topic Re: Pasta frustration! in Kitchen

Pasta frustration!

CamilleP — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 04:22:31 GMT

I'm far from a spring chicken, and I've been cooking pasta for several decades now, but I am just flumoxxed with one shape that seems designed by a high-level Demon to make otherwise good cooks want to tear their hair out!

How do I cook pasta shells so that they don't nest together five deep into little lumps that no sauce can penetrate? I don't get this with spaghetti, fettucini, macaroni, rotini, penne or lasagne noodles, either wheat-based (from years ago) or legume-based, but I simply can't seem to cook small shells without a culinary disaster happening.

Any suggestions, folks?

Re: Pasta frustration!

Scooby Doo — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 04:28:35 GMT

I add a little olive oil to the boiling water and stir several times until they are done.

Re: Pasta frustration!

PinkyPetunia — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 13:11:50 GMT

@CamilleP If that shape gives you so much trouble, don't use it. Substitute another shape. There are so many.

I have some pasta types I avoid. Angel hair and farfalle to be specific. I just don't care for them.

Re: Pasta frustration!

Bookplate — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 13:48:48 GMT

Stir, stir, stir, especially during the first 5 minutes. And yes, a little olive oil in the water also helps.

Re: Pasta frustration!

faeriemoon — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 15:20:36 GMT

Make sure you are using enough water. Most people don't boil their pasta correctly. You should use four to six quarts of water per pound of pasta (less if you are planning to use the pasta water as a thickening agent.) I would NOT add oil to the water.

Re: Pasta frustration!

loriqvc — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 15:23:10 GMT

@CamilleP - Shells are my absolute favorite instead of elbows for mac and cheese, and I've really never had problems with cooking them. Perhaps it is the brand you're using? I'd recommend Barilla if you haven't tried it; they use ingredients that give their pasta more substance, which may help if the problem is pasta that is too thin or gummy/sticky to begin with. And even though the shells are small, be sure you're using a large pot to give them room to move as they cook. Stirring more often could possibly help as well. Generously salting the water is also useful because it not only flavors the pasta as it cooks but it also prevents the starches from becoming too strong (i.e., gelatinous).

I would never add oil to the water since it will make the pasta slick as you pour it into a colander and thus prevent the sauce from coating it—and since the oil stays on top of the water, I don't think it would do anything to help the pasta as it cooks.

Re: Pasta frustration!

Jaspersmom — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 15:24:18 GMT

Most pasta will stick together unless you stir several times during the boiling process. The suggestion to add olive oil is a good one. Pasta has starch and that can act like glue. You have to break up the shells from the moment you add them to the pot. I tend not to use shells, but I've had the same problem with ziti, penne and everything else. Also make sure you have enough water in the pot.

Re: Pasta frustration!

Boehm Collector — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 15:49:15 GMT

@CamilleP Do not use olive oil when cookig pasta. Use plenty of water and stir frequently.

From myrecipes dot com

Should I Add Olive Oil to My Pasta Water?

Although cooking pasta might be like second nature for most home cooks, there are actually quite a few ways to mess it up. Some of which are misnomers held as conventional wisdom in many households. And that begs the question of whether or not it's necessary to oil your pasta water.

By Sara Tane and Sara Tane Updated March 24, 2017

Credit: Getty Images; Credit: TSchon

For a lot of us, learning how to cook pasta is one of the first skills an amateur cook might add to their arsenal. I mean, it’s easy enough right? You salt some water, boil it, and then cook your noodles. What’s so tricky about that? As it turns out, there are plenty of little tricks and turns along the way that can determine the failure or success of your pasta-cooking experience. Whether it’s related to salting the pasta water or rinsing the pasta after it cooks, it’s important to make sure that you’re avoiding common, and often seemingly harmless, mistakes. Why? Because you deserve the best bowl of spaghetti possible.

Watch: How to Make Creamy Spring Pasta

Which brings us to our next dilemma of what is right and wrong in the world of cooking pasta, and that is whether you should or should not add olive oil to your pasta water. While it might seem like an innocent splash of oil couldn’t do any harm, your pasta is way better off without it. Generally, people will drizzle a bit of olive oil into their pasta water in order to prevent the noodles from sticking together... but that's not the only thing it's going to keep from sticking. What happens is that a layer of oil will form at the top of your pasta water, so when you drain your noodles from the water, the layer of oil will then coat all of your noodles as they’re drained. Admittedly, this is isn't a huge issue if you plan to dress your noodles in nothing but olive oil anyway, but for something like a Bolognese or simple marinara, its kind of an issue. This coating of oil will only cause your pasta to become slick and slippery—in turn, making it very difficult for any sauce to cling to the pasta. And what good does that do you? None!

Really, all you need to do is give your pasta noodles a stir every so often as they cook to prevent major clumping. If the noodles seem a little sticky one you drain them, that's A-OK (ideal, actually); they'll loosen up from one another once they have some sauce to cling to. So the moral of the story—save your olive oil for something else (like building a rich and robust sauce), because it surely does not belong in your pasta water.

Re: Pasta frustration!

branny — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 07:57:31 GMT

a famous chef said not to use oil to pasta water. Sauce will not adhere. Just stir and use enough water. I'm not a shell user so I can't say about shells.

Re: Pasta frustration!

Rockycoast — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 11:50:31 GMT

Lots of water for the pasta to swim in. Stir frequently and Never put oil in the water.

Re: Pasta frustration!

Imaoldhippie — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 19:44:08 GMT

I always use some olive oil with any pasta. I read from one of the many cooking/recipe sites I visit that it is not true to the sauce will not stick to the pasta if you use oil or butter. All the pasta dishes I have cooked the sauce adheres just fine.

I guess it depends on what you were taught, and your experience.

Re: Pasta frustration!

CamilleP — Sat, 07 Sep 2024 04:01:26 GMT

Thank you, everyone. I did use a large amount of water, ten cups, which is what the package recommended, and I stirred constantly, during the whole time I was cooking the pasta. I didn't put olive oil in the water, as I don't for any other pasta, so perhaps I will try that if I decide to try again. However, I think I just won't try to cook shells any more, I'll stick to macaroni for my mac-n-cheese dishes and my Mom's goulash. I have tried both Chick-A-Pea garbanzo bean pasta and Banza garbanzo bean pasta shells, and both of them stuck together, so I am just going to give up on shells.

Re: Pasta frustration!

bajsf — Sat, 07 Sep 2024 11:42:20 GMT

larger pot more water for the shells to swim around while cooking. Lots of salt and NO oil.

Re: Pasta frustration!

loriqvc — Sat, 07 Sep 2024 15:45:24 GMT

@CamilleP - I would guess the garbanzo bean pasta is the problem; its goal is usually to offer a gluten-free pasta option, but it has no natural starches to create the structure expected from pasta and therefore has multiple starches added to it, which increases the likelihood that it will be gummy and sticky. I tried the elbow form a couple years ago and found it to be far more chewy than standard pasta, so even though it didn't happen for me when cooking it, I am not surprised to hear it sticks to itself. If you need a gluten-free pasta, I would recommend trying other kinds to see if something works better for you—fortunately, there are many options on the market nowadays.

Re: Pasta frustration!

CamilleP — Sat, 07 Sep 2024 18:17:00 GMT

@loriqvc I think you are right on the nature of the ingredients being the problem. Unfortunately, I am not dealing with something like celiac, so I need to remove wheat gluten (All grains have glutens, it's just wheat gluten that's so allergenic for some folks), I'm dealing with a DH who's a type II diabetic, so he can't have carbs. Nothing other than bean flour pastas have a low enough glycemic index that he can eat more than a tablespoon or two of them, and that's not enough pasta to even matter. So I will just have to quit trying to use the shell shape, and stick to the shapes that work. I can only find Banza elbows at the "WallyWorld" grocery store in town, and it's out of my normal way, but I'll just have to suck it up and shop there. I do give them credit for one thing, they carry far, far more of a selection of diabetes-friendly products than any other store in town.

Thanks again, everyone. Since the opinion on oil in the water is quite contradictory, I will just give up the shape.

Re: Pasta frustration!

Glittergal — Sat, 07 Sep 2024 18:34:55 GMT

Salt the water when it comes to a boil, pause, then add your shells and stir. Stir again intermittnetly. No problem.

Re: Pasta frustration!

loriqvc — Sat, 07 Sep 2024 19:07:01 GMT

@CamilleP - It is likely that you've already looked into this option, but whole wheat or whole grain pastas sometimes have a good balance of carbs to other ingredients that might fit your needs. I know Barilla makes whole wheat medium shells that cook well and actually taste and have a "bite" very similar to standard pasta (sorry to sound like a commercial for Barilla, but they really do make great pasta). Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

Re: Pasta frustration!

CamilleP — Sun, 08 Sep 2024 00:25:16 GMT

@loriqvc I have tried whole wheat pastas, but they spike DH's blood sugar almost as badly as refined wheat pasta. He isn't taking insulin or other injectibles, only oral meds, so he can't be as flexible in his carbs as if he were on insulin. He can't eat rice or bread, either, we have to use keto substitutes that have lots of fiber. So it's either bean pasta or no pasta at all. Thanks, though!

Re: Pasta frustration!

bells4me — Sun, 22 Sep 2024 05:30:42 GMT

I really don't care for pasta but when I do cook it you have to use a lot of water and stir well. Also salt well. I don't add oil because it prevents any sauce from sticking well.

Re: Pasta frustration!

shopped out — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 21:52:29 GMT

I find stirring keeps this from happening. Make sure that the water us boiling Rapidly. When the pasta goes in the boiling reduces so I bring the fire up. Might consider changing the brand