How to Cook the Perfect Pasta

Pasta seems simple — boil water, toss it in, done, right?
*Not quite.*
There’s an art to getting pasta *perfectly* cooked: tender but firm, flavorful, and not stuck together. Here’s your no-fail guide:

## 1. Use a Big Pot and Lots of Water

Pasta needs space to cook evenly.
Use a large pot filled with **at least 4–6 quarts of water** for every pound of pasta. If the pot is too small, the pasta sticks and becomes gummy.

## 2. Salt the Water Like the Sea

This is *key* to good pasta. Once the water boils, **add a generous amount of salt** — about 1–2 tablespoons.
It should taste slightly salty, like ocean water.
The salt flavors the pasta from the inside as it cooks.

## 3. Bring Water to a *Full* Boil

Wait until you see a strong, rolling boil before adding the pasta.
Adding pasta too early (when it’s just simmering) makes it mushy.

## 4. Stir Right Away

Once you drop the pasta into the boiling water, **stir immediately** for the first minute.
This prevents the noodles from sticking to each other or the pot.

## 5. Cook *Al Dente*

**Al dente** means “to the tooth” in Italian — pasta that’s firm when bitten, not soft.
Check the package instructions, but **taste-test** a minute or two before the suggested time.
It should have a slight bite in the center without feeling raw.

## 6. Save Some Pasta Water

Before you drain the pasta, **scoop out a cup of the cooking water**.
This starchy, salty liquid is magic for making sauces cling perfectly to the pasta.

## 7. Don’t Rinse

After draining, **never rinse your pasta** (unless you’re making a cold pasta salad).
Rinsing washes away the starch that helps sauce stick beautifully.

## 8. Finish Pasta in the Sauce

For the most delicious pasta, **finish cooking it in the sauce** for the last 1–2 minutes.
Toss the pasta and sauce together in a pan, adding a splash of the reserved pasta water if needed.
This lets the pasta absorb the flavors and get perfectly coated.

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And that’s it — perfect pasta every time! 🍝✨