How to Keep Dried and Fresh Pasta from Sticking
I am, to put it mildly, very passionate about pasta. For decades, I worked at Italian American restaurants lovingly referred to as “red sauce joints.” I had a fresh pasta pop-up in Los Angeles for a few years, too, and even now, at home, pasta is my go-to meal when I need quick weeknight sustenance. I’ve cooked both store-bought and fresh pasta thousands of times in my life, and in all those years I have rarely experienced a problem with pasta sticking.
And yet, so often I hear of home cooks having this problem. They cook their pasta, and in the process, several strands of spaghetti stick to one another in clumps, or an entire serving of rigatoni gets lodged into the bottom corner of their pot. It got me thinking — why don’t I have this problem? What have I been taught about cooking pasta that perhaps others haven’t? I conducted my own research to figure out why exactly pasta sticks to itself during the cooking process, and how to prevent it. The answers are a whole lot simpler than you might think.
Your Number-One Fail-Safe: Keep Stirring
This is it. This is the number-one line of defense to prevent pasta from sticking. Stir. Stir often, stir gracefully, and stir completely — especially at the beginning. The beginning of the pasta cooking process is when the starch molecules release into the water, so the first few minutes are crucial. When cooking long pasta like spaghetti or linguine, use a pair of tongs to gently separate each strand in an elegant, circular motion. If cooking a short pasta like penne or rigatoni, consider using a wooden spoon, and be sure to gently scrape the bottom edges of the pot. The pasta shouldn’t be still, but rather slowly swimming (almost floating in motion) through the water.
You can change every other variable when cooking pasta — the amount of water, the brand of pasta, the salt content, boiling or non-boiling water — but if you’re stirring frequently and with good technique, you will always avoid pasta sticking.
Make Sure the Water Is Boiling (Like, Actually Boiling)
We’ve all been there — impatiently waiting for water to boil, hastily dumping pasta into water before it’s hot, thinking we’re getting a good head-start on the cook time. The problem is that dunking your pasta early isn’t a shortcut at all; it only lengthens the cooking process, which means there’s more time for your pasta to stick.
Keep in mind that any time you drop pasta into water, you’re lowering the temperature of the water itself. Hot water will turn to warm. To really cook pasta well and avoid sticking, the water should be boiling.
There are plenty of Tik Tok hacks and theories out there demonstrating that you can drop pasta into cold water and then bring it to a boil, and that’s all well and good, but we’ve been boiling water to cook pasta for hundreds of years for good reason. The faster the pasta cooks, the less chance there is of sticking, as most sticking occurs in the beginning of the cooking process, so try to expedite that stage by adding pasta to water that is at a rolling boil. If you want to bring the water to a boil faster, cover the pot with a lid while bringing it up to temperature, then remove the lid when you’re ready to cook the pasta.
Think About Changing Pasta Brands
I can’t prove it, but about a decade ago, for the first time in my life, I had a real problem with a popular pasta brand sticking while cooking. Well-made pasta should just sort of float, but despite all of my best efforts the pasta was still clinging to the pot. I immediately switched back to De Cecco, a readily available and equally reliable brand I used for years in restaurants, and the problem immediately went away. I can’t be sure whether De Cecco is more reliable because of the drying process or something else — I just know that not all pasta is made equally, and therefore it can take some perusing to find something you like.
The same problem can be seen with a lot of “fresh” pasta you see in refrigerated sections in grocery stores. Cheaply made pasta full of preservatives isn’t desirable, and if you notice it’s sticking, too, there’s a good chance you could just use an upgrade.
If Using Fresh Pasta, Consider Dusting It with Semolina Flour
If you’re buying fresh pasta or making it at home, dusting it slightly with semolina is another line of defense to prevent sticking. At my pasta pop-up in Los Angeles, I always served fresh semolina pasta. I often froze my pasta the day before service so I could store dozens of orders and then pull them out when necessary. On days the weather was humid (rare in Los Angeles, but it happens), I would dust the fresh orecchiette with a little more semolina flour. The granules of flour prevent the individual pasta shapes from sticking to one other, while also creating an additional barrier between each individual piece. Don’t worry about the flour itself — it’ll boil away in the water.
For Pasta Salad, Add Oil to the Pasta After Straining
Adding olive oil to pasta water is a waste. It won’t prevent sticking any more than attentive stirring, and worse, it’ll make your pasta slick. Sauce won’t adhere to slippery pasta very well, and getting sauce to cling to your pasta should be of utmost importance. Sauce and pasta should be cooked together — so much so that they should practically become one. This ensures maximum flavor, and oily pasta will only create an uneven taste.
For pasta salad, however, it’s best to oil the pasta after it’s cooked. Whenever I make pasta salad, after rinsing my pasta with cold water in a strainer, I add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil while it sits in the strainer, and then I stir to coat. This will prevent clusters of pasta, and also makes for a nice, rich pasta salad.
Pitfalls to Avoid
Adding oil to the water: This makes the pasta slick, and sauce won’t cling well to slippery pasta.
Putting too much water in the pot: You might think a larger surface area means the pasta won’t stick together, but the only thing that will do is dilute your pasta water. You want good, starchy pasta water to thicken and liven up your pasta dishes. Generally, I think 2 quarts of water for a pound of pasta is great.
Further Reading
Why People Are Ditching Their Seltzer After a Disturbing Study
We Asked 3 Chefs to Name the Best Ice Cream, and They All Said the Same Thing
