Bet with mother-in-law for $ 100, whether to wash pasta

Are pasta washed after cooking with cold water? Some people believe that it is necessary to do this. My mom and grandma did that and they taught me. Others cite Italians who never get washed. And Italians, as you know, know everything about pasta and even a little more. Let’s try to understand the issue to finally put an end to the protracted dispute.



Do they wash pasta? As is often the case, the answer is not a simple yes or no. First you need to decide: what kind of pasta, why do you prepare them, what will they be served with? To begin with, in the process of cooking pasta, starch is released into the water. Therefore, the water from under them remains whitish and cloudy. When the starch cools, it becomes sticky and often glues individual pasta into a solid lump.



What depends on the amount of starch released and can it be somehow reduced? First of all, the variety of wheat is important. In cheap pasta from soft varieties of wheat starch more. Quality of solid wheat, contain it, respectively, less. Therefore, in Italy, where all pasta is made from hard wheat, no one washes pasta after cooking. It's just not necessary.



The chance of pasta sticking together is also affected by the amount of water in which they are cooked. No wonder experienced housewives use pots of at least 4 liters. The same amount of starch dissolves in more water. Plus, the space between individual pasta is also getting bigger. This means that the likelihood of pasta sticking together is significantly reduced.



Peels to sum up. Buy only quality pasta. On their packaging is usually written “group A”, “hard wheat”, durum. Cook them on a high fire in a large amount of water for 1-2 minutes less than indicated on the package. You can also add a little vegetable oil to the water.



After cooking, drop the pasta on the coop, let the water run and put it back in the pan. You don't have to wash anything. Instead, add a couple of spoons of olive or a piece of butter and mix thoroughly. You will see that the pasta will not only not stick together, but will also taste even better!

In what cases is pasta still worth washing Wash pasta, if you do not plan to immediately serve them on the table. The fact that spaghetti or horns in the pan for some time continue to cook under the influence of its own temperature. As a result, you risk getting porridge instead of an elastic paste. Keeping pasta under a stream of water is also not worth it. Just cool them down.



Now, even ordinary pasta, you'll cook like a king. Why deny yourself pleasure and eat bad food when you can masterfully cook anything?