It won’t stick together like that if you actually wait for the water to come to a proper boil before you add the pasta
For small portions that probably will work. Plenty of times I’ve put pasta in only to have it stick if I don’t stir a little in the first minute or two. There’s just not enough room for the boiling to agitate the pasta enough to prevent sticking.
I think all you really need is a Knorr chicken stock cube.
For spaghetti? That kind of seems like a waste of a stock cube since most of that water is just going to get dumped at the end
It’s a meme. Supposed master chef Marco Pierre white was chilling for Knorr and made a video advocating this
Yeah, but he’s putting stock in the sauce not just throwing it into the water for boiling the pasta though
yes, this is the answer! patience! a proper boil that stays boiling until the pasta is done. no sticking ever. salt and oil are never needed in the cooking water.
You should still be salting your water. It does nothing to prevent the pasta sticking, but it does make it taste better.
I thought it was a texture thing. Otherwise, you could just add some salt to your sauce.
It’s not the same effect. Then the sauce will be salted, and the pasta will maybe absorb some of that salt.
But, in my opinion, that’s an inelegant solution.
I personally do not want any more salt in the pasta sauce than what’s already in there. I do, however, want my pasta to take in a little salt from the water.
For those reasons, I add a little salt to my water as it’s boiling
It changes the way the pasta itself tastes, and is very different from adding it it the sauce.
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I use 2 tablespoons per pound of pasta.
Knorr salt bullions sounds like a missed oppo.
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Seawater is two teaspoons salt per cup of water. That’s a little more than half a cup of salt per gallon of water. That is an unhealthy amount of salt.
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Damn, you guys are missing out.
I read that quote regularly. Any clue who it originates from? I think it’s a romantic overstatement and does not hold as a general pasta rule. Salty pasta water is needed when you use a sauce or a pesto that has little salt in it. However, when using a particularly salty sauce or pesto, your end result can easily turn out too salty, if you put too much salt in the pasta water. When I make japanese miso-butter pasta for example, I don’t put any salt in the boiling water, because combined with the miso-butter, that would make the end result way too salty.
For fresh pasta yes, dried you don’t need as much salt
Pasta water should be as salty as the sea, and it has nothing to do with sticking.
I’ll give you half as salty as the sea. not full hog
Nooo. You need the perfect amount of water so it reabsorbs it’s own juices. Succulent Cannibalism.
A bit of oil helps too
Oil that floats to the top of the water? Don’t see that helping much
All the oil is doing is helping the pan not boil over while on a high heat as it makes the formation of bubbles at the surface more difficult. So… it kind of helps because you can cook more easily at a high heat but yeah it does nothing for the pasta.
And of course as long as your cooking pot is large enough and you are actually being present, then there shouldn’t be any risk of it boiling over and thus no need for any oil.
I think your comment is the source of a lot of people’s problems with sticking pasta. If there pots aren’t big enough and stove not powerful enough, a large amount of pasta can cool the water enough to stop the boiling and the pasta will stick if not stirred.
It eventually gets absorbed by the pasta and makes it creamier. Unless you have too much water.
Cooking pasta correctly is an art, but there are some basic rules to follow if you want consistent results.
If you want to avoid this situation in particular, take the pasta out just before it’s done along with about 1/4 cup of the water and add both to your sauce and finish cooking the pasta there. You’ll end up with pasta that is cooked perfectly with a sauce that readily adheres to each noodle and no stickyness
This is the way. Once I learned the pasta water trick, I never looked back.
This shouldn’t happen unless you overcook your pasta. When the water starts boiling, toss in some salt and then the pasta. Wait for length of time on the pasta package. Then remove from heat and drain. If it still gets sticky, buy a better quality pasta.
If you cook with less water, you need to stir.
I have never once oiled my pasta water. I have also never once had my pasta stick. Just add enough water, boil, salt, pasta. Cook til it’s done, I literally never stir the pasta. Test for texture every so often. Drain, save some water for marrying with the sauce better.
Edit cool -> cook ty autocorrect.
Save the rest of water to make risotto next day.
Not the way I salt my water… Yuck
I’ve never oiled my pasta water before. It’s really simple: use the minumum amount of water to fully boil the pasta, salt the water, wait until the water comes to a full boil, then put the pasta in, regular spaghetti takes about 6-7 minutes to become al dente.
Oil the pasta after you strain it is the way you prevent it from sticking together.
If you use the minimum and precise amount of water, water will be completely evaporated when pasta is done, so you won’t have to strain. I don’t know why, but this makes pasta so much tasteful.
It’s saltier because all the salt you added is now on the pasta instead of a bunch starting in the water and going down the drain when you strain it
Yeah but also has like another taste (I don’t salt much)… Maybe starch or something?
Gluten free pasta is much worse. If you don’t stir it a lot for the first 3-4 minutes it WILL stick together.
Never had pasta stick in the boiling water, dunno what some people are doing to their pasta here. Best thing is just taking it right from the boiling water to the sauce before it’s done, add some pasta water in there, last thing toss a bit of olive oil in. Throw basil on top to serve if extra fancy.
Noodles are tasty
That’s all I know, and at this point I’m afraid to learn more
I’m
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About with what others have said, you should not stir it so often or you damage it! Usually I stir it only about twice during the boil.
I swear, it doesn’t matter what I try, pasta always sucks. Doesn’t matter if I constantly stir, add oil, anything. It always sticks.
Your pasta water should be salty as ocean water. It’ll help.
It won’t stick if you pour some olive oil after filtering it. Two liters should do
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Albin kinda rhymes with Italian so it must be true
Everything is an illusion bro… 🫣
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It’s really about flavor, not some magic chemistry. The noodles absorb what’s in the water as they cook.
Oily noodles don’t fuse with the sauce that well. If you want olive oil flavor in your dish, add it after tossing the noodles in the sauce.
Who said oily? A small amount, like a teaspoon, of EVOO in a giant pot and you’re good.
I’ve always done the salt and prob a tablespoon of vegetable oil (yeah I’m a pleb). usually make my own sauce or will add simmered vegetables to a store bought base.
I don’t like vegetable oils if I am using a tomato sauce–I don’t think it goes well together. If I’m doing Mac-n-Cheese, then yes, Otherwise it’s olive oil.
That’s fair
The older I get, the more varied the collection of oils and vinegars I have becomes.
I use apple vinegar to catch fruit flies and white vinegar to keep various laundry items odor free, plus it’s good for the front loading washing machine. I have to say though, cooking with various vinegars is beyond my capabilities.
I’ll tell you what blew my mind and opened a world for me. Please give this a try next time you make rice, with luck it does the same for you.
Use a rice cooker and prepare as normal. Before starting the cycle, add in about a teaspoon of salt and about 2 teaspoons of either rice wine vinegar or cider vinegar. Mix well then cook as usual. Adjust for the stovetop method if you don’t have a rice cooker.
I find that the rice wine vinegar works better, but that the cider vinegar works just fine. You’re going to worry that you put in too much vinegar because you can smell it a little while it’s cooking. But guess what? You didn’t. That little bit of acidity in contrast with the slight sweetness of the rice starch balances out.
I’ve also recently learned of the flavor triangle. You’re meant to balance sweet, salty, and bitter. The recipe above does that for rice.
Last tdbit: my chef friend turned me on to this, and it’s all I use now:
https://www.amazon.com/Sun-Luck-Niko-Rice-Calrose/dp/B00IBQ2YFE
Moral: don’t be afraid of vinegar. Play with it a bit and see what you like.
Amazing answer! I’m going to store it and use it. Thank you.
