO TWIRL ONTO YOUR FORK!

"Plus, broken strands are hard to eat since they’re not long enough to twirl onto a fork." WRONG!Again, Break the spaghetti in half. IT WILL BE THE PERFFECT LENGTH TO TWIRL ONTO YOUR FORK!

I WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREE WITH MEG! (ON SUN. SEPT. 25TH).
THAT'S THE ONLY WAY TO COOK PASTA! ANY SHAPE OR SIZE. HOWEVER THE ANGEL HAIR AND THIN SPAGHETTI WILL NEED LOOKING AT AND TESTING IN 6 - 7 MINUTES OR SO.
THE OTHER LARGER, STURDIER SHAPES WILL TAKE ABOUT 10 MINUTES OF THE TURNED-OFF HEAT BUT COVERED AND ON THE SAME BURNER. PERFECTION ALL THE TIME. JUST STIR BEFORE PLACING INTO THE COLANDER.

WE HAVE BEEN DOING THAT FOR YEARS AND YEARS AND NEVER A PROBLEM. NO STANDING AND WATCHING AND TESTING. THIS IS THE BEST WAY. TRY IT. YOU'LL LIKE IT.

You can say all you want, but properly prepared pasta tastes best the next day after the sauce
REALLY soaks the pasta through and through.

Restaurants that serve hot past with a clump of sauce on top should not be allowed to serve pasta
at all. The pasta is eaten immediately before the true flavor of the sauce penetrates the pasta.
UGH. Of course I am of Italian descent.

great comments! do you really that much salt though???

Wow! talk about throwing an article together to meet a deadline. So let me get this straight, Add more water than pasta and cook until tender. All these years I've been cooking the pasta first then adding the water.

I always rinse pasta after cooking. Hot water for pour over sauces....cold for salads and baked dishes.

yemmmmiiii

Most pasta into boiling water says add salt, pasta that is hard, not already cooked....but remember salt is what adds the foam on top.

You don't add oil to the water to keep the pasta from sticking.. You add oil (like a teaspoon) to keep the water from foaming and boiling over... You can maintain a high rolling boil and not have to deal with boil over this way. A slight film on the top of the water breaks up the bubbles...

Everyone knows pasta tastes best the next day.

thank you! this answered a lot of questions for me. very helpful.

Depending on the maker of certain pastas, as most pastas are cooked for about 10min. w/constant stiring. I disagree about not ading at least a table spoon and and a half of olive oil...it not onyl keeps the pasta firm, but also helps the pasta from sticking together and becoming gummy! A quick rinse of cold water on the pasta in the colonder also keeps the pasta from becoming gummy. Yes! The sooner you add your gravy to the pasta in a large serving bowl, it will prevent the pasta from gumming. My Mom did exactly this and then had each of us add as much gravy as each of us prefered! Always make sure you pre bake meatballs in your oven, then drain off accumulated grease using paper towel. As for Italian sweet sausage, neverthrow this delicous product in your sauce while cooking same...you can either microwave the sausage for about 3 mins., depending on the amout being used, (usually do this for 1lb. of sweet sausage), then, once again, using paper toweling, remove excess grease before adding same w/two cloves of garlic to your red, delicous sauce. Believe me, the meatballs and sweet Italian sausage adds to the flavor of your sauce. Preparing Sauce: For every #2 can of strained plum tomatoes (using 2 cans ), stir in a small can of tomato paste; adding a half teaspoon of sugar; a pinch of salt,(half teaspoon & a pinch of pepper..same amt.). Sauce simmer on a low burner for several hours before turning it up to a higher level of heat; doing this will extract the excess greas fro the sausage and meatballs, allowing you to skim off the graese w/a spoon for discarding! ENJOY!

Depending on the maker of certain pastas, as most pastas are cooked for about 10min. w/constant stiring. I disagree about not ading at least a table spoon and and a half of olive oil...it not onyl keeps the pasta firm, but also helps the pasta from sticking together and becoming gummy! A quick rinse of cold water on the pasta in the colonder also keeps the pasta from becoming gummy. Yes! The sooner you add your gravy to the pasta in a large serving bowl, it will prevent the pasta from gumming. My Mom did exactly this and then had each of us add as much gravy as each of us prefered! Always make sure you pre bake meatballs in your oven, then drain off accumulated grease using paper towel. As for Italian sweet sausage, neverthrow this delicous product in your sauce while cooking same...you can either microwave the sausage for about 3 mins., depending on the amout being used, (usually do this for 1lb. of sweet sausage), then, once again, using paper toweling, remove excess grease before adding same w/two cloves of garlic to your red, delicous sauce. Believe me, the meatballs and sweet Italian sausage adds to the flavor of your sauce. Preparing Sauce: For every #2 can of strained plum tomatoes (using 2 cans ), stir in a small can of tomato paste; adding a half teaspoon of sugar; a pinch of salt,(half teaspoon & a pinch of pepper..same amt.). Sauce simmer on a low burner for several hours before turning it up to a higher level of heat; doing this will extract the excess greas fro the sausage and meatballs, allowing you to skim off the graese w/a spoon for discarding! ENJOY!

To those of you complaining about the fact that this isn't news...um, its a blog, geniuses, not a news column. In fact, Yahoo is a search engine, not a news site. All yahoo does is link to news sites for coverage. So if you want genuine news coverage, here's a thought... GO TO A NEWS SITE. These are not hard things.

The Italian cook, Marcella Hazen, suggestion at the beginning of the article.

"A colander should be sitting in the sink so the pasta can be drained the very instant it’s cook".

TRUE OR FALSE FURTHER IN THE ARTICLE..
"True or False? Rinse pasta after cooking and draining.
This will make the pasta cold and rinse away the starch that helps bind the sauce to it.

Sorry but I am confused. RINSE OR NOT????

True about the colander in the sink ready to go. Drain into a bowl, cool, and throw onto your compost pile. If you let the pasta water go down the drain, you will eventually clog your pipes.

Love ya, Rachael Ray. Never lose that megawatt smile!! :)

I put a little oil in the pot. Not to keep the pasta from sticking, but it actually keeps the pot from boiling over!

I found this very interesting I love cooking pasta and making sauce getting new ways to make sauce is always a new taste for my family to try. thanks

If you are throwing pasta at a wall to check if it is done, you need more help with your cooking than a Yahoo article is prepared to provide.

Not since I was a kid did I boil my pasta that way! Amatuers! Add salt before the boil. The water should be salty or the pasta will not get the salt taste. Once cooked no going back. Bring water to a boil and add pasta. Mix pasta with water until it is 'loose' and starts boiling again(about 30 seconds to a minute). Turn down heat to simmer and stir until it stops boiling. Leave pasta alone until it is ready to eat. Some people drain it. I prefer to take out what I want to eat.