Post by outlook on Jul 8, 2023 15:17:38 GMT -5
don't break spaghetti... unless maybe it's gonna be eaten by a little kid or someone who physically can't manage whole noodles.
when i was a kid, i remember there being a big blue, Fiesta-ware salt shaker that was always right by or on the stove. was told to always salt pasta water... we never called it pasta... just spaghetti/noodles... maybe macaroni. the "cook" that day would take that blue shaker and give it 3-4 shakes. it wasn't until MANY years later that i realized that was an exercise in futility.
now i put several XL pinches in... 1-2 TBSP. most of that salt goes down the drain when pasta goes thru the colander but pasta with little/no salt in cooking water... well, it has no flavor.
no oil in pasta water. it doesn't keep pasta from clumping together one bit. when pasta is first put into already boiling/SALTED water, it needs a little stirring at the beginning to make sure it's separated. almost all oil in pasta water goes right down the drain along with the salt. what doesn't drain away keeps your sauce from coating your pasta.
i am not the best judge of how much pasta to cook and it's not unusual for me to have way more than i need. i put it in zip bag and into freezer. to refresh... into well-salted, simmering water, until it separates. no need for any additional cooking time.
and there's no saving over-cooked pasta. even higher priced brands of dried pasta is relatively inexpensive. that post of pasta that you forgot was on the stove and is cook way beyond death... toss it and learn your lesson!
when i was a kid, i remember there being a big blue, Fiesta-ware salt shaker that was always right by or on the stove. was told to always salt pasta water... we never called it pasta... just spaghetti/noodles... maybe macaroni. the "cook" that day would take that blue shaker and give it 3-4 shakes. it wasn't until MANY years later that i realized that was an exercise in futility.
now i put several XL pinches in... 1-2 TBSP. most of that salt goes down the drain when pasta goes thru the colander but pasta with little/no salt in cooking water... well, it has no flavor.
no oil in pasta water. it doesn't keep pasta from clumping together one bit. when pasta is first put into already boiling/SALTED water, it needs a little stirring at the beginning to make sure it's separated. almost all oil in pasta water goes right down the drain along with the salt. what doesn't drain away keeps your sauce from coating your pasta.
i am not the best judge of how much pasta to cook and it's not unusual for me to have way more than i need. i put it in zip bag and into freezer. to refresh... into well-salted, simmering water, until it separates. no need for any additional cooking time.
and there's no saving over-cooked pasta. even higher priced brands of dried pasta is relatively inexpensive. that post of pasta that you forgot was on the stove and is cook way beyond death... toss it and learn your lesson!
