Sometimes even skilled housewives are faced with the problem of sticky pasta. And if someone is just getting their first culinary experience, incidents when cooking a product are commonplace and you often have to separate portions for serving by tearing them off from the sticky pasta lump.
Today we will tell you how to cook pasta so that it does not stick together, holds its shape and remains crumbly even after cooling.
How to cook pasta in a saucepan - recipe
Ingredients:
- pasta – 0.5 kg;
- coarse rock salt – 1.5 tbsp. spoons;
- water – 3.5 l;
- vegetable oil – 35 ml.
Preparation
- First of all, you need to choose a pan of the right size. The ideal option for cooking a standard pack of products weighing 400-500 grams would be a five-liter vessel. It must be filled two-thirds with water, then put on the stove to boil.
- It is recommended to salt the water after the first signs of boiling appear. At the same moment, you should add a couple of tablespoons of sunflower or olive oil to the pan. This simple technique most often saves pasta from sticking together, but only on the condition that they continue to be cooked properly. And for this product you need to pour it into a container with boiling salted water with oil and until the water boils again, continuously stir vigorously but gently.
- If you suddenly hesitate and forget to stir the pasta immersed in boiling water, it is 100% likely that they will stick together and stick firmly to the walls and bottom of the vessel.
- Cook the pasta for as long as the product manufacturers recommend, but one minute less, that is, until al dente. Then they are not too soft and hold their shape better.
How to cook pasta correctly so it doesn't stick together?
- You can often find advice that states the need to rinse pasta after cooking to remove starch from the surface. But in this case, not only the starch is washed away, but also the entire taste of the products, so to speak, and the temperature of the pasta drops sharply and they become loose, soft and lose their shape.
- Ready, properly cooked pasta should be drained in a colander, shaken thoroughly several times, held over the sink for another minute and returned to the pan.
- If the pasta will be served immediately and without sauce, you can add a piece of butter to it and shake the pasta in a saucepan covered with a lid.
- To prepare inexpensive pasta, which is significantly inferior in quality, you can use another effective trick to reduce the stickiness of pasta to zero. The products just need to be fried a little in a dry frying pan, literally for five minutes. Immediately after this, pour salted boiling water over the pasta directly in the frying pan or pour it into a pan of boiling water and cook until tender. We take into account that the cooking time in this case is noticeably reduced - we taste the pasta and drain it in a colander in time.
How to cook without falling apart?
If you decide to cook pasta rolled into nests and don’t know how to ensure that the products retain their original appearance, then the following recommendations are especially for you.
- The nests need to be placed in a saucepan or wide saucepan at some distance from each other and filled with boiling salted water so that it barely covers the products.
- We also add a little refined vegetable oil to the water, let the water boil, reduce the heat and cook the products for the time allotted according to the instructions on the package.
- Carefully remove the finished pasta nests from the water one by one with a slotted spoon, let the water drain, and transfer the products to a serving dish.
For pasta to be tasty, you need to know how to cook it correctly and follow the rules. And we will show you which ones in our video.
- Take a pan and fill it with water: for 100 g of pasta – 1 liter of water. If you add less water, the pasta will turn out sticky.
For one serving, as a rule, you need 100 g of pasta.
Those. for a family of three you need to cook 300 g of pasta in a 3 liter pan.
2. Dip pasta only into rapidly boiling salted water. The fire under the pan should be maximum.
Immediately after this, cover the pan with a lid for 30 seconds so that the water begins to boil again.
As soon as the water begins to boil, remove the lid and reduce the heat (this must be done quickly, otherwise you may flood the stove).
3. Immediately after adding the pasta to the water, mix it.
Otherwise they may clump together and stick to the bottom of the pan.
The pasta is cooked for 10-12 minutes. Readiness is determined by the tooth.
Undercooked pasta has a powdery layer at the bite site. Overcooked - sticky and falling apart. 
4. The first sample must be taken 1 minute before the minimum cooking time indicated on the manufacturer’s packaging.
That is, if the products are cooked for 10-12 minutes, then you should try it already at the 9th minute.
5. Do not drain all the water from the finished pasta, otherwise it will dry out.
It is best to pour out 2-3 tablespoons of the water in which they were boiled before doing this.
Then drain the pasta in a colander, transfer it to the pan and add the reserved broth. 
It is also advisable to heat the colander before use so that it does not absorb excess heat.
6. Pasta is served hot, preferably on heated plates. Therefore, before cooking the pasta, you need to prepare the sauce so that it does not have time to cool.
How wrong
- Save on quality. Alas, in this case, quality does not come cheap. It is better to buy pasta made from durum wheat.
- You cannot add salt to the dish during the cooking process. The water is salted before the pasta is put into it.
- Do not put pasta in a pan in which the water reaches the edge - you can flood the stove.
- There is no need to rinse cooked pasta with cold water. Chilled pasta is not tasty.
Pasta is a product that is loved all over the world! This is a delicious, nutritious meal that is also prepared in minutes. And how many delicious things can be made using them! There are hundreds of variations of one pasta, for example, the famous one. But there are also soups, casseroles, and just...
But if you don’t know how to cook pasta correctly, you’re unlikely to experience all the benefits of this wonderful product. And although at first glance this is a simple procedure, there are still nuances and features that simply must be taken into account if you want to prepare the perfect meal.
How to cook pasta correctly
The easiest way to cook pasta so that it does not stick together, does not spread, and turns out crumbly is to follow the instructions that are on each package. The most valuable thing there is the cooking time.
The step-by-step universal scheme looks like this:
- take a sufficient amount of water into the pan, bring to a boil, add salt;
- add, stirring, the required amount of noodles or paste;
- Wait for it to boil again, reduce the heat to low and cook until done.
But you need to take into account that the pan should be voluminous and convenient, since the ideal proportions of water, pasta and salt in grams look like this - 1000:100:10. 
By the way, according to chef standards, a serving for 1 person is 100 g of pasta. That is, if lunch is planned for 4, the volume of the pan should be at least 5 liters.
I always measure the amount of pasta before cooking using a food scale. If dinner is for two, then I boil 200 g of pasta side dish. This is the perfect portion.
Therefore, in packages of Italian pasta, the weight is always a multiple of 100 g. But domestic manufacturers, as usual, are cunning, sometimes producing packages of 450 g.
After boiling, actions may vary. It is considered correct to simply drain the pasta, add a knob of butter and serve. But this applies only to those products that are made from durum wheat or whole grain flour. If this is ordinary simple noodles made from soft varieties of wheat, then it is impossible to do without rinsing with cold water, as well as subsequent frying with some kind of fat, otherwise we will get a slippery sticky lump.
How long you will cook also depends on the type of pasta, the type of flour from which it is made, as well as the dish for which it is intended.
Cooking pasta from durum wheat
Let's start with the most popular and healthy - pasta made from durum wheat. They contain a lot of vitamins, complex carbohydrates and microelements. The shapes and sizes are very diverse - horns, spirals, noodles, butterflies, shells and long spaghetti. And this is if you don’t take into account the Italian variety with their cannelloni, tagliatelle, etc. 
Almost all of them are cooked according to the standard scheme from 8 to 12 minutes. At the 8th minute it’s better to start trying, because everyone has their own preferences. In general, as you know, in the homeland of pasta, those that are cooked “al dente” are considered ideal.
Al Dente translates to “by the tooth,” that is, the degree of readiness is such that the pasta itself is already soft, but still springs when bitten.
Let’s focus separately on such types as spaghetti and nests - they are a little more difficult to cook. The secret to cooking long spaghetti is to lower it into boiling water gradually until all of it is submerged. Then the whole process proceeds as with any other 
Nests should be cooked in a wide, voluminous container - ideally a frying pan with high sides or a saucepan. There should be enough boiling water so that the “nest” is completely covered. Place the pasta balls in boiling and salted water so that they do not touch each other. You can’t interfere - you can move it a little. We carefully remove the finished ones with a slotted spoon.
How to cook whole grain pasta
Whole grain pasta is also very healthy, but due to its gray-brown color it looks less appetizing. Boil them for 7-10 minutes, and then, if desired, you can simply drain them in a colander and, season with oil, serve. 
Or you can rinse it and then warm it up with some sauce. For example, classic will perfectly complement the taste and aroma of the dish.
Cooking plain pasta
Pasta products made from soft wheat are inferior in health to those listed above, and a real gourmet will never buy such pasta. But this product is often found in the average person’s kitchen. For example, I really love vermicelli. 
A side dish of such pasta is prepared with obligatory subsequent rinsing under cold running water. You need to cook them for no more than 7 minutes. I personally make it even simpler:
- I throw vermicelli into boiling water;
- I stir, waiting for the water to boil again;
- cover with a lid and turn off the heat completely - this won’t work with the lid open;
- After 3-4 minutes I stir again, and after another 4-5 I drain the water and rinse.
I like this method because the noodles themselves do not stick to the pan, do not stick together, do not try to “run away,” and even if you miss a few minutes, they do not boil “into mush.”
A little exotic pasta
Non-standard types of pasta have also appeared in large supermarkets - buckwheat, rye, etc. Particularly popular are Asian rice pasta, which is prepared in the same way, but takes about 5 minutes to cook.
Bright colored butterflies or spirals made of durum wheat, as well as black pasta, also look unusual. Cooking them is no different from the standard scheme, but when choosing, make sure that the dyes are natural (spinach, beet juice, turmeric, etc.), otherwise there will be no benefit, and all the dishes will be stained. 
Any pasta or noodles will taste better if you add a piece of butter or 1 tbsp to the water during cooking. olive
Cook in a slow cooker, steamer or microwave
To prepare pasta, you can use not only pots, saucepans or frying pans - modern kitchen devices can also cope with this task.
The easiest way to do this is in the microwave. We choose suitable dishes, preferably with a lid and holes, and always high - otherwise the water will leak out. Fill the pasta with water in a ratio of 1:2, set the power to the highest and turn it off after 7-9 minutes. Stir, let it brew for 2-3 minutes, drain the water and the side dish is ready. You can sprinkle with grated cheese and microwave for another minute. 
We cook in a slow cooker according to the same principle as in a saucepan - throw it into boiling water, cook for about 10 minutes, don’t forget to stir. It is important to choose the right mode - the water should not flow during cooking. Focus on the features of a specific model.
It is better to cook pasta from hard varieties in a double boiler, as the rest will simply stick together. This is done like this: pour a sufficient amount of water into the lower bowl, pour pasta into the upper bowl (use a container for cooking rice), fill it with water, add salt and cook until tender. It will take 3-4 minutes longer than with the usual method.
Secrets of cooking popular pasta dishes
Pasta is not only used as a side dish, so you need to know the cooking features for certain dishes:
- for preparing broth-based soups, small pasta is suitable, which must be thrown into boiling liquid 8-10 minutes before the end of cooking;
- milk soups with noodles will turn out more tasty if you first boil the pasta in a small amount of water until half cooked, and then just pour in the boiled milk and bring to the desired condition over low heat;
- the simplest dish - pasta with stew - will turn out perfect if the pasta is cooked al dente, and after adding meat, it is kept for another 10-15 minutes over low heat;
- for lasagna, do not boil the sheets if the amount of sauce covers all the ingredients by at least 0.5 cm, otherwise it is better to pre-cook for 1-2 minutes.
Or you can not just boil the pasta, but cook it boiled and fried - it turns out quite interesting, especially if you add grated cheese at the end. You can learn how to do this from the video:
Pasta has long been part of traditional cuisine not only in Italy, but also in eastern countries. Today, this product is widespread, served as an independent dish, seasoned with sauces, or as an ingredient. And the main secret of deliciously cooked pasta lies in proper cooking of the product.
How to cook pasta
Some useful information about pasta
True pasta is created exclusively from two ingredients: water and durum wheat flour. On Greek and Italian pasta, such products are usually marked with the words pasta di semola di grano duro or durum. Russian manufacturers write that pasta is made from durum wheat.
Everything else is usually called pasta. They are usually made from soft wheat and contain eggs or other ingredients. Such products swell in the soup, become overcooked, stick together and spoil the entire dish. They also contribute to the appearance of extra pounds around the waist.
Durum wheat pasta, created in compliance with all technologies, does not become soft during the cooking process. In addition, such products do not make you fat, since they consist of complex carbohydrates. And the starch in them is not destroyed during heat treatment, unlike pasta from soft varieties, but turns into protein.
The variety of pasta shapes allows you to prepare a variety of dishes from them. Large items are usually stuffed; pasta in the shape of shells, spirals or cones is usually prepared as a side dish or used to make macaroni and cheese. Miniature bows look beautiful in salads, and spaghetti is served with sauce. To prepare the casserole, it is better to use pasta in the form of short tubes.
Pasta made from durum wheat has a smooth, even surface and a creamy or golden color. The fracture of such products is somewhat reminiscent of the fracture of glass. As a rule, a package of high-quality pasta contains no crumbs or flour residues. Pasta made from soft wheat varieties has a rough surface and an unnatural white or yellow color. They may show traces of unmixed flour and various inclusions.
To cook delicious pasta, use a simple formula invented by Italian chefs: 1000/100/10. It means that for 1 liter of water there are 100 g of pasta and 10 g of salt.
Pasta should be thrown into already boiling salted water. And to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pan, it is important to stir them until the water boils again. If you miss this moment, you can ruin the dish.
Follow the cooking times indicated on the package. Usually it is 10 minutes, but may vary depending on the type of flour from which the pasta is made. But the surest way to find out the degree of readiness is to test. The pasta should be firm, but not hard.
If pasta is cooked for use in a dish that will be cooked further, such as a casserole, it should be slightly undercooked. Otherwise, their taste will end up spoiled.
After draining the pasta in a colander, there is no need to rinse it with cold water - then all the taste will be washed away. It’s best to just leave them for a couple of minutes so that the water drains off by itself, and then stir with a spoon.
If pasta is used as a side dish, it is customary to put a little butter in it. The dish will be tastier if you first melt the butter in a saucepan and only then mix it with the pasta.
Technology for cooking pasta to make pasta
Ingredients:
- durum wheat pasta – 200 g
- water – 2 liters
- salt – 1 tbsp. spoon
Boil water in a thick-walled saucepan. Salt the water and put the pasta in it. Stir constantly until the water boils again.
To cook spaghetti, dip one end of the pasta in water, wait a couple of seconds, and slowly lower the whole thing. They will quickly soften and completely enter the pan.
Record the time allotted for cooking the pasta. It must be indicated on the packaging. A couple of minutes before the end, take a sample.
Place the finished pasta in a colander and let the water drain. Mix them with melted butter or pre-prepared sauce.
How to boil nest pasta
Today, pasta shaped like bird's nests is quite popular. Such products can be stuffed with a variety of fillings - from vegetables to meat. During cooking, it is very important not only to keep them in boiling water for the required amount of time, but also to maintain their shape.
Place the “nests” in a saucepan or deep frying pan with a wide bottom. They should not fit tightly to each other and at the same time have room to turn over on their side.
Fill them with water so that it covers the “nests” by only a couple of centimeters. Bring to a boil, add salt and cook for as many minutes as indicated on the package. Simply carefully remove the finished pasta with a slotted spoon and place on a plate.
Pasta has long been considered an integral part of not only Italian cuisine, but also the traditions of many other countries. Today this product is very popular, because it is served as a side dish with various sauces or used as an integral component of other dishes. In any case, the taste of the final product depends on proper cooking.
Secrets of cooking pasta in a saucepan depending on its type
To cook pasta correctly, you need to use a fairly simple formula - 1000/100/10. It was invented by chefs in Italy and consists in the fact that for 1 liter of water there should be 100 g of pasta, as well as 10 g of salt.
Pasta should be placed in boiling water, which should be salted first. To prevent them from sticking to the pan, the water should be stirred constantly until it boils again. If you neglect this feature, the dish will be spoiled. When preparing this dish, be sure to consider the type of pasta you are going to cook - shells, spaghetti, spirals, etc.
How to boil horns and shells so they don't stick together
To properly prepare horns or shells, you should follow the following sequence of actions:
- Pour water into the pan, adhering to the following proportion: for 1 liter of water use 100 g of paste.
- Place a container of water on the stove and wait for the liquid to boil.
- When the water boils, you can add salt, following this ratio: use 1 teaspoon of salt per 1 liter of water.
- Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to the pan.
- Place pasta in boiling water. The cooking time directly depends on the size of the pasta. So, small pasta needs to be cooked for about 7 minutes, larger varieties will take about 9 minutes.
- To determine the readiness of the dish, you should try the pasta. If the pasta has become soft enough, you can turn off the stove. If it is still quite hard, you should cook it for a couple more minutes. In any case, professional chefs advise serving pasta al dente.
- After this, you can place the pasta in a colander to drain the water. If you are using a low-quality product, you should rinse it with water and add oil.
Ready-made horns can be heated in the microwave or in a frying pan. Greens are also used as additional ingredients.
How to cook delicious spaghetti
This type of pasta is usually cooked within 8-9 minutes after the water boils. To cook spaghetti, you need to put it in a pan of boiling water, which is recommended to be salted first. Press lightly to prevent scorching. After a couple of minutes, stir and cook for 7 minutes.
Cooking time depends on the size of the product. For example, spaghetti barilla #1 is called capellini and cooks for 5 minutes, while barilla #7, or spaghetti, takes 11 minutes to cook.
To prepare this type of pasta deliciously, you need to follow these steps:
- It is recommended to cook spaghetti in a fairly large pan with plenty of water. To prepare 200 g of pasta you will need at least 2 liters of liquid. It should be taken into account that for 2 servings of the dish you will need about 100 g of dry pasta, since spaghetti increases 3 times during cooking.
- Place a pot of water over high heat to bring it to a boil.
- After this, the water can be salted. So, add 1 teaspoon of salt to 1 liter of water.
- Place spaghetti in boiling water. It is advisable to fan them out. If the paste is too long, it can be broken into two pieces. After a minute, you need to lightly press the pasta so that it is completely submerged in the water.
- Reduce heat to medium. The water should boil quite actively, but not foam.
- It is recommended to cook this dish without a lid.
- Place the finished pasta in a colander and leave for 3 minutes to remove excess liquid. To speed up this process, you can shake the colander slightly.
- Spaghetti must be served hot.
If you plan to continue cooking the pasta, you can leave it slightly undercooked. It is worth considering that the finished dish cools quickly, so the plates in which you plan to serve the pasta must be preheated in advance. You can also heat spaghetti in a frying pan by adding a little oil.
How to weld nests so they don’t fall apart
This is a fairly popular type of pasta, which in Italy is called tagliatelle. They should be placed in boiling water, then wait until it boils again and cook for 5 minutes. Then the tagliatelle is drained in a colander and left until the excess liquid drains.
When preparing such products, it is very important to maintain their shape. To achieve this, the nests are placed in a saucepan or frying pan. It is very important that they do not fit tightly. There should be room in the container to turn the pasta on its side.
To maintain the shape of the tagliatelle, you need to fill them with water so that it covers the nests by only a few centimeters. Then the water should be brought to a boil and cooked for the amount of time indicated on the package. The prepared nests must be removed from the dish using a slotted spoon and placed on a plate.
To prevent the pasta from burning, you can carefully move it with a fork. You can also add a small amount of butter to the water.
How to properly cook pasta in a slow cooker
To cook pasta using a multicooker, you need to do the following sequence of actions:
- Place the pasta in a special container and add water - it should cover the product. You can add enough liquid to cover the paste by about 2 cm.
- Put a little butter - about half a tablespoon.
- Select the “Steam” mode. Also suitable for the “Pilaf” mode.
- This dish needs to be cooked for 12 minutes, so the timer needs to be set for exactly that amount of time.
Features of microwave cooking
This option is especially convenient for busy people, because using a microwave you can set the required time, and the device will notify you when the dish is ready. This time can be safely devoted to other matters.
To cook makfa pasta or other types of pasta, you need to put it in a microwave-safe container, add water and add salt. It is important that the volume of liquid is twice the amount of product.
Then you need to set the timer for 10 minutes and wait. The dishes should be quite high - this will help prevent active boiling.
How to cook in a frying pan at home
For this method of cooking pasta, you will need a fairly deep frying pan. The paste should be filled with cold water and placed on the stove. You will need very little water. Thanks to this cooking method, pasta can be cooked in literally 4 minutes. This recipe ensures that the pasta is not sticky or soggy.
Various sauces, meat, and vegetables can be used as additional ingredients. Regular pasta with the addition of chicken fillet and tomatoes is very tasty. To do this, pour the paste into a dry, heated frying pan and fry until they are browned. Then add butter, mix thoroughly, add tomato sauce and chopped chicken fillet, which should be pre-boiled.
Add boiling water to completely cover pasta. Be sure to add salt and spices. The heat must be reduced, cover the pan with a lid and simmer until the liquid has completely evaporated.
Do I need to rinse pasta after cooking and with what water?
It is strictly not recommended to wash high-quality pasta made from durum wheat. Water will wash away the starch that is on the surface of the pasta, and it is this substance that facilitates the process of absorption of the sauce.
Pasta made from soft wheat varieties needs to be washed with cold water. They can actually stick together during cooking, so this procedure is a necessary measure.
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