Cooking pasta is one of those things that everyone learns how to do when they begin cooking. There’s nothing better than having a fresh bowl of pasta with some marinara or vodka sauce. Cooking pasta seems relatively easy to many people, because all you really have to do is boil water and cook the pasta, then add sauce to the pasta and serve.
But, there are different ways that people decide to cook their pasta. Some people think that you need to add salt, while others add oil. Some strain the pasta, others keep the water.
Different people think there are several “right ways” to cook pasta.
Depending on who you ask, there are some different ways to cook pasta that are “correct” and “incorrect.” Many people argue about how to boil the water. Others argue about how long pasta has to cook.
Then, there are those who argue about how to strain and sauce your pasta. Many cultures, especially Italians, feel as though there is only one right way to make pasta overall.
However, a self-proclaimed “pasta expert” on TikTok, Monte, says there is a “right way” to do it.
TikTok user Monte, who runs “Monte’s Fine Foods” on TikTok , frequently shares pasta cooking videos that make our mouth water.
From meat sauce to lasagna to baked ziti, some of the videos make us want to jump through our phones and eat that entire bowl on the TikTok video right away.
Monte says it’s all in the way that you sauce your pasta.
Many people choose to add their pasta sauce to their pasta by straining their pasta, buttering it, and then adding some sauce to the pasta to make it a bit flavorful.
Then, they put more pasta sauce on the pasta when they plate it. However, Monte says that way is “incorrect.”
Monte says you’re supposed to add the pasta to the sauce.
Monte says the right way to make pasta is by adding the pasta to the sauce pot or pan, not the other way around. And, he also says that you should keep the sauce pan on the stove, on the gas for a bit longer, so the pasta cooks into the sauce, letting the sauce’s flavor be cooked into the pasta. It’s best to do when the pasta is “al dente.”
Instead of straining with a strainer, Monte says to get a “strainer spoon.”
Monte says that getting a strainer spoon allows you to get the pasta out of the boiling water right away and into the pan. And, he says don’t worry if you get some pasta water into the sauce because it actually helps keep the pasta bound to the sauce and cook it a bit better.
Pasta water is actually good for pasta.
Many argue that straining all of the water out of the pasta is the way to go because no one wants watery, liquidy sauce for their pasta. However, people online suggest that the pasta water, which is “starchy water” helps to keep the pasta sauce on top of the pasta and also make the sauce a little less “thick.”
However, many people online totally disagreed.
One person said “absolutely not” because people need to determine how much sauce they want on their individual pasta. You may be feeding an entire family and your kids may want extra sauce or even lighter sauce, and if you are putting all of the pasta into the sauce, you can’t choose how much sauce is on the pasta.
Another person said this makes the pasta “soggy.”
One TikTok user said this isn’t going to work well because the sauce will make the pasta “soggy” and soft, and if you have leftovers, the pasta will be mushy and inedible. No one wants to eat mushy and soggy pasta, even if it is leftover.
One other TikTok user said that’s “not how restaurants do it.”
“Nah you get a stainless skillet at medium heat, after hot add a tiny bit of olive oil, add sauce, then add pasta. How restaurants do it,” said the TikTok user. So, you still mix the sauce and the pasta, but not in the same pot that the sauce is being made in.
And, one other user said just add the pasta water separately to the sauce.
Instead of scooping the pasta out of the pot and into the sauce immediately, one person says to add a little bit of the pasta water to the sauce, then do your regular straining and saucing and plating. You don’t want to have to keep cooking the pasta in the saucepan because the pasta has to be “overcooked.”