This Common Cooking Advice Is Ruining Your Pasta, Chefs Warn

Spaghetti boiling in a potYou may already know that placing huge meatballs on pasta is actually quite un-Italian, and that some nonnas place baking soda and sugar in their pasta sauce to make tinned tomatoes taste less acidic. You might even be aware that nutmeg is a powerhouse ingredient a lot of non-Italians miss in their savoury creamy dishes. But a recent Reddit post was about something seemingly simpler: cooking pasta itself. “Why do pasta instructions always say you need so much water?”, site user u/DiscountConsistent asked members of r/AskCulinary, a forum where non-chefs can ask the pros to spill their secrets. It’s true. A pack of linguine in my cupboard asked me to cook enough carbs for four in more water than my biggest pot could hold – but according to the experts, the advice is baloney.Multiple chefs disagree with the advice “Kenji [López-Alt], Daniel Gritzer, and plenty of others have done lots of experimentation on this and shown that you do not need lots of water, little water does not encourage sticking, and little water makes the water starchier for making sauces better,” a top comment on the post reads. It’s true. The culinary experts have spoken: less water actually creates starchier water, leading to silkier sauce with none of the downsides people commonly worry about.Chef Alton Brown likes the technique; as does writer, editor, and founder of America’s Test Kitchen, Cook’s Country, and Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street, Christopher Kimball. “You know, everybody’s wrong about how much water to use when cooking pasta,” he said in a TikTok. “Almost every recipe says a pound [or 453g] of pasta to four quarts [or 3.78L] of water,” he shared, but he chooses to halve the amount of liquid for a “glossy, shiny” pasta water sauce. @177milkstreetPeople call pasta water “liquid gold” for a reason—little bit of that starchy elixir makes your sauce silky and binds it to the noodles for a shiny, glossy coating. That’s why we ignore the advice of most recipes to use four quarts of water and use two quarts instead. Less water means a higher concentration of pasta starches, which means smoother, creamier, better-glazed noodles. Chris Kimball makes the case. #milkstreet#milkstreettips#tips#food#cooking#pasta#milkstreetcookingschool♬ original sound - Milk StreetSome chefs call pasta water “liquid gold” In Kimball’s caption, the expert says that “people call pasta water ‘liquid gold’ for a reason”.The starch, he says, “makes your sauce silky and binds it” to the pasta.“Less water means a higher concentration of pasta starches, which means smoother, creamier, better-glazed” spaghetti, the pro ended. I’ll take those orders...Related...The Only 3 Cooking Oils Mary Berry Says We NeedThe Secret Step Italians Use Before Cooking Gnocchi Makes Them 'Melt In The Mouth'The Way You Crack An Egg Reveals A Lot About Your Cooking Skills

Comments

Breaking news

'We have nowhere to go': Protests over School of Art decision to close studio

The Herald

Bondi claims DOJ is reviewing ‘tens of thousands’ of videos of Epstein with children, but no one seems to know what they are

41 minutes ago

Starmer ditches Pip benefit reforms in face of Labour revolt

Independent

King Charles appears in his element as he joyfully greets guests at Palace of Holyroodhouse garden party alongside Queen Camilla and Princess Anne

about 1 hour ago

Dailymail

Moment Border Force agents smash people smuggling ring as they arrest Gambian national in terraced family home 'who helped launder £3m in profits'

about 1 hour ago

I live with my new husband and ex to save money... here's how we make it work

Dailymail

Comments

Breaking news

'We have nowhere to go': Protests over School of Art decision to close studio

Woman pulls out huge knife and lunges at young reveller in London park

Man charged with murder and ‘child destruction’ after pregnant mum found dead

Keir Starmer Hit By Major Labour Rebellion As MPs Back His Welfare Bill

Florida cooperation with immigration enforcement sparks fears people will disappear into jails

Woman charged in Vermont border agent's death seeks 6-month delay in death penalty decision

Did Trump nab his Hannibal Lecter? At ‘Alligator Alcatraz’, Kristi Noem says ICE ‘detained a cannibal’

Starmer survives by skin of his teeth – and here’s what he must do now

Eggs-cellent news! Waffle House drops egg surcharges after prices fall

Mexican banks face cascading consequences following US sanctions

Years after problems with Flint’s water emerged, the town has finally replaced all of its lead pipes

Rattled Starmer scrapes through on welfare reform after last-minute concession to rebel MPs

DOE withholds billions from school for teacher training and afterschool programs in districts as it looks to trim agency

New study suggests common assumption about aging could be wrong

What the key witnesses at Sean 'Diddy' Combs' sex trafficking trial told the jury

Jennifer Aniston will star in series inspired by Jennette McCurdy's memoir 'I'm Glad My Mom Died'

Starmer abandons key welfare reforms in face of Labour revolt

Bondi claims DOJ is reviewing ‘tens of thousands’ of videos of Epstein with children, but no one seems to know what they are

Starmer ditches Pip benefit reforms in face of Labour revolt

Scot cops attend 'unexplained' death as officers lock down Glasgow street

Young boy left concussed after being attacked by teenager outside Glasgow McDonald's

MPs back watered-down welfare reforms after 11th-hour PIP U-turn

WH Smith bids goodbye after over 200 year legacy as shoppers furious over rebrand

Police uncover Scotland's largest cannabis farm to date worth £12 million

Blantyre couple celebrate diamond wedding

Wildfire heroes in action as part-time firefighters pictured tackling blazes

How did your MP vote on Labour's welfare bill?

How much do tennis players earn in prize money at Wimbledon?

UK records hottest day of year so far - as 40C highs close schools in Europe

Starmer survives rebellion as welfare cuts pass key vote

Keir Starmer suffers biggest rebellion yet on watered-down DWP benefit cuts

Santander agrees £2.65bn TSB takeover sparking job loss and branch closure fears

Brit found dead in Arizona named 12 years later after scientific breakthrough

See how your MP voted on DWP welfare bill after Keir Starmer's massive U-turn

Mum killed in alleged Leicester attack by driver who flipped his car pictured

Welfare bill passes crunch vote after dramatic PIP U-turn - what you need to know

Weary Ben Affleck shows strain of househunting amid search for pad near ex Jennifer Garner

RFK Jr. drops autism bombshell on Tucker Carlson as he says he's found the 'leading culprit'

Famous televangelist Jimmy Swaggart dies at age 90

Pictured: 'Beautiful and vibrant' mother, 56, who died after she was 'murdered by BMW driver'

Mother made four ambulance calls and had 90-minute wait before son died in hospital from sepsis, inquest hears

Meghan Markle's As Ever wine goes on sale for wild price per bottle... but it is already SOLD OUT

Katy Perry gets STUCK in flying metal sphere and nearly falls out mid-air... after crying amid Orlando Bloom split

King Charles appears in his element as he joyfully greets guests at Palace of Holyroodhouse garden party alongside Queen Camilla and Princess Anne

Moment Border Force agents smash people smuggling ring as they arrest Gambian national in terraced family home 'who helped launder £3m in profits'

I live with my new husband and ex to save money... here's how we make it work

Toddler found dead 'after being forgotten' in car in Spain during 35C afternoon as heatwave grips Europe

Doctor issues terrifying warning to plane passengers who wear common clothing item on flights

JASON GROVES analysis: After describing welfare reform as a 'moral imperative', Sir Keir has all but abandoned it...

Daughter splashed £38,000 stolen from dementia-suffering dad on holidays

What is Diddy’s life like in jail?

Fireworks to light up July 4 skies: Here’s the cities that will have the best view - and the duds that will be rainouts

All the states where minimum wage will rise in July

Not feeling national pride this 4th of July? You’re not alone

Abuser, cheater, charmer: Diddy’s trial revealed the many faces of the ‘freak-off’-loving impresario

Why families of Bryan Kohberger’s alleged victims might never find out what really happened the night of the murders

Al-Qaida-linked group claims attack against Mali army position near Senegal

Research points to intermittent fasting as one of the more effective restrictive diets

Disabled Labour MP breaks down in tears over party’s welfare cuts

Mysterious packages featuring a picture of Yosemite Sam — and containing cocaine — washed ashore along a Florida beach