The 5 Most Common Pasta Cooking Mistakes
Nothing is worse than finding the perfect recipe, gathering the freshest recipes, and inviting your closest friends for dinner, only to have the meal ruined by easily avoidable mistakes made while cooking. These are the 5 Most Common Pasta Cooking Mistakes you should hope to avoid:
#1 Overcooking
Fun Fact: water does not actually have to be boiling to cook pasta, but should be at least 180℉/82℃ or else the pasta won’t properly cook.
A big part of preparing great pasta is making sure that the noodle is not overcooked. When left to boil for too long, the pasta will become too soft and break apart. Avoid this by closely watching your pasta as it boils and by paying attention to recommended boil times.
#2 Not enough water
Too much water and your pot will boil over, too little and you’re water won’t boil at all! Keep in mind your serving sizes when deciding on the appropriate pot used to boil the pasta.
The recommended amount of water to boil is 4-6 quarts of water per 16oz (1 lb.) of pasta.
Want to avoid water completely? Try cooking the pasta in the sauce with whatever spices, proteins, and veggies you want!
#3 Not salting water
Salting the water is a commonly overlooked part of the pasta preparation process. Pasta is typically just flour and water, neither of which can be considered flavorful. Salting the water is a good way to prepare your noodle for any additional seasoning your meal requires. When it comes to salting pasta water, then, for every 4 quarts (or gallon) of water, go with 2 Tbsp. Diamond or 4 tsp. Morton’s.
WARNING: over-salting can occur when preparing dishes that include ingredients that are already salty such as anchovies or pancetta
#4 Not stirring enough
Pasta tends to bunch together in the bottom of your pot during cooking. This causes under-cooked, broken, and even burnt pasta...which will surely ruin your eating experience.
Stirring frequently allows the water to reach the surface area on all of the noodles in the pasta. This cooks the pasta more evenly and prevents build-up on the bottom of your pot. (which also helps with clean-up).
#5 Rinsing off pasta
After getting your pasta to the desired consistency, it's time to wash and strain. Like most food, pasta will continue to cook even after removed from the hot water. Rinsing off the pasta will cause the noodles to cool down and remain at the consistency you intended. Likewise, rinsing the pasta with water will remove any unwanted sediment or material, while simultaneously preparing the noodle to absorb the sauce.
That concludes our list. Hopefully these simple tips will help you prepare your next great pasta dinner.
