Despite the completely different technology for creating flour products than now, pasta has always been loved. They cook quickly and are a great side dish. Often they boiled over, taking on huge sizes, or stuck together into a single lump. For the most part, this was due to the fact that such products were made from premium flour; now they are made from durum wheat.

Pasta, pasta, spaghetti are perhaps one of the favorite dishes of many people. They are prepared from dried wheat dough in water. Varying in appearance (shells, feathers, spirals, spaghetti, etc.), with the correct serving of the right seasonings, each pasta turns into a special dish.

Cooking time for pasta by type

Traditionally, the cooking procedure looks like this. Pasta is poured into boiling salted water. Boil them for 7-10 minutes. The finished dish is drained through a colander and served. Various sauces and cheese are common accompaniments.

The most important point in preparing a pasta side dish is the question: “How long should I cook the pasta?” After all, many have learned from their own deplorable experience that even a high-quality product can be ruined by improper preparation. But there is no definite answer, because... The cooking time will depend on their type and the type of flour from which they are made.

Even during the cooking process, you should check the information on the packaging. The manufacturer always indicates the cooking time for their product. Another factor influencing the time regime is the further use of pasta. With their subsequent heat treatment (baking or frying), the cooking time is reduced.

How many minutes to cook:

1. You should only buy quality products. Broken products will spoil the taste of the entire dish.
2. If the product contains egg powder, the products will turn out soft and boiled.
3. You should always remember that products increase in size by 3 times. Therefore, 100 g is enough for 2 large servings.
4. It is better to cook the pasta in oil water so that it does not stick together. Therefore, it is recommended to add 1 tbsp to the water. a spoonful of any vegetable oil.
5. The water ratio must be at least 1:3. For 100 grams of dry products you can take from 300 ml to 1 liter of water.
6. To avoid sticking after cooking, drain the water immediately after cooking.
7. When preparing dishes from non-durum wheat varieties, rinse them with hot water after cooking.
8. There is an opinion that pasta that is undercooked for 2-3 minutes will become less caloric.
9. Proper cooking should be done in a wide pan without a lid.
10. Slightly overcooked ones can be saved by rinsing them with cold water.
11. If boiled pasta is used to prepare complex dishes with further heat treatment, then they should not be cooked for as many minutes as they will be cooked later.

Methods for preparing curly pasta

To ensure that the result of your favorite side dish is always successful, you should remember a few rules for preparing pasta in different ways: in a saucepan, microwave, steamer or slow cooker, and even in an electric kettle.

The traditional method using horns as an example

The classic cooking method always guarantees an excellent final result. Let's look at it using the example of a specific type of product to understand how to cook pasta horns in a saucepan.

Required ingredients:

• horns - 200 gr;
• water - 1 l;
• vegetable oil - 1 tbsp. spoon;
• salt - 1 teaspoon.

Pour water into a wide bowl. Add butter to prevent the horns from sticking together. Salt the water. When the liquid boils, add the cones. Mix them well with a spoon so that the products do not stick together and stick to the bottom of the dish. Boil the horns for 7-10 minutes until tender. Drain the water and place the pasta in a colander. If necessary, rinse the finished products with cold water. Serve with sauces and gravy or sprinkle with grated cheese.

Cooking shells in a slow cooker

A quick and tasty dish if you cook pasta in a slow cooker. Curly types of products are better suited for this type of household appliances: horns, bows, spirals. The multicooker will allow you to cook from the simplest to the most sophisticated and original pasta dishes.

Required ingredients:

• shells - 200 gr;
• water - 400 g;
• salt - to taste;
• vegetable oil/butter.

Simple cooking option:

Pour the shells into the bowl and fill them with water so that the water covers them by 2 cm. Add 1 spoon of butter. How long to cook pasta will depend on the selected mode. It is better to cook them in the “Steam” or “Pilaf” mode for about 12 minutes.

Roasted option:

Pour vegetable oil into the multicooker bowl until it covers the bottom. Add dry shells and mix them well so that the oil coats each product. Using the “Baking” or “Frying” mode, fry the shells for 10-15 minutes until they take on a pale brown color. During the frying process, you should stir everything 2-3 times.

As soon as the pasta has changed color, pour in hot boiled water so that it rises 2 fingers above the shells. Salt the liquid and season with spices to taste. You can add black pepper or suneli hops. Further cooking takes place in the “Pilaf” mode until the liquid has completely evaporated.

In this recipe, you can add chopped onions and carrots to the shells. They should be fried and boiled together.

Cooking feathers in the microwave

A microwave gives you an easy way to cook. Having such household appliances will allow you to cook dinner away from home without hassle. In addition, this cooking method ensures that the pasta will not “run away.”

Required ingredients:

• feathers - 200 gr;
• boiling water - 400 ml;
• vegetable oil - 1 tbsp. spoon;
• salt - to taste.

1. To save time on cooking, the prepared water should already be hot. It can be boiled with a kettle. Pour boiling water into a deep bowl and add feathers. The liquid should cover the products by 2-3 cm. After boiling, add salt and a spoonful of oil.
2. Stir, close the container with a lid and cook the feathers for 20 minutes at 300 W. If the power is increased to 550 W, then the cooking time should be reduced to 10-15 minutes. In general, how long to cook pasta in the microwave depends on the thickness of the product. The indicated parameters are typical for pasta with thick walls (feathers, horns), but for thin noodles the cooking time is significantly reduced.
3. Remove the finished feathers from the microwave, place in a colander and rinse them under running cold water.

Cooking spirals in an electric kettle

The method is suitable for students and those who are “impatient” to eat pasta here and now. The method is rather humorous, but it makes it clear that cooking pasta under any conditions is not so difficult. Naturally, it is necessary to take into account that an electric kettle is only suitable for a certain type of product; spaghetti, cannelloni and nests cannot be cooked in it.

Required ingredients:

• spirals - 100 g;
• water 1 l;
• sauce, salt, cheese - to taste.

1. Pour liquid into a clean kettle. Bring it to a boil. Add pasta to boiling water. It is difficult to say how long you need to cook pasta using this method.
2. With the kettle on, bring the water to a boil and turn it off. Perform this operation every 30 seconds, turning the kettle on and off for 7-9 minutes. At the end of cooking, drain the water and place the spirals on a plate.
3. Sprinkle them with salt to taste, add sauce and cheese if desired. It is recommended to wash the kettle immediately after use.

Features of the preparation of some types

Despite the simplicity of preparing all pasta, some types of products require a special approach, because... do not fit into the framework of “ordinary” options. For example, improperly welded sockets will change their appearance and lose their individuality. And classic spaghetti, if cooked incorrectly, can easily be broken or formed into a large lump.

Cooking nests correctly

Many are attracted by the original appearance of these pasta, reminiscent of bird's nests. However, careless handling can easily turn them into ordinary vermicelli. To keep them in their original form, you can cook them in two ways.

Frying method

Prepare a small, clean tin jar without a lid. Grease the inside of the mold with oil. Put a nest in it. The dish itself is prepared in a frying pan with oil. To do this, pour vegetable oil and butter into the frying pan in equal portions. Heat the fat and fry the nests over very low heat, turning them over time.

Place the finished nests on a plate and stuff with any filling.

Cooking method

For lovers of the traditional method of cooking, you need to stock up on a wide pan. Fill the bowl with water so that it covers the nests by 2-3 cm. Salt the liquid brought to a boil to taste. Place the pasta in the pan, being careful not to let it turn over while cooking.

Cook them in a saucepan according to package instructions. Creamy mushroom sauce with cheese is perfect for ready-made nests.

Cooking perfect spaghetti

Served as the only or second course for lunch or dinner, spaghetti requires some nuances during its preparation.

Unlike short pasta, spaghetti requires maximum water. Therefore, it is worth boiling them in liquid, taking it at the rate of up to 10 units. The cooking pan must also be of the appropriate size.

Long pasta should not be broken. It is enough to just leave them in the pan. After 1-1.5 minutes, the ends will soften in the water and all products can be lowered to the bottom.

The cooking time for spaghetti is usually indicated on the package, but should not exceed 8 minutes. But you should cook black spaghetti in half the amount of time, up to 3-4 minutes.

Since spaghetti is not ordinary pasta, rinsing after cooking does not apply to it. With the right approach, based on the opinion of Italians, long pasta should be slightly hard. The best way to check readiness is to taste it. The finished products should be laid out using special tongs, lifting them high. This way it will be easy to separate the portions from each other. And the best addition to them will be a variety of sauces that can be prepared using the water in which the pasta was cooked.

Simple pasta recipes for everyone

Having understood the rules for preparing pasta, it’s time to create complete, nutritious and tasty dishes for the whole family using them. Meat and vegetable options will appeal to avid gourmets and convinced vegetarians.

Navy pasta with stewed meat

A quick, hearty, quick dinner can feed the whole family, saving time for relaxation. A camping or country version with stewed meat instead of minced meat is simple and ingenuous. Mix pasta boiled in any way with the contents of the jar and serve. But even such a simple “navy” option can be slightly diversified, giving it bright flavor notes.

Required ingredients:

• horns - 200 gr;
• stew (350 g) - 1 can;
• onion - 1 pc.

How to cook:

1. Cook the horns in salted water, without cooking them for 1-2 minutes. Drain the water, leaving some at the bottom of the pan.
2. When choosing stew, focus on the quality of the product, not the price. Melt the fat from the can in a frying pan. Chop the onion into small cubes and fry it in melted fat until golden brown.
3. Place the stewed meat pieces on the horns. Cook the pasta and stew over low heat until the fat is completely dissolved and the liquid boils.
4. Place the onion in the dish and mix everything carefully. A hearty and quick dinner for 2-3 people is ready.

Spaghetti Al Dente with vegetables

Al Dente is a special way of cooking pasta until it is “tender crunchy” or “crispy”, when it is already cooked but remains firm. Simply, it is a kind of slightly undercooked pasta, when during eating the tooth bites into the product, but at the same time feels a slight density. Italians consider this type of cooking the most correct and low-calorie. It should be noted that only durum varieties can be cooked al dente.

Required ingredients:

• spaghetti - 350 gr;
• tomatoes - 500 gr;
• olives - 100 gr;
• garlic - 2 cloves;
• capers - 1 teaspoon;
• hot pepper - 1 pc.;
• olive oil - 6 tbsp. spoon;
• parsley, oregano - optional;
• salt - to taste.

How to cook:

1. The basis of this dish will be tomato vegetable sauce. To do this, peel the tomatoes by pouring boiling water over them and removing the skin. Grind the pulp.
2. Finely chop the oregano and parsley.
3. Heat olive oil in a frying pan. Flatten the garlic cloves with a knife and fry them in oil along with the pepper. Once the garlic is fried, remove it from the oil and add the tomatoes, capers, pitted olives and oregano to the pan. Cook the sauce for 10-12 minutes, then add parsley and simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
4. Throw the spaghetti into boiling water with salt and cook it al dente. It is impossible to say with certainty how long to cook al dente pasta. The main thing is to constantly taste and taste, because seconds count. If, when breaking, the pasta has a white mark in the middle, it means it is not yet cooked.
5. Pour the spaghetti boiled al dente with sauce and serve in portioned bowls.

07.03.2018

Pasta is easy to prepare if you know how to cook it correctly.

During and after cooking pasta, the same mistakes. During the cooking process, simple rules that must be followed are ignored so that the pasta does not stick together and is tasty and appetizing in appearance.

Let's put an end to the wrong ways of preparing this dough dish once and for all.

By following these rules you will cook pasta that will not stick together.

If short, then to prevent the pasta from sticking you need:

1. Buy pasta only from durum wheat;
2. Cook in plenty of boiling water and over high heat;
3. Cook minus 1-3 minutes from the time indicated on the package or “al dente”;
4. Do not rinse;
5. Add oil to the prepared pasta and stir several times.

Expanded and detailed, read on to learn how to prepare delicious and non-sticky pasta.

1. Remember the most important thing

Main axiom: water to pasta ratio 100/1000/10 .

In translation: per 100 grams of pasta, 1 liter of water and 10 grams of salt.
Salt, of course, is added to taste and varies from 0 to 15 grams, but it is better not to reduce the amount of water.

2. Only durum!

Second axiom: cook and eat only pasta from durum wheat! This wheat is also called durum.
Before purchasing, find one of the options in the composition description on the package:

• "Group A"
• “1st class” (high-grade flour),
• "durum"
• "durum wheat"
• "semolina di grano duro"

Everything listed above will mean that you have pasta made from durum wheat in your hands. Such pasta has a low glycemic index, brings only benefits and does not make you fat. If eaten in moderation, of course.

How to buy quality pasta in the store?
How much does a good pasta cost and why is a bad one harmful?
How to choose pasta based on appearance and description on the label?
Answers in the article

3. Large saucepan and plenty of water

It is advisable to cook a 450-500 g package of pasta in a saucepan with a capacity of 4 liters or more. The more space there is between individual pasta, the less chance of sticking together during cooking. You can get by with 2.5-3 liters of water if you are sure that you bought good pasta and know how to cook it until al dente.

Also a necessary condition is the availability of clean water. Preferably filtered, preferably bottled. When cooked, pasta absorbs 25-30% of the liquid. After all, no one wants to eat pasta that tastes like tap water.

4. Go all out

Set the fire under the pan to the maximum.

Add salt to the water and cover with a lid. This will reduce the amount of time it takes for the water to boil before adding the pasta.

When the water boils, cook the pasta, uncovered, over the same heat, stirring occasionally.

5. Don't break

Pasta don't break it! Unless needed for a specific recipe or for other reasons. For example, cook spaghetti for a child.

Any long paste in boiling water will go under water in half a minute. And if she resists, you can always help her a little by pressing her into the pan with a fork.

6. Only boiling water

Just throw in the pasta into boiling water. If you don't do this, they will definitely stick together.

After adding the pasta, the water will immediately stop boiling. Stir and cover the pan with a lid for 30-60 seconds until the water starts to boil again. Just don’t sit down at the computer, otherwise the liquid will quickly leak out of the pan onto the stove.

Once boiling, remove the lid and cook the pasta until tender, stirring every 2-3 minutes.

7. Read the packaging

If you cook pasta for as long as it says on the package, in most cases it will be overcooked. Be careful. Cooking until done is only suitable if the pasta is served as a side dish.

In other cases, if sauce is used, the pasta is cooked until "al dente", which translated means “by the tooth.” To cook pasta al dente you need subtract 1-3 minutes from the time indicated on the package. That is, do not finish cooking. The finished paste in this state is elastic on the surface but hard on the inside. The pasta will absorb the missing moisture from the sauce and cook until done. If the sauce is fatty, do not add oil to the prepared pasta. It will prevent moisture absorption.

To prepare this method, you do not need to boil the pasta first. They are cooked in a frying pan.

Method of preparing “stir fry” shown in recipe

This method does not require cooking in a pan. Pasta is fried and boiled in a frying pan.

How bake pasta in the oven look in the recipes

From my own experience

I found for myself the best and easiest way, which is practically prevents pasta from sticking together even after overnight in the refrigerator.

Of course, it is better to cook as much as will be eaten at one time. But honestly, I’m too lazy to do that. And often there is no time for this. For example, before going to work, you won’t put a pan on the fire and spend 20-30 minutes on a couple of servings of pasta. Most often you still cook in advance and with a reserve.

If you, like me, cook pasta in packages, use these tips:

1. Don't skimp on the oil
   Add 2-4 tablespoons of olive, sunflower or 50-70 grams of butter to the finished pasta. The oil will prevent the pasta from sticking to each other and will partially retain its elasticity and freshness until the next day.
2. Don't skimp on quality
   Take only durum wheat pasta! It’s better to pay an extra 20-40 rubles and dine on elastic and tasty pasta than to get sticky and starchy dough.
3. Mix well
   After the finished pasta is transferred from the colander to the pan, oil is added and they are thoroughly mixed, after 10 minutes, stir again, and after half an hour again. This will prevent them from sticking together the next day.

These methods have not failed me. But if suddenly some part of the pasta still sticks together, then just stir it again.

What to do if the pasta still sticks together?

If the pasta sticks together after cooking, don't despair. I offer several ways to turn a lump of dough into individual pasta.

1. Rinse with cold water in a colander and stir
2. Add a piece of butter or a few tablespoons of sunflower oil. Heat and stir
3. Fry in a pan with oil
4. Add any liquid sauce to pasta. This can be soy sauce, cream, ketchup, tomato paste diluted with water, cutlet gravy and more. After adding the sauce, stir the pasta well.

Stammer

Send

Plus

Tweet

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:

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.

1. 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).

for the family with recipes, step-by-step photos and shopping list

Choose where to send you the menu for the week:

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.

Surely every housewife knows how to cook pasta. But few cooks think that this simplest process also has its secrets. To ensure that pasta always turns out tasty and does not stick together, it is worth using some tricks.

How to cook pasta correctly?

The main question in the process of preparing the most popular side dish: how long to cook pasta? The exact time depends on which cooking method is chosen, as well as on the type and quality of the product. It is important to choose the right utensils for cooking pasta.

In a saucepan

Most often, pasta is cooked in a saucepan. It is best to use a thick-bottomed container for this process. First, the pan is filled with filtered water. Ideal proportions: liter of water per 100 g of product. If there is not enough liquid in the container, the dish will turn out too sticky. Typically, for a family of three people, take 300 g of pasta and 3 liters of clean water.

The product is lowered into actively boiling water. You need to salt it to taste in advance. The heating of the stove should be maximum. Immediately after immersing the pasta in the liquid, cover the pan tightly with a lid. After boiling again, remove the lid and reduce the heat.

Immediately after adding the pasta to the water, stir it well to prevent sticking. Next, the side dish is prepared for 10-12 minutes.

In a slow cooker

Ingredients: 1 cup pasta, 380 ml filtered water, salt, seasonings to taste, a piece of butter.

1. First of all, the prepared liquid is poured into the bowl of the “smart pan”. Salt is immediately poured into the water and the selected seasonings are added.
2. The “Pasta” mode is set in the menu. After the signal for the liquid to boil, pasta is placed in it. Next, the dish cooks for 8 minutes. If in the end it turns out to be not ready, you can extend the process for the same amount of time.

The resulting side dish is placed in a colander and flavored with butter.

In the microwave

Ingredients: 220 g pasta, 2 times more filtered water, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of refined oil, table salt to taste.

1. To prepare pasta in this way, you need to choose a deep dish suitable for the microwave oven.
2. First, the container is sent into the device at maximum power for 12-15 minutes until the liquid boils.
3. You can salt the bubbling water and pour oil into it. Pasta is immersed in the mixture. The oil will prevent them from sticking together.
4. The products are mixed well and the container is returned to the oven for 20 minutes at medium power.

All that remains is to drain the pasta in a colander and you can take a sample.

In a steamer

Ingredients: 350-370 g pasta, 1 tbsp. a spoon of refined oil, salt, seasonings, water.

1. First, water is poured into the steamer container intended for rice. There should be enough liquid so that its level is approximately 1.5 cm higher than the pasta layer.
2. Salt, seasonings and oil are immediately added to the water.
3. The pasta is immersed in the liquid, after which the device is closed and turned on.

The dish takes 20-25 minutes to prepare. All that remains is to rinse the pasta with warm water.

Al dente pasta - how long to cook?

Slightly undercooked al dente pasta is used in compound dishes. For example, when spaghetti ends up being combined with sauces or separately cooked meat. If you add ready-made pasta to a boiling sauce, it will end up boiling quickly. The al dente state allows for the perfect preparation of a compound pasta dish. An additional couple of minutes of simmering will bring them to full readiness.

The selected pasta is immersed in actively boiling salted water. Next you need to time 3-4 minutes. After this, the semi-finished product is left to stand in water for a couple of minutes, placed in a colander and rinsed with water.

Secrets of cooking different types of pasta

The hardest part is figuring out how to cook pasta nests. This base allows you to prepare a delicious dish with vegetable and meat fillings.

The nests are carefully lowered into boiling water and cooked like regular pasta until tender. The main thing is not to stir them and carefully remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon. You can remove the undercooked nests from the container, cover them with filling and send them to finish baking in the oven.

Spider web vermicelli is cooked very quickly and easily. If it becomes part of the soup, then you can add it to the pan with the first dish 5 minutes before it is ready. Separately, the product is boiled for the same amount of time in salted water with a small amount of vegetable oil.

To cook spaghetti deliciously, you can dip it in either boiling water or milk. You need to check the readiness of the dish every 3 minutes. As soon as the product becomes soft but elastic, you can remove the pan from the heat.

If large spirals or shells are selected, they will need to be cooked a little longer. Until fully cooked, such products need to be kept in boiling water for 12-14 minutes.

Do I need to rinse pasta after cooking, and with what water?

Experienced chefs from Italy consider the habit of Russian housewives of washing pasta with cold water to be a big mistake. During the process, the product cools down and loses its taste, and, in addition, the starch necessary for excellent absorption of sauces is washed off.

Each housewife will have to decide whether to rinse cooked pasta on her own. Be sure to rinse the product with water if the pasta is intended for making salad.

But these precautions are not enough. To definitely protect the dish from sticking, you just need to add vegetable oil to the water during cooking. 1-2 teaspoons is enough.