this post was submitted on 06 Jul 2023
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No, please don't stir for gods sake. Don't add oils or anything either. What you need is just a big enough pot with water and salt, add the pasta when it's boiling and get it out once it's done. Simple as that.
Pro tip: let it just a little bit undercooked and finish it in a pan with the sauce on it.
I'm not even italian.
Does pasta stick together when you don't add salt? I've never stirred a pasta pot in my entire life
You add salt for the flavour. Oil does prevent pasta from sticking together, but it's not necessary.
Oil also makes a coating that prevents sauce to integrate into pasta. Also makes boiling water smell bad. Really, just get a big pot and let water boil hard.
Oil prevents pasta from sticking if you add it after you've drained it. If you add it in the water, it will do nothing. Also if your pasta is sticking while in the water, use a bigger pot and a lot more water.
No, it doesn't. Salt is just for flavour. Pasta will be dancing in the boiling water, no time to stick together.
Salt actually does more than add flavor - it also makes the water boil at hotter temperatures
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling-point_elevation
How much salt would you recommend for a normal sized pot?
In Italian we say "use your feelings" (vai a sentimento).
Since all pots are different and the amount of salt depends on the amount of water (not of pasta), you just have to try a few times and get the hang of it. Generally speaking, in American terms, I'd say a couple tablespoons of coarse salt, less if you use fine salt.
Anyhow, the bottom line is, it's not a pinch of salt, it's a fist of salt. Don't skimp on salt in pasta water. If you are concerned about the amount, just know that almost all of the salt will remain in the pasta water. If you want to check how you did, taste your pasta a couple minutes before it's done, and add more salt if it's bland.
You absolutely need to stir pasta while it’s cooking. And once you get it out, if you’re not going to add sauce right away or at all, you absolutely need to add some olive oil. If you don’t stir it while it’s cooking, it will get cooked unevenly. If you don’t add olive oil, it will clump up and become basically impossible to eat properly.
Ok, I may stir a bit when I put it in, specially with long pasta varieties, but if you have enough space and hard boiling water that's all. You don't need to be on it like it was a witch's cauldron. Once it's done, it's better to add the pasta on a pan with the hot sauce and not the other way around, and then yes, stir it gently to integrate it. You can add some of the cooking water to the pan to thin the sauce if needed. If you aren't mixing with the sauce right away it won't be great anyways, just edible.
Basic knowledge if you’re Italian, but impressive if you’re not. Kudos.
“Spadellare” the pasta when it’s almost cooked with the hot sauce in a separate pan is the easiest way to make your pasta go from “home grade” to “restaurant grade”.
I'm spanish, but I try to respect traditional cooking techniques and the way each region treats their products. Because I'm aware I don't know better.
I can appreciate that approach (which I also follow): start from tradition to understand the dish, and once you’ve got the gist of it, put some personal twists in it. Makes sense for a lot of stuff.
You DO NOT have to stir it, even for things like spaghetti, as long as you're using the right amount of water. The motion of the water boiling is already stirring the pasta.
You just stir for good measure. Yeah you might not need to if you have the perfect amount of water boiling in the perfect way, but honestly it’s not worth the risk. Just stir it from time to time.
This!