Whether it’s adding olive oil to your water or rinsing cooked pasta, there are plenty of so-called kitchen hacks people swear by. A lot of them sound like advice straight from someone’s Nonna, but not all these tips actually hold up. In fact, some of them might be doing more harm than good.
Cooked pasta will indeed stick to a wall, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good way to determine doneness.
“This isn’t the best way to check for doneness,” says de Marchi. “The texture of the pasta can change when it hits the wall, and it doesn’t give an accurate indication of whether it’s properly cooked.” Plus, you’re likely to splatter your wall with starchy noodle juice, or worse, watch it slide down the wall and behind the stove.
Instead, it’s more accurate to scoop out a single strand and taste it. You’ll then be able to tell if it’s achieved that perfect al dente texture.
Fresh pasta has good PR, but some dried pasta is just as tasty.
It’s all about personal preference. Fresh, dry or frozen; chefs aren’t here to dictate what your taste buds like and don’t like.
“Fresh pasta has a softer texture and cooks quickly, making it perfect for delicate sauces,” says the chef. “On the other hand, dry pasta has a firmer texture and holds up well with hearty or thicker sauces.”
De Marchi also compares it to choosing between two great actors for a movie role. “The choice depends on the character they’re portraying,” he says, “just like the choice between fresh and dry pasta depends on the dish you’re making.”
Salt won’t get your pasta water boiling significantly faster.
Based on a recent Reddit discussion, quite a few people are confused about whether adding salt to pasta water makes any real difference. The truth is that salt plays an important role in pasta water, but not when it comes to heat. (Impurities do change the boiling point of water, but the amount of salt you add to pasta water doesn’t make a significant difference.) Rather, it’s essential to add salt so that the pasta can absorb its flavor.
“If you’re cooking without enough salt, the pasta can end up tasting a bit bland,” warns de Marchi, whose signature dish at NHC Murano Villa is a spaghetti alle vongole. The seafood dish, which hails from the region of ocean-adjacent Venice, is a combination of vongole (typically clams, garlic, white wine and chili flakes), sea asparagus and lemon zest.
Rinsing pasta after cooking may not be the special trick we all thought it was.
If you want to subject yourself to a potential injury via a rolling pin or wooden spoon by Nonna, run your cooked pasta under fresh water.
“This can remove the starchy coating that helps the sauce adhere to the pasta,” says de Marchi. “The residual heat from the pasta helps the sauce to marry with the pasta, creating a more flavorful and cohesive dish. Think of it like a beautiful marriage — you want the sauce and the pasta to come together and live happily ever after, not to undergo a cold shower right before serving.”
