Recipes

[sarahpanda]

I was looking online for a recipe for greek pasta salad and on one site called ''cookingclassy.com'', it says to boil the pasta, drain but do not rinse, that rinsing was a big 'no no'...Instead, put some extra virgin olive oil on it and lay on a pan to cool.  I've always rinsed pasta after cooking.  Have I been doing it wrong ?  Thanks in advance.

[LilLadyNJ]

I don't ever rinse my pasta. The starch gives the sauce something to cling to. 

[Sweetbay magnolia]

I used to rinse before pasta salad to cool it down (to stop cooking) but I felt it took away texture, so I now drain it and swish it around to cool it, but I also shaved a few minutes off my cook time so that it doesn't overcook, and seems better able to absorb the "sauce".  Then it stays a little "toothy".

I'm not concerned about the pasta sticking, which is why I think sometimes we rinse it.  The olive oil does serve that purpose, in the example you gave.

[felixmom]

Geoffrey Zakarian of The Kitchen always says NOT to rinse your pasta when it's finished cooking. To leave the starch on so the sauce will bind to it.

[nomless]

Do not rinse.

[SXMGirl]

@sarahpanda  Don't rinse your pasta and keep at least one cup of the pasta water for your gravy/sauce.  The pasta water can be used in either homemade or jarred.

[sidsmom]

Timely!

I follow this gentleman on YouTube....and he j.u.s.t made a video about cooking pasta!   He’s a former professional chef (worked for a large Las Vegas hotel) so he knows the tricks.

https://youtu.be/oUvCnETF8-E

In summary:

Cook Al Dante, drain water & immediately place on sheet pan to cool.

The outside will ‘tighten up’ when cooled. When used at a later time,

the pasta will absorb the sauce instead of running off when pasta

is warm.

[chrystaltree]

I never rinse my pasta after boiling.  

[RedTop]

I rinse pasta for cold salads; I do not rinse pasta for spaghetti or lasagna.   

[house_cat]

I've never rinsed pasta, nor have I ever salted the water.