If nothing else, you must continually remember to only cook pasta just before you dish the meal. A common mistake when cooking pasta is that people leave it sitting around whilst they then think about making the rest of the dish. If the pasta is prepared well before the meal, then odds are you’ll probably finish up having a cool, stringy and sticky mess.
Make sure you utilize a good and high enough pot and only fill the water level to round the 3/4 full point. Having anymore water than 3/4 of the pot will often lead to an overflow during cooking that could have your pasta end up poorly cooked and glued into the bottom of your pot. Salting the water needs to be completed carefully at a period prior to the pasta is added to the pot.
Observe The Golden Rule of Cooking Pasta
Be certain you follow the “ten, hundred, thousand” formula. This formula is ideal when cooking. 10g of salt for every 100g of Pasta for each 1L of water. The point to recollect should be to always add salt to the water when it’s boiling, lowering the warmth once the salt is stirred through. By forgetting to add the salt before the pasta, you can cause the pasta to need extra cooking time. And don’t worry in case you add too much salt, because a common technique is to add a potato into the cooking water. The potato acts like a sponge and soaks up much of the surplus salt. And do not despair if ever the potato doesn’t soak up all the salt, because you can always rinse the pasta under hot water after it’s cooked.
If however you discover you haven’t put enough salt into the water, then it’s better to add extra flavour through the use of sauces that support the pasta. Once the salt has been dissolved throughout the water, increase the warmth until you reach boiling point once more. If you are cooking long pasta just like spaghetti or fettuccine, having a long fork will give great results. If however, you are cooking shorter pasta, then you’re better to use a wooden spoon.
Resist the temptation to break up the pasta whenever you’re putting it into the pot. Instead, wait until the pasta has softened before stirring using a wooden fork
If using a lid during cooking, allow some steam to escape, stirring the pasta every three minutes or so.
There are different types of pots that are fitted with special nonstick coating and will even allow your pasta to become al dente. Still, someone should stir the pasta frequently to best achieve even cooking. Different pasta takes longer times to cook, so cooking time does rely upon individual’s tastes.
To create perfect pasta, make sure you confirm the cooking time which is printed over the pasta’s packaging. Failing that, you can always taste test the pasta during the cooking process. You have reached a great cooking point when the pasta is soft to touch and yet still firm in the middle. By cooking your pasta in using this method, you have created “al dente” pasta.
When it’s time to drain the pasta, leave two tablespoons of cooking water within the pot with the pasta. This may allow you some breathing room to dilute sauces if need be. If you’re planning on adding sauces to your pasta, then coat them lightly only after sufficiently warming the sauce.
Remember you are able to always reheat the pasta in the cooking pot after adding sauces to ensure you get a regular heat. Many people tend not to realise the pasta will still cook long after it is drained, so serving quickly is best advised.
If you intend on making pasta salad dishes, then after draining the pasta, coat it in a little olive oil. Then, allow it to cool whilst stirring regularly. Once the past has cooled, then you can add additional sauces and serve.
By using these suggestions when cooking pasta, one can create perfect al dente pasta dishes that family and friends will love.