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Boiled pasta is the basis of an enormous variety of pasta dishes. In most of them, the pasta is usually cooked in the same manner, regardless of the sauce and other ingredients that will be added to it. Notable exceptions are soups, gnocchi, and baked dishes like lasagna and manicotti, which are not covered here.

The six key "secrets" for cooking a good pasta are:

Clear your sink

Cook in salted water

Add the pasta only after the water is boiling

Stir occasionally to avoid sticking

Do not undercook or overcook

Drain and serve promptly.

One must also be aware that some sauces or other accessories may take longer to prepare than the pasta itself.

Clear the sink

When your pasta is cooked you will need to drain it immediately, otherwise it will become soft and soggy. So, find the colander, and be prepared to use it. Alternatively you may consider purchasing a mated colander pot if you boil pasta regularly.

Salted water

On the average, for every 200 grams of pasta, one should use 2 liters of cold water and 1 tablespoon of salt. The salt should be added to the water to flavor the pasta (and just for that; it has no significant effect on the boiling point). Some people also add a few drops of vegetable oil to the water, in order to reduce foaming and the risk of spillovers, however, if one is using a large pot of salted water, overboiling is not normally a problem.

The pot should be large enough for the water level to be one or two inches below the rim. It must also be wide enough to hold the uncooked pasta entirely submerged in the water. When cooking long pasta like spaghetti wait until the sumerged base start softening. Using a long fork start pushing the pasta in the water until is fully submerged. You may also break the pasta if you desire. This will allow it to fit in your pot, and make it easier to eat.

When to add the pasta

The water should be brought to a boil, stirring to dissolve the salt. Once the water is vigorously boiling, the pasta should be thrown in, all at once. The cooking time should be measured from this moment.

The pasta should be kept entirely submerged at all times. If it is too long to fit completely underwater, immediately force the submerged part to bend until it does.

When the cold pasta is added to the water, the latter usually stops boiling for a few moments. The stove's heat should be adjusted so that the water resumes boiling promptly, and stays boiling moderately while the pasta is cooking.

(Failure to follow these rules will result in pasta that is partly overcooked and/or partly undercooked.)

Stirring

Stir the pasta immediately after throwing it into the water, then now and again while it is cooking. Otherwise it may stick to itself, or to the bottom of the pan, and cook unevenly.

Cooking time

Cooking time varies depending on the kind of pasta; usually it is given on the box. Typical times for dry pasta range from 5 minutes for thin spaghettini to 12 minutes or more for some thick varieties. Fresh, egg-based pasta (pasta all'uovo) takes very little time to cook - hardly a minute after the water has returned to a boil; filled pasta like tortellini needs only a few minutes.

The recommended time needs to be increased when cooking pasta at high altitudes, since water will boil at a lower temperature. Also, the cooking time may depend on the brand as well as on the kind of pasta.

The cooking time can be adjusted to vary the firmness of the pasta. The suggested time will usually produce a chewy pasta al dente, favored by connoisseurs and easier to digest; a slightly longer time produces softer pasta, which is more difficult to digest. Care must be taken to not overcook to the point where the pasta turns into a paste. The basic rule is that a low quality pasta turns from "al dente" into overcooked in the span of few seconds, while a quality one can last several minutes.

Testing the pasta

Beginners should probably play it safe and stick to the time given on the packaging. Experienced cooks test whether the pasta is ready by "fishing" a sample piece out of the boiling water with a slotted spoon and chewing on it. The pasta is ready when it has lost the "flour" taste of uncooked pasta and has become moist and flexible throughout its thickness, but is still firm enough to need chewing.

Drain and serve

When the pasta is cooked, it should be drained promptly with a strainer or colander, and placed immediately on a large, pre-heated plate, together with the sauce and other accompaniments. Mix pasta and sauce thoroughly at the table before serving. The pasta should be eaten hot within a few minutes, unless the recipe says differently.

Storing cooked pasta

When preparing a large portion that cannot be served immediately—e.g., for a buffet-style meal—it is advisable to cool off the pasta a bit, immediately after draining it. Otherwise the heat still remaining in the pasta may cause it to overcook and stick to itself. This can be done by rinsing the pasta quickly in cold water, or spreading it out on a wide bowl or tray, or tossing it up into the air a few times with the colander.

For the same reason, it is better to allow the pasta get cold, and re-heat it before serving, than trying to keep it hot for an expended period. In this case, it should be drained a bit earlier than the optimum point; each portion can be reheated by placing it in a strainer and plunging it for a few seconds into salted boiling water.

See also

Pasta

Couscous