September 29, 2006
How to cook spaghetti (for newbies only)
1. How much pasta?
The National Pasta Association offers the following guidelines to guage how much pasta to use: 2 oz. of dry spaghetti = a bunch with diameter of a quarter (a Singapore 20-cent coin) = 1 cup cooked pasta.
2. When do I add salt to the water?
Fill a pot (or saucepan) with water up to 3/4 full. Bring the water to a vigorous boil before adding salt. Salt will raise the boiling point of the water, so if added too early, it takes a longer time for the water to boil.
3. To cover or not to cover?
Put the lid on the pot when you are getting the water to boil, so that the water can boil faster. A watched pot never boils, so refrain from lifting up the lid too many times to check if the water is boiled.
Remove the lid when you are cooking the pasta or you will get a starchy overflow of pasta water onto your stove. Eeeeew!
4. What is ‘al dente’?
I cook my spaghetti till al dente - there is a bite to it. ‘Al dente’ means ‘to the tooth’ in Italian and will be slightly chewy with a very small white dot of uncooked core at the center.
When I tranfer it to the pan for mixing with say, the anchovies or bolognese sauce, the spaghetti will continue to cook and then become tender.
5. How long?
Thin spaghetti needs about 6-7 minutes from the time the water starts boiling.
Thick spaghetti needs about 9-10 minutes.
Easy solution: Buy pasta that comes with cooking instructions on the package.
6. How to get out of that sticky situation?
Add some oil to the saucepan of boiling water and use a pair of tongs to toss once in a while to prevent the pasta from sticking.
7. What if the spaghetti is ready before you finished cooking the other ingredients?
Transfer the spaghetti to a plate, or shock them in cold water to stop the cooking process. I usually just transfer them to a plate with a pair of tongs.
8. Down the drain?
Do not be anxious to throw away the pasta water quickly as you may need them later, if your pasta appears too dry when mixing with the ingredients or sauces.
9. Did you know?
Did you know you can use spaghetti for cooking with the Prima Taste Mee Rebus pre-mix? Spaghetti was a substitute ingredient for yellow noodles in that recipe. Heavenly!
Bite This!
More recipes:
Spaghetti with Shrimp and Anchovies
Stir Fried Spaghetti With Black Peppered Beef
Spaghetti Bolognese - The All-Time Safe Pasta Dish
If I DID IT - It’d be Pork and Mushroom Spaghetti - Chinese style
Chicken Recipe (5) - Spring Onion Chicken
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September 29th, 2006 at 10:30 am
I’ve cooked spaghetti before, but I can’t honestly say I know what I was doing. So, what’s the salt for in step #2?
September 29th, 2006 at 3:29 pm
Hi Daddy Forever, Nice to see you again!
Adding salt to the water when cooking the pasta is to flavor the pasta. You will usually want to add salt to raw food first and some more later if not enough. Cheers!
September 29th, 2006 at 5:00 pm
Good to know. Someone told me the salt helps the water boil faster better, but it actually takes longer. Now I know better!
September 29th, 2006 at 8:54 pm
Haha. When water containing salt boils at a higher temperature than would pure water, in chemistry terms, this is known as “boiling point elevation.” *I am putting on my Alton Brown hat here* :)
October 2nd, 2006 at 8:54 am
Salt definately makes every bite to the pasta better~ ^_^
December 21st, 2006 at 3:38 pm
[…] - Too much spaghetti - because I didn’t know the quarter coin estimate. […]
January 1st, 2007 at 11:29 pm
love your website but my pasta genes got all starchy when i read about adding oil to water.. only foreigners do that.. biggest mistake is to cook the pasta in small pot - if you cook it in LOTS of water, the starch in the pasta does not make the water/pasta sticky. use a pot at last as big as the ones you see chinese grandmothers make soup in (the type where the whole chicken gets thrown in.. for 1 person pasta i[’d use at least 2 litres of water, i’m sure google has more exact amounts!)
also.. the salt goes in the water when it hits boiling cos otherwise salt will deteriorate bottom of pasta pot.
buon appetito!
January 2nd, 2007 at 7:59 am
Hi ItalianChick! Thanks for visiting! I watched in a recent Alton Brown (Cooking) MythSmashers episode that you are right about water and pasta. The oil does not really stick to the pasta. And using lots of water is the solution! I am not sure about your salt theory though.
October 3rd, 2007 at 11:14 am
read about the salt part please http://www2.wwnorton.com/catalog/spring02/001183excerpt.htm
October 4th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
Askanoulis, bottomline is salt DOES raise the boiling point of water. Sure… you can always add salt in the beginning if you choose to.
For me I usually boil the water in the kettle first, rather than in a pot over the stove cos it’s faster via the kettle. Then I add salt. To each his own.