It sounds like you are cooking your pasta in a pot that is too small. You should use a large stock pot and a lot of water so that the pasta moves easily in the boiling water. If the water looks cloudy when you're done cooking the pasta, you haven't used a large enough pot. You can also rinse the pasta with cold water to remove excess starch. To help with boiling over, I always add a small splash of oil to the water - this could help your sticking problem as well. Hope this helps!
Try adding salt to the water, it can help with sticking this flavors the pasta while it cooks. Some people say it should be as salty as the ocean, but I think that's too much personally.
Both good answers. We use a splash of olive oil in which we have soaked dried Italian herbs & spices. This helps to flavor the pasta as well as keeping it from sticking together.
Pasta has to swim in the water you are cooking it in. I stir the pasta as often as I can while ccoking it with a past server/fork-this helps to ensure separation.
My personal fool-proof method is to simply stir IMMEDIATELY after putting the pasta into the boiling water and to not stop for about half the total cooking time. That's it!
Adding pasta to very hot, rapidly boiling water that has salt and oil in it, and stirring with a fork to separate the strands during the first minute will help. There's no need to stir for half the total cooking time. I've been cooking for 40 years and that's just not necessary.
Don't over cook the pasta. The more it cooks the stickier it gets. Also don't let the water run dry in the pot. Pasta differs from rice, rice you want to get rid of most of the water, pasta you want some left over, so the pasta is floating about.
Oil and salt is good. I often add some oil at the end after it is drained to stop it sticking while it is on the plate.
Use a large enough pot with plenty of water. Your water should taste like the ocean. No oil, use oil after pasta is shocked. I stir the pasta with a pair of tongs. While stirring the pasta I'll grab some pasta with the tongs lift slightly and shake the pasta gentlely while dropping the pasta through the tongs. Any piece that are stuck together is garbage because the ends that are stuck together are under cook sometimes still raw. most of the times I never get sticky pasta.
It should be a large pot, boiling water, sufficiently salted. Stir when you put it in to separate. You can stir occasionally. NEVER ADD OIL!! Oil coats the pasta and doesn't allow the sauce to properly adhere to it. Cook it only long enough so that it is al dente (slightly hard to the bite). Also do not run it under water, you want the starch to mix with your sauce as it also helps to thicken it. In fact you can add a little of the starchy salted water to your sauce if it requires thickening. Place the pasta into your sauce and finish the cooking in the sauce. This allows the pasta to absorbs the sauce and coats it. Again pasta should not be soft but have a bite, in some parts in Italy it is almost hard when eaten. The cooking time depends on the type of pasta your are cooking. If it is dried, then somewhat follow the directions on the package, but check it a few minutes before the amount of time suggested. If you are cooking homemade pasta, then it only takes a fews minutes to cook.
Answers
June 16, 2010
obviously i meant strands,sorry
June 16, 2010
It sounds like you are cooking your pasta in a pot that is too small. You should use a large stock pot and a lot of water so that the pasta moves easily in the boiling water. If the water looks cloudy when you're done cooking the pasta, you haven't used a large enough pot. You can also rinse the pasta with cold water to remove excess starch. To help with boiling over, I always add a small splash of oil to the water - this could help your sticking problem as well. Hope this helps!
June 16, 2010
Try adding salt to the water, it can help with sticking this flavors the pasta while it cooks. Some people say it should be as salty as the ocean, but I think that's too much personally.
June 16, 2010
Both good answers. We use a splash of olive oil in which we have soaked dried Italian herbs & spices. This helps to flavor the pasta as well as keeping it from sticking together.
June 17, 2010
Stir the pasta in the pot occasionally, and especially right after you put the pasta in the pot.
June 18, 2010
are you making homemade pasta or dried pasta?
June 19, 2010
Pasta has to swim in the water you are cooking it in. I stir the pasta as often as I can while ccoking it with a past server/fork-this helps to ensure separation.
June 19, 2010
My personal fool-proof method is to simply stir IMMEDIATELY after putting the pasta into the boiling water and to not stop for about half the total cooking time. That's it!
June 20, 2010
Adding pasta to very hot, rapidly boiling water that has salt and oil in it, and stirring with a fork to separate the strands during the first minute will help. There's no need to stir for half the total cooking time. I've been cooking for 40 years and that's just not necessary.
June 23, 2010
Don't over cook the pasta. The more it cooks the stickier it gets. Also don't let the water run dry in the pot. Pasta differs from rice, rice you want to get rid of most of the water, pasta you want some left over, so the pasta is floating about.
Oil and salt is good. I often add some oil at the end after it is drained to stop it sticking while it is on the plate.
June 25, 2010
I always add olive oil to boiling water and stir pasta occasionally. And after cooking rinse pasta with cold water
June 26, 2010
Use a large enough pot with plenty of water. Your water should taste like the ocean. No oil, use oil after pasta is shocked. I stir the pasta with a pair of tongs. While stirring the pasta I'll grab some pasta with the tongs lift slightly and shake the pasta gentlely while dropping the pasta through the tongs. Any piece that are stuck together is garbage because the ends that are stuck together are under cook sometimes still raw. most of the times I never get sticky pasta.
July 9, 2010
It should be a large pot, boiling water, sufficiently salted. Stir when you put it in to separate. You can stir occasionally. NEVER ADD OIL!! Oil coats the pasta and doesn't allow the sauce to properly adhere to it. Cook it only long enough so that it is al dente (slightly hard to the bite). Also do not run it under water, you want the starch to mix with your sauce as it also helps to thicken it. In fact you can add a little of the starchy salted water to your sauce if it requires thickening. Place the pasta into your sauce and finish the cooking in the sauce. This allows the pasta to absorbs the sauce and coats it. Again pasta should not be soft but have a bite, in some parts in Italy it is almost hard when eaten. The cooking time depends on the type of pasta your are cooking. If it is dried, then somewhat follow the directions on the package, but check it a few minutes before the amount of time suggested. If you are cooking homemade pasta, then it only takes a fews minutes to cook.