Not Adding Enough Water to Cook Pasta
Chef Amy Hand told Chowhound it’s a simple mistake she sees home cooks make all the time when they don’t add enough water to cook their pasta. Pasta is very starchy, and this starch will leech into the water as the pasta cooks. If you don’t have enough water, the water you have will become thick and almost sticky. This will result in pasta that is unevenly cooked and sticks together very easily.
When your pot doesn’t have enough water, the temperature drops significantly once you add the pasta, and you’ll find yourself waiting forever for it to return to a rolling boil. A smaller quantity of water will decrease in temperature more rapidly than a larger amount. You’ll have better luck keeping the temperature and, in turn, the cooking more consistent if you start off with more water. This leads to uneven cooking and a sticky mess that nobody wants.
Using Inadequate Salt in the Pasta Water
Salting pasta is a quick step that’s easy to skip but makes a big difference. We all know that unseasoned food turns out bland and unappetizing, so it follows that salted pasta tastes better than unsalted. Just like you would add herbs and spices to your pasta sauce, it’s also essential to season the pasta by salting the water you cook it in. Many home cooks think they’re salting enough, but they’re seriously underdoing it.
You may still be under-salting the water and missing out on the flavor potential. Chef Amy Hand told Chowhound it’s important to be generous when adding salt to your pasta water. “You will use a lot of water when cooking your pasta so don’t be shy and salt that water thoroughly. It may seem like a lot, but the pasta itself will only absorb some of that salt in the quick cooking time, so it should not turn out too salty.” If it doesn’t taste like you just swallowed a mouthful of the Pacific Ocean, it’s truly not salty enough.
Adding Oil to the Pasta Water
Some cooks add oil to the pasta cooking water to prevent sticking. However, this can create a slick surface that makes it difficult for sauces to cling to the pasta. This old-school method might seem like it helps, but it actually works against you in the long run. The oil creates a barrier that prevents your carefully crafted sauce from adhering properly to each strand.
Instead of oil, stir the pasta occasionally during cooking to prevent it from sticking. This method allows the sauce to adhere better once the pasta is drained. Regular stirring, especially during the first few minutes of cooking, is all you really need to prevent pasta from clumping together.
Rinsing Pasta After Cooking
Rinsing pasta with cold water after cooking is a common mistake. This removes the starch that helps sauces adhere and cools down the pasta, affecting its texture. That precious starchy coating on your pasta is like edible glue for your sauce – wash it away, and you’re left with slippery noodles that won’t hold onto flavors.
Never rinse pasta after cooking; the starch is key for helping the sauce cling (and you might make Nonna cry if you do it). Always toss pasta with the sauce – whether it’s a vigorous toss for sturdy shapes or a gentle fold for delicate ones like ravioli, adding some starchy pasta water (aka liquid gold), during this process will allow it to emulsify and thicken creating the perfect texture. The only exception is when you’re making pasta salad or need to stop the cooking process immediately.
Getting the Timing Wrong on Al Dente
Overcooked pasta becomes mushy and loses its shape, while undercooked pasta can be tough and chewy. Cook pasta until it’s al dente, which means it should still have a slight bite to it. Taste a piece a minute or two before the package’s suggested cooking time ends. This sweet spot between crunchy and mushy is where pasta magic happens.
You can ruin the dish if you get your timing wrong by even a minute. Cook the pasta for too short of a time and it will be too crunchy and chewy, but if you cook it too long, it will become mushy and fall apart under the sauce. Remember that different types of pasta require different cooking times, but typically, you can cook noodles for about two to three minutes less than the packaging indicates to achieve an al dente texture.
Starting the Sauce After the Pasta Is Ready
Starting your sauce after the pasta is already cooked can lead to a rush and ultimately a poorly timed dish, where one component is either cold or overcooked. This timing disaster happens in kitchens everywhere, leaving cooks scrambling with overcooked pasta sitting in a colander while they frantically try to finish their sauce.
Begin preparing your sauce while the pasta is cooking. This way, everything comes together perfectly, and the pasta can be tossed with the sauce immediately after draining for a seamless dish. Professional chefs call this mise en place – having everything ready at the right moment. It’s the difference between a restaurant-quality meal and a frantic kitchen disaster.
Pairing the Wrong Pasta Shape with the Wrong Sauce
Using any pasta shape with any sauce can lead to an unbalanced dish. For example, pairing delicate angel hair with a heavy meat sauce doesn’t work well. Think of it like wearing flip-flops to climb a mountain – technically possible, but you’re not setting yourself up for success.
When you have a pasta that doesn’t necessarily pair well with a specific sauce, parts of the sauce might slide off, and you’ll end up eating a noodle without the maximum amount of flavor. Long, wide pasta shapes like pappardelle, tagliatelle, and fettuccine are made for hearty, robust sauces. Think slow-cooked Bolognese, wild mushroom ragù, or a rich sausage and mushroom mix. Their broad surfaces are perfect for holding onto chunks of meat, mushrooms, and all that luscious sauce.
Not Seasoning Throughout the Cooking Process
Chef Tim Hollingsworth explains, “Whenever you cook, you want to make sure you’re seasoning along the way as a general rule – not just salt at the beginning or salt at the end.” Even if you went gangbusters on a jazzy sauce, it won’t make up for plain-Jane pasta. “If you were to put your pasta into a sauce that is aggressively or well-seasoned, but you didn’t cook your pasta in salted water, the dish may be seasoned but the pasta will be bland.”
By far this is the worst plague faced by home cooks. To ensure that your food is always properly seasoned, add salt and pepper throughout the cooking process. Taste your recipe along the way, and don’t wait until the end of cooking to add your salt. Seasoning is like building a house – you need a solid foundation, not just pretty curtains at the end.
Using the Wrong Size Pot or Pan
Perhaps you’re in a rush and the first pot you grab is small but should be able to fit your pasta, so you just go with it. Maybe you’re multitasking in the kitchen and your largest pot is currently in use. Regardless, your best bet for making pasta that will cook evenly without sticking into a clump is to give it some space to boil.
And remember – cooking pasta in too little water is a no-go! Pasta needs plenty of water to move freely and cook evenly, ensuring it doesn’t clump together. Your pasta should be able to dance around in that water like it’s at a party, not cramped together like sardines in a can. The general rule is roughly four quarts of water per pound of pasta, though more is always better than less.
Finishing Pasta Incorrectly with Sauce
Most home cooks will just spoon sauce on top of their pasta to finish the dish right before it goes to the table. Whenever you cook pasta, you always want to cook the pasta that Italians like to call “al dente” or to the tooth, meaning slightly underdone. If you are using dried package pasta, always undercook the pasta by 2 minutes less than the stated time from the directions on the package. After you’ve removed the pasta from heavily salted pasta water, immediately add your piping hot pasta to a pan of simmering sauce to finish cooking the pasta for its final two minutes.
Not only will you have perfectly cooked pasta, but the last two minutes of cooking time will allow your pasta to infuse with all of that saucy goodness and produce a much richer flavor. Also if your sauce is a bit on the watery side, the pasta is added to the sauce will help naturally thicken the pasta sauce. This technique, called mantecatura in Italian, creates that glossy, restaurant-quality finish that makes every bite perfect.
