Pasta Sticking

[~me~]

What's the secret of cooking pasta?
I love pasta, I cook it reguarly using the direction on the packet. Quite often I cook the spaghetti or whatever pasta we are having and the serve it up a bit later, still warm enough to eat and not have to reheat it.
It sticks together and comes up in clumps, is there a way of making it not do that? Is it just adding some olive oil after draining?
Any tips would be great. I also have it as left overs the next day, and usually have to pry it away with my hands (clean ).

TIA

[The[cookie]Doctor]

Add some oil to the water

I also add salt (not for flavour) but because salt water boils at a higher temperature and therefor it cooks quicker.

[luna moth]

Yep, a bit of olive oil over it after draining does the trick. Makes sauces stick to it less though, so I don't reckon it tastes as good as when it's just ben cooked.

Oil while cooking doesn't do much, because oil, being less dense than water, just floats to the top and is the first thing you pour off when you drain.

[ladybird11]

Add some oil to the water

I also add salt (not for flavour) but because salt water boils at a higher temperature and therefor it cooks quicker.

Yup, thats what I do too!

[christy]

I rinse my pasta straight away in cool water so the gluten doesn't make it sticky. I use a bit of salt in the water and then rinse it straight away in cool water, I've not had a problem since!

[LimeSlice]

Putting oil in the water does NOTHING - sorry girls! lol It floats on top
And unless it is your sauce, don't put oil on it after you strain it either, it will stop your sauce sticking to it.

Make sure you salt the water, cook it in enough water and make sure it is boiling as hard as possible to stop it clumping together while you are cooking, and like Christie says, rinse it immediately after cooking to stop it sticking badly after it is strained.

The reason for adding salt to water when cooking pasta (and potatoes) is it reacts with the starch/gluten in the pasta and 'sets' it, so you don't get mushy pasta or soggy potatoes.

[Rouge]

Also cook your water in a very thin pot, don't go for the thick bottomed pots as the water can change temp easily and it takes longer to go back, whereas it seems to do more of a rolling boil with a thin pot. sounds bizarre but it's true!

[AwesomeFoursome]

we put salt or a teaspoon of butter in the water. It seems to work our pasta never sticks.

[~me~]

Thanks for the replies..all makes sense now. Will try it next week when we have pasta

[Miss.September]

My Italian stepfather has a motto with pasta - "You should always wait for the pasta. Never make the pasta wait for you."

He never adds anything but a pinch of salt to his water to boil and serves the pasta immediately. I think that the brand of pasta you buy makes a difference too.