How to Cook Pasta: Water, Salt & Timing Explained — Transcript

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1. 0:00So, how to cook perfect pasta? Let's fix
2. 0:03the basics most people get wrong. Use a
3. 0:05large pot. For two portions, use three
4. 0:08to four liter pots. That's about three
5. 0:11to four quarts and around two liters of
6. 0:13water, roughly eight and a half cups.
7. 0:16Give your pasta space. It matters more
8. 0:18than you think. And stop doing this.
9. 0:21Don't add oil.
10. 0:23Don't rinse pasta.
11. 0:25Unless it's for the salad.
12. 0:27Because you can ruin your sauce
13. 0:29connection. Put the heat on high. When
14. 0:31the water is boiling strongly, add two
15. 0:34tablespoons of salt and then give it a
16. 0:36stir. Because pasta itself has zero
17. 0:39salt, so your flavor is in your water.
18. 0:42The taste of your pasta depends on how
19. 0:44well you season it. If you oversalt it,
20. 0:47add about 500 ml of boiling water.
21. 0:51That's about two cups. Cook your pasta.
22. 0:53Keep the heat on high.
23. 0:56Add the pasta and stir immediately so it
24. 0:58doesn't stick.
25. 1:01After one to minutes, stir again so it
26. 1:03doesn't stick to the bottom.
27. 1:06Keep it boiling actively. Bubbling like
28. 1:09this is perfect. You can keep the heat
29. 1:12high or lower it slightly, but it should
30. 1:14always be boiling well. And here's the
31. 1:17key. Don't fully trust the package.
32. 1:19Start checking your pasta two to three
33. 1:21minutes early. What you're looking for
34. 1:24is al dente.
35. 1:27Soft on the outside, slightly firm
36. 1:30inside, but not raw. On your pasta
37. 1:33package, you'll usually see a cooking
38. 1:35time range, like eight to 10 minutes.
39. 1:38Start checking the pasta at the lower
40. 1:40number. It's usually close to al dente,
41. 1:43which means slightly firm in the center.
42. 1:46That's the texture we are aiming for. If
43. 1:49your package shows only one cooking
44. 1:51time, use that as a guide and start
45. 1:54tasting the pasta if you need it early.
46. 1:57Before draining, save pasta water. This
47. 2:00starchy water is liquid gold for your
48. 2:03sauce. Now your sauce should be ready.
49. 2:05Transfer your pasta with tongs, pasta
50. 2:08spoon, or drain it first. Depends on the
51. 2:11shape.
52. 2:12It's not just how long you cook pasta,
53. 2:15it's what you are cooking it for. So,
54. 2:17let's look at three methods. If you are
55. 2:20making something like vodka sauce or
56. 2:23butter pasta or garlic
57. 2:26Cook your pasta 1 to 2 minutes less than
58. 2:28al dente. Then transfer it straight into
59. 2:31the sauce and let it finish cooking
60. 2:33there. This is where the magic happens
61. 2:36and the pasta absorbs the sauce and
62. 2:39suddenly it tastes like restaurant dish.
63. 2:41What's important, don't rinse it. Pasta
64. 2:44releases starch as it cooks and that's
65. 2:46what helps the sauce stick.
66. 2:49So, the second method, mixed with ready
67. 2:51sauce. Now, this one is for dishes where
68. 2:54the sauce is already done or real
69. 2:57fettuccine Alfredo where you finish
70. 2:59everything off the heat. Cook pasta to
71. 3:02al dente. Then mix it with the sauce off
72. 3:05the heat. Don't rinse it and if you like
73. 3:08real fettuccine Alfredo with a bit more
74. 3:11bite, cook it 1 minute less than al
75. 3:13dente. That's actually how we love it
76. 3:16most.
77. 3:18Third method, pasta for the salad. This
78. 3:21is the only time you should rinse your
79. 3:23pasta. Cook to al dente.
80. 3:27Drain it, rinse under cold water, let it
81. 3:30dry slightly. Now it's perfect for the
82. 3:33salad. So yeah, same pasta, three
83. 3:35totally different outcomes.