Truth or Myth: Pasta should always be cooked al dente, or firm to the tooth.
The source of this myth seems to be intercontinental confusion. The American way of serving fully cooked pasta with sauce on top is different from the Italian way of serving pasta and sauce together. In Italian recipes, pasta is cooked twice: first in boiling water and then again with spices or sauce, so it makes sense to leave it slightly undercooked – al dente – in the first stage. You can always add more sauce or cooking water to finish cooking the pasta, but you can’t go back if it’s overcooked.
But the tenderness of your pasta is really up to you. Even in Italy, there is room for personal preference. Some people like a little resistance, and some pasta shapes are nice with a little chew (hello, bucatini). Others want the pasta to set right away. Remember that pasta will always cook a little longer after draining, so stop before it gets so soft that it falls apart by the time it reaches the table. And it’s always a good idea to cook pasta al dente when you’re going to cook it in a pot.
Verdict: Wrong. Cook to your liking.
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Fact or myth: Pasta should be boiled the entire time.
In 2009, Harold McGee, a culinary scientist and Times columnist, enlisted the queens of Italian-American cooking, Marcella Hazan and Lidia Bastianich, to test the tradition of keeping pasta at a boil. Since then, many experts have replicated their results: It doesn’t make much difference whether the water simmers or boils. Dried pasta will cook at any temperature from 180 degrees to 212 degrees. (Fresh pasta, especially stuffed like wontons and tortellini, should only be cooked at boiling point. the agitation of the boiling may burst them.)
It’s the mixing that makes the difference. At the lowest temperature, the pasta should be stirred at least every minute or so to distribute the sticky starch particles, which prevents clumping. Because a boil moves the pasta in the pot, it does the stirring for you.
If you don’t mind constantly watching your pasta while it cooks, you can cook it at a lower temperature. But if you want to add it, stir it and then leave it until the timer goes off, keep it boiling.
Verdict: Myth.
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Fact or myth: You should wait until the pasta water comes to a boil before adding the salt.
This myth seems to date back to a time when cookware was made of tin, aluminum, and other metals that were easily corroded or corroded by salt. The idea was that adding salt to cold water could cause damage because the undissolved salt sits at the bottom. But the amount of salt in pasta water—1 heaping tablespoon per gallon—isn’t nearly enough to harm today’s pots and pans. That said, it’s a good idea not to let the salted pasta water cool in the pot after cooking. The sooner you throw it away and rinse the pot, the easier it is to clean up the inevitable cloudy salt deposits.
Verdict: Myth. Add the salt whenever you want.
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Fact or Myth: Salting the pasta water makes the noodles cook faster.
It is true that salt raises the boiling point of water, but not in a way that matters for pasta purposes. If you added enough salt to speed up cooking, your pasta would be inedible.
Verdict: Myth.
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Fact or myth: Pasta cooking water should be as salty as the ocean.
In my previous article, I cooked eight batches of spaghetti in varying salt levels, from none to the Pacific Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea (3 to 4 percent, or about half a cup of salt per gallon.) Turns out: Seawater is very salty.
As I went from a teaspoon to a tablespoon of kosher salt per gallon, the pasta was noticeably undersalted and its flavor was lost in the finished dish. I preferred water that tasted as salty as a light chicken broth or two tablespoons per gallon of water. (Here’s the piece in question, with an even more in-depth exploration.)