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• Follow these Pasta Do’s and Don’ts and you will never go wrong.

Pasta is one of the easiest dishes to make.  It can be paired with any type of sauce and added to any dish.  But sometimes it can have a tendency of not being cooked properly or cooked too much.  Here are a few Do’s and Dont’s when it comes to cooking Pasta.

Do’s

* Use a large pot that can hold enough water to submerge all the pasta you want to cook.  Remember, that the lighter the pot the faster it will come to a boil, which is much better.  After adding the pasta return pot to a boil immediately.

* Salting the water is a must.  Once the water starts to boil make sure to add enough salt to it, this will give the pasta added flavoring.   For every pound of pasta add two tablespoons of salt and 6 quarts of water.

Learn more, * Stir the pasta once you add it to the boiling water and throughout the cooking process.  This will help from the pasta sticking together in a clump.

* Test pasta out by grabbing a strand or noodle and trying it out for doneness.  Dried pasta should be cooked through but still firm to the bite.  If the pasta sticks to the wall of the pot then it is overdone.  Fresh pasta will rise to the surface when ready.  The pasta should all be one color and chewy.

Dont’s

* Don’t break pasta to fit it in the pot. Let the ends stick out until the submerged sections soften, about 1 minute. Then stir to bend the pasta and push it underwater.

* Don’t add oil to the pot.  Stirring the pasta should be able to keep it from sticking.  Adding oil to the pasta will prevent sauce to stick to the pasta when done.

* Don’t throw away the pasta liquid.  Always reserve a cup of the cooking liquid for adding to the sauces.

* Don’t rinse cooked pasta.  This will kill the flavorful starch that helps the sauce stick to the pasta.

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