The perfect pasta is a mystery to me!

[warpus]

"Toss with oil to prevent the noodles from sticking together"

This is always in the instructions, but never works. What the Fernsehen?

A) I am using the wrong oil
B) I am using the right oil incorrectly
C) I am using the wrong kind of strainer
D) I am doing something else incorrectly
E) Recipes are passed down to the next generation in secret ceremonies and can't be changed by mere mortals and since "toss with oil" is in the sacred texts tough luck
F) The old people in charge of recipes are too stubborn to accept that they're wrong even though we've known that "toss with oil" doesn't work since 2,000 B.C.
G) It's all a scam by the "Big Oil" companies to trick consumers into using more oil
H) It's actually a secret medical initiative that makes noodles more slippery and easier to swallow, helping to save thousands of lives every year
I) It's some sort of a joke
J) It's the noodles
K) ___________________

 

[Valka D'Ur]

"Toss with oil to prevent the noodles from sticking together"

This is always in the instructions, but never works. What the Fernsehen?

A) I am using the wrong oil
B) I am using the right oil incorrectly
C) I am using the wrong kind of strainer
D) I am doing something else incorrectly
E) Recipes are passed down to the next generation in secret ceremonies and can't be changed by mere mortals and since "toss with oil" is in the sacred texts tough luck
F) The old people in charge of recipes are too stubborn to accept that they're wrong even though we've known that "toss with oil" doesn't work since 2,000 B.C.
G) It's all a scam by the "Big Oil" companies to trick consumers into using more oil
H) It's actually a secret medical initiative that makes noodles more slippery and easier to swallow, helping to save thousands of lives every year
I) It's some sort of a joke
J) It's the noodles
K) ___________________

How do you toss oil, anyway? I mean, if it's not in a drum or can or jar?

 

[Sofista]

"Toss with oil to prevent the noodles from sticking together"

This is always in the instructions, but never works. What the Fernsehen?

A) I am using the wrong oil
B) I am using the right oil incorrectly
C) I am using the wrong kind of strainer
D) I am doing something else incorrectly
E) Recipes are passed down to the next generation in secret ceremonies and can't be changed by mere mortals and since "toss with oil" is in the sacred texts tough luck
F) The old people in charge of recipes are too stubborn to accept that they're wrong even though we've known that "toss with oil" doesn't work since 2,000 B.C.
G) It's all a scam by the "Big Oil" companies to trick consumers into using more oil
H) It's actually a secret medical initiative that makes noodles more slippery and easier to swallow, helping to save thousands of lives every year
I) It's some sort of a joke
J) It's the noodles
K) ___________________

K) It's an urban legend, more or less. And everybody knows oil doesn't mix with water, and floats to the surface of it.

 

[Samson]

K) It's an urban legend, more or less. And everybody knows oil doesn't mix with water, and floats to the surface of it.

There are 2 different things. Putting oil in the water while cooking seems like it does very little, and almost all of the oil ends up down the drain. Putting oil (or a knob of butter) in the saucepan after draining seems to help for example spaghetti stick less.

 

[Sofista]

@Samson: spot on. Add the fats after draining the pasta is the way to go.

 

[JohannaK]

It works.

@Samson: spot on. Add the fats after draining the pasta is the way to go.

This was my assumption from the beginning, yes. I do know my grandma and maybe even my mom like to toss a dash of oil on the boiling water for some bizarre reason but that doesn't prevent them from actually tossing some more after draining.

 

[Sofista]

Well, no pasta dish comes without some oil or butter. Actually I can think of cacio e pepe (cheese and pepper), but off the top of my head no pasta sauce comes without some fats.

 

[warpus]

How do you toss oil, anyway? I mean, if it's not in a drum or can or jar?

I drain the pasta using a strainer and when the water is gone I drizzle some oil overtop, then shake the strainer a bit to "toss" the pasta noodles with the oil. Then I set the strainer down and leave it there while I finish making the sauce. Then I return to the noodles 5-15min later when I need to begin plating, and what usually (almost always?) happens is the noodles are stuck together to some degree.

There are 2 different things. Putting oil in the water while cooking seems like it does very little, and almost all of the oil ends up down the drain. Putting oil (or a knob of butter) in the saucepan after draining seems to help for example spaghetti stick less.

How do you mean "in the saucepan" exactly? I do this as described in my response to Valka. It never really seems to work though

 

[Cutlass]

I drain the pasta using a strainer and when the water is gone I drizzle some oil overtop, then shake the strainer a bit to "toss" the pasta noodles with the oil. Then I set the strainer down and leave it there while I finish making the sauce. Then I return to the noodles 5-15min later when I need to begin plating, and what usually (almost always?) happens is the noodles are stuck together to some degree.



How do you mean "in the saucepan" exactly? I do this as described in my response to Valka. It never really seems to work though

well, if you strain the pasta and then put it back in the pan you boiled in, and added a touch of oil and shook it around....

 

[Samson]

I drain the pasta using a strainer and when the water is gone I drizzle some oil overtop, then shake the strainer a bit to "toss" the pasta noodles with the oil. Then I set the strainer down and leave it there while I finish making the sauce. Then I return to the noodles 5-15min later when I need to begin plating, and what usually (almost always?) happens is the noodles are stuck together to some degree.



How do you mean "in the saucepan" exactly? I do this as described in my response to Valka. It never really seems to work though

When I do it, or more accurately how I used to do it before I gave up processed carbs, is to use the lid to drain the pasta. Then a lump of butter in the pan, the lid back on and a bit of a shake. Though it is not magic, it will still stick some if you leave it especially if it is more cooked than al dente, and it will keep cooking in the pan without the water. Making sure the sauce is cooked by the time the pasta is helps more than oil.

 

[warpus]

Hmm maybe it is a timing issue. My pasta usually stands there for 5-10 minutes before everything else is ready. None of the recipes I've ever followed noted anything like: "Make sure that your pasta does not stand there for 5-10 minutes after you toss with oil". All it ever says is "toss with oil to prevent sticking".

I wish they were more clear. It just seems like a line they throw in without thinking

 

[GinandTonic]

Nah, unless it's a creamy sauce that could go weird, pasta is the final item. When the pasta is ready get it onto the plate and serve. It makes even more sense with fresh pasta that takes seconds to cook.

Growing up with dry pasta makes things seem more complicated and puts us off our game - seven mins seems like a length of time you should be able to do something with. In fact it's just long enough to get distracted and bugger the whole thing up.

Get everything togetherish by the time the pasta goes into the water, drain and serve.

 

[Sofista]

Word for @warpus: "Make sure that your pasta does not stand there for 5-10 minutes after you toss with oil".

2-3 minutes before your pasta is cooked make sure your sauce is ready and simmering in the pan you've prepared the sauce (oil/butter and all) in (unless it's pesto or the likes of it, this passage is crucial). Add grated cheese if you're going to (after you've thrown the pasta in the saucepan; the ideal is that the cheese should slightly meld on top of the noodles), stir your pasta together with the sauce for 1-2 minutes, serve.

 

[warpus]

A lot of these dishes are not traditional pasta dishes, they are stir fries, dishes with a sauce that you mix with the noodles at some point, etc. Yet every single recipe always says "toss with some oil to prevent sticking", without giving any more details.

Usually this is annoying because by the time you end up mixing the noodles with the veggies (or sauce or whatever), they form this clump of noodles that you then have to break up. It's not a huge deal, but it's a bit annoying, especially since the instructions have a step to prevent this from happening.

I did not consider timing to be the problem here, since all of these recipes always have "put a pot of water on the stove" as the first step. So it ends up finishing before everything else.

'll try to time all of this better next time though! We'll see what happens.

 

[Sofista]

Ah, stir fries. Can't really say a thing about them.

But here's a thought: have you tried using short pasta instead? Even if it should stick, I believe it would be easier to separate - or possibly form a less obscene mass.

 

[tjs282]

When I'm boiling dried pasta, I always

(0) Get the sauce pretty much done before I start the pasta going
(1) Make sure the water is boiling first, then add the pasta to it,
(2) Keep the heat up and the lid off for a proper rolling boil while the pasta cooks,
(3) After straining the pasta, pour some more hot/boiling water over it, to rinse off starch

Conversely, my wife (love her dearly though I do)

(1) Dumps the dry pasta into the saucepan, then pours boiling water over it,
(2) Puts the lid on the pan and turns the heat down to a simmer,
(3) Pours off (most of) the water, but leaves the cooked pasta in the pan

Neither of us add oil. My pasta rarely sticks together. Hers nearly always does :shrug:

 

[JohannaK]

I would still say, have everything ready when the pasta is done.

If you pour some oil then leave it straining for 5-15 minutes the oil will slip to the bottom and then we're back on square one.

 

[warpus]

I'll ignore the "THE VERY FIRST THING you do is start boiling the water" part of the instructions next time for sure

 

[Gori the Grey]

THE VERY FIRST THING YOU DO is to get your oil ready, for the tossing you'll be doing later.

Yeah, maybe don't let it sit for 5-10 minutes after.

 

[Gelion]

J) It's the noodles

Buy good pasta...