Debunking the Top 10 Myths About Pasta

Everything you always wanted to know about pasta (but were afraid to ask)
It seems like one of the easiest things in the world to cook: You boil some water, throw in some pasta, set the timer for the minutes indicated on the package, add a little oil to keep it from sticking, the buzzer rings and voila! It's done. Throw it onto some plates, ladle lots of sauce on top and you have dinner. Simple, right? And yet, in my opinion, there is no worse mistake in Italian food than soggy, overcooked pasta (and it's far too common). Misconceptions about pasta and the best way to cook it still abound, while methods and tips that Italians consider common knowledge might be news to many.

1. If you don't add oil to the cooking water, the pasta will stick together.

Actually, all adding oil to the water does is prevent the sauce from sticking to the pasta...and waste oil. Neither of these are things you want to happen. All you need to ensure that the pasta doesn't stick together while it cooks is to a) make sure that there is plenty of water in the pot (see #2), b) give it a good stir or two just after adding it to the water (and occasional stirs during cooking if it's long strands), and c) make sure the water is at a rolling boiling when you add the pasta (see #3).
Cut down a bit of your belly every day by using this 1 weird old tip.
Cut down a bit of your belly every day by using this 1 weird old tip.

2. You don't need a lot of extra cooking water

Actually, you do. Recommendations vary, but generally run from 4 to 6 quarts of water for every pound of (dried or fresh) pasta. Why? Well, first of all it helps keep your pieces of pasta from sticking together (see #1), giving them more room to dance around without bumping into each other, so to speak. It also dilutes the starches released by the pasta more, so that you don't get a really gluey pasta water that, again, can cause sticking. The great cooking science guru Harold McGee has conducted experiments cooking pasta not only in minimal amounts of water, but starting it in cold water (see #3), with mixed results (To read about his tests, see: http://www. times.com/2009/02/25/dining/25curi.html). He concluded that he could (and would) indeed cook pasta in just a few cups of cold water, but the greats of Italian cookery that he invited to join in his experiments, Marcella Hazan and Lidia Bastianich, were not quite convinced, and I am inclined to agree with them. It is worth the extra time it might take to boil a few extra cups of water if optimal taste and texture are important to you.

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