you add the pasta to the water that is boiling. in order to get the pasta that is al dente do you

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Poll Results

OptionVotes
start the timer immediately 18
start the timer only after water begins boiling again 12


, Saturday, 17 June 2017 23:17 (seven years ago)

That is a very pertinent question for boiling anything really, because whatever you throw into to the water cools it for at least a minute usually.

calzino, Saturday, 17 June 2017 23:25 (seven years ago)

immediately

ciderpress, Saturday, 17 June 2017 23:33 (seven years ago)

Monitor pasta for a while and then take a piece out and eat it

nice cage (m bison), Saturday, 17 June 2017 23:35 (seven years ago)

It's al dente when it's al dente time measurement in cooking is a lie

quet inn tarnation (darraghmac), Saturday, 17 June 2017 23:43 (seven years ago)

^^^

ein Sexmonster (Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved), Sunday, 18 June 2017 00:01 (seven years ago)

also that glass pot looks like it could shatter into a billion scalding shards at any moment and for that reason it makes me nervous and I do not like it

del griffith, Sunday, 18 June 2017 00:17 (seven years ago)

I throw the pasta in, stir it around for maybe 15 seconds to prevent clumping, then casually reach over and start the timer even though it probably hasn't yet re-boiled, yet. There's no point in obsessing over a few seconds in any direction. Minutes, yes. Seconds, no.

A is for (Aimless), Sunday, 18 June 2017 00:22 (seven years ago)

It doesn't really matter because the only way to get it cooked the way you want it is to test a piece.

o. nate, Sunday, 18 June 2017 00:54 (seven years ago)

al dente

good bloke iirc

Yoni Loves Chocha (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 18 June 2017 01:00 (seven years ago)

It's al dente when it's al dente time measurement in cooking is a lie

― quet inn tarnation (darraghmac), Saturday, June 17, 2017 7:43 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark

I'm sorry do you see a third poll option because i dont

, Sunday, 18 June 2017 01:22 (seven years ago)

the third option is to not vote, friend

nice cage (m bison), Sunday, 18 June 2017 01:23 (seven years ago)

you're gonna feel so stupid when you see that over 6 billion people didn't vote in your fraudulent pasta poll, bud

nice cage (m bison), Sunday, 18 June 2017 01:24 (seven years ago)

i put the pasta in as soon as i put the pot on because it makes it taste better and produces superior pasta water

qualx, Sunday, 18 June 2017 01:58 (seven years ago)

with fresh pasta i put it in boiling water and then pretty much taste it every 20 seconds and it ends up overcooked anyway

qualx, Sunday, 18 June 2017 01:59 (seven years ago)

Al dente is overrated, I call it under done. And yes, you have to taste it.

Moodles, Sunday, 18 June 2017 02:02 (seven years ago)

https://i.imgur.com/TuKBBJT.gif

qualx, Sunday, 18 June 2017 02:09 (seven years ago)

pasta underdone and pasta threads oversalty

quet inn tarnation (darraghmac), Sunday, 18 June 2017 02:16 (seven years ago)

there are many hills i'm willing to die on and they all involve pasta let's get this going

qualx, Sunday, 18 June 2017 02:17 (seven years ago)

i found my thrill
on pasta hill

nice cage (m bison), Sunday, 18 June 2017 02:48 (seven years ago)

voted show-egg

sexualing healing (crüt), Sunday, 18 June 2017 02:51 (seven years ago)

i stand w deems

Yoni Loves Chocha (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 18 June 2017 02:53 (seven years ago)

you don't need to boil the water first, just put the pasta in the water from the get go and then heat it up cmon guys

gbx, Sunday, 18 June 2017 02:57 (seven years ago)

the fuck are u playing at

Yoni Loves Chocha (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 18 June 2017 03:26 (seven years ago)

you add the lime to the coconut, you mix them all up

A is for (Aimless), Sunday, 18 June 2017 03:28 (seven years ago)

i put the pasta in as soon as i put the pot on because it makes it taste better and produces superior pasta water

― qualx, Saturday, June 17, 2017 9:58 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

qualx, Sunday, 18 June 2017 03:30 (seven years ago)

i guess i worded that weirdly

qualx, Sunday, 18 June 2017 03:30 (seven years ago)

i don't remember where i first heard about this method but i'm certain j kenji lopez-alt has several articles about it

qualx, Sunday, 18 June 2017 03:31 (seven years ago)

p sure yr a witch

Yoni Loves Chocha (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 18 June 2017 03:57 (seven years ago)

1. water doesn't have to be boiling for pasta to cook
2. as noted you don't have to wait for the water to heat up
3. also as noted: trying to get accurate times for all pasta varieties & allowing for things like finishing it in a pan w/ sauce is for fools, always better to test

this is not an issue for true and good lovers of pasta

ogmor, Sunday, 18 June 2017 04:12 (seven years ago)

i had no idea people actually used the times on the box, wouldn't different stovetops and pots require different times

they always seem overcautious too

qualx, Sunday, 18 June 2017 04:16 (seven years ago)

SORCERY

Yoni Loves Chocha (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 18 June 2017 04:38 (seven years ago)

I wonder how alex is voting

a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Sunday, 18 June 2017 04:41 (seven years ago)

you don't need to boil the water first, just put the pasta in the water from the get go and then heat it up cmon guys

― gbx, Sunday, 18 June 2017 03:57 Bookmark

reminds me of this guy (also an idiot) i once met who cooked rice by pouring it into a pot of boiling water and draining it after x minutes

r|t|c, Sunday, 18 June 2017 08:55 (seven years ago)

chez maison snoball the routine is this:

  • bring water to the boil
  • put in paster
  • wait for water to come back to the boil
  • cook for 14 minutes regardless of pasta type

Zings Can Only Get Better (snoball), Sunday, 18 June 2017 08:58 (seven years ago)

reminds me of this guy (also an idiot) i once met who cooked rice by pouring it into a pot of boiling water and draining it after x minutes

I also cook rice in exactly the same way as pasta, even down to cooking it for 14 minutes.

Zings Can Only Get Better (snoball), Sunday, 18 June 2017 08:59 (seven years ago)

don't start the timer at all

||||||||, Sunday, 18 June 2017 09:00 (seven years ago)

14 minutes after returning to boil probably makes the pasta easier to mash (assuming you're making mashed pasta)

qualx, Sunday, 18 June 2017 09:04 (seven years ago)

resultant pasta

qualx, Sunday, 18 June 2017 09:05 (seven years ago)

michael_jackson_popcorn_except_with_spaghetti_in_the_box_instead.gif

illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Sunday, 18 June 2017 09:44 (seven years ago)

for the dente i like it to be al, eat straight from box, no water needed boiled or otherwise

mark s, Sunday, 18 June 2017 09:59 (seven years ago)

resultant pasta

― qualx, Sunday, 18 June 2017 09:05 (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Highest excellence

quet inn tarnation (darraghmac), Sunday, 18 June 2017 10:11 (seven years ago)

http://i0.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/002/008/chefexcellencememe.png

Zings Can Only Get Better (snoball), Sunday, 18 June 2017 10:15 (seven years ago)

start timer immediately. putting pasta in boiling water does lower the temp of everything but not enough to cook the pasta more slowly. also different amounts of water will return to boil at different times. the water is close enough to boiling. consistency is key.

assawoman bay (harbl), Sunday, 18 June 2017 13:22 (seven years ago)

i don't remember where i first heard about this method but i'm certain j kenji lopez-alt has several articles about it

― qualx, Saturday, June 17, 2017 10:31 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah, this is where i first heard about it -- works like a charm

gbx, Sunday, 18 June 2017 13:25 (seven years ago)

i like the way harbl thinks

, Sunday, 18 June 2017 15:07 (seven years ago)

i have a phd in pasta science

assawoman bay (harbl), Sunday, 18 June 2017 15:17 (seven years ago)

you're not fucking kidding pal! You've educated this savage, my overdone al dente is all in the pasta now.

calzino, Sunday, 18 June 2017 15:40 (seven years ago)

i don't remember where i first heard about this method but i'm certain j kenji lopez-alt has several articles about it

― qualx, Saturday, June 17, 2017 11:31 PM (yesterday) Bookmark

i like this dude generally but sometimes he's like "throw an ice cube into your chocolate chip cookie dough, trust me" and it makes absolutely no difference

, Sunday, 18 June 2017 15:45 (seven years ago)

loool

mh, Sunday, 18 June 2017 17:12 (seven years ago)

Itt ghosts

jk rowling obituary thread (darraghmac), Wednesday, 12 July 2017 07:46 (seven years ago)

how have i not opened this thread yet

imago, Wednesday, 12 July 2017 08:27 (seven years ago)

and it's resulted in making the best possible carbonara as something of a white whale in my life. I was in Rome recently and went as always to Cantina Cantarini, where I had the carbonara, and dammit how do they do it? It was incredible. I simply can't get to that level. I mean I know they've been doing it for 100 years, local ingredients etc, but it's infuriating.

Carbonara - cream or no cream? I've always preferred the latter, mixing in some of the pasta water.

American Fear of Pranksterism (Ed), Wednesday, 12 July 2017 08:52 (seven years ago)

unless I'm making a broth-y soup or using the pasta in a cold salad, or its a type of pasta that only takes 2-3 minutes to cook (e.g. angelhair, rice noodles), I actually take the pasta out of the water a few minutes before it's done and then cook it for the remaining few minutes in the sauce. You end up with better texture, and flavor due to the sauce permeating more of the pasta.

sarahell, Wednesday, 12 July 2017 08:59 (seven years ago)

xp cream or no cream, iirc you once posted online a carbonara recipe which had onions in, i hope you have repented of that sin.

The XX pants (ledge), Wednesday, 12 July 2017 12:39 (seven years ago)

^

no cream.

Fizzles, Wednesday, 12 July 2017 16:12 (seven years ago)

pretty much every dish should have onions in it.

Eallach mhór an duine leisg (dowd), Wednesday, 12 July 2017 18:35 (seven years ago)

there are dishes that don't have onions? I don't I've ever cooked one tbh.

calzino, Wednesday, 12 July 2017 18:37 (seven years ago)

I put onions in almost everything too. Certainly every pizza, pasta, stir-fry, soup, chili, stew.

Not waffles or pancakes (though maybe I should!).

nachismo (Ye Mad Puffin), Wednesday, 12 July 2017 19:06 (seven years ago)

Also: in my household, onions are red unless otherwise specified. My wife has to specifically instruct me to get yellow or white onion when a recipe calls for it.

nachismo (Ye Mad Puffin), Wednesday, 12 July 2017 19:08 (seven years ago)

When making tomato based sauces do any ILX bon vivants just use cheap tinned tomatoes? Last year I went through a period of making my own passata, but fuck doing that anymore - peeling tomatoes and sieving them is tedious work, and if the tomatoes aren't good it is pointless. Sometimes I think some of the pricier brands of passata do make a superior flavour of sauce, but saying that I have made some delicious sauces with plain supermarket brand tinned tomatoes.

calzino, Wednesday, 12 July 2017 21:06 (seven years ago)

Long-cooking tomato sauces do just fine with tinned tomatoes.

A is for (Aimless), Wednesday, 12 July 2017 21:13 (seven years ago)

i use tinned san marzanos

-_- (jim in vancouver), Wednesday, 12 July 2017 21:15 (seven years ago)

some v cheap tinned tomatoes are bad but yes I always use tins & my tom sauce game is v strong

ogmor, Wednesday, 12 July 2017 21:48 (seven years ago)

tinned all the way

Yoni Loves Chocha (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 12 July 2017 23:46 (seven years ago)

Even the Italian nonnas I have known all use tinned tomatoes (good italian ones if you can get them). They were all like "lol fuck cooking with fresh ones, thats a waste of time"

Stoop Crone (Trayce), Thursday, 13 July 2017 00:10 (seven years ago)

one year passes...

THIS is the pasta thread I was hoping had been bumped

an incoherent crustacean (MatthewK), Monday, 30 July 2018 05:34 (six years ago)

It doesn’t really matter when you start the timer because it’s merely to remind you to start checking the pasta. imo.

Some very Edward Learian pasta and egg recipes upthread.

devops mom (silby), Monday, 30 July 2018 06:02 (six years ago)

Thread is an excursion into madness

the Joao looked at Jonny (Noodle Vague), Monday, 30 July 2018 06:50 (six years ago)

That’s every thread

devops mom (silby), Monday, 30 July 2018 06:55 (six years ago)

true

the Joao looked at Jonny (Noodle Vague), Monday, 30 July 2018 07:03 (six years ago)

I had fancy orrechiete for dinner with onion, pesto and a bit of fresh tomato with some of the starchy cooking water tossed in. Was delish.

Stoop Crone (Trayce), Monday, 30 July 2018 10:36 (six years ago)

I live in fear of overcooked pasta. I think I tend to eat it 2-3 minutes before most people would stop cooking it, but I do cook it more in the sauce.

Yerac, Monday, 30 July 2018 16:03 (six years ago)

I'm the exact opposite, I live in fear of undercooked pasta, and have a tendency to make it too soft.

Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Monday, 30 July 2018 16:05 (six years ago)

I also do that thing where I cook pasta super al dente, toss it in sauce, then put it into a hot pan with a little oil and parm, crack an egg on top, put a lid on and steam the egg. That way I get a nice runny egg on top and a crusty bottom.

Yerac, Monday, 30 July 2018 16:06 (six years ago)

That sounds seriously good

Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Monday, 30 July 2018 16:33 (six years ago)

Always set timer for 1 minute less than package says, comes out reliably al dente. Except for farfalle which needs a minute longer.

A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Monday, 30 July 2018 21:04 (six years ago)

Part of my problem is I don't like al dente nearly as much as everyone else. I'm a bad Italian!

Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Monday, 30 July 2018 21:05 (six years ago)

yerac, a runny egg on top sounds good, but i'm not sure about a crusty bottom

lefal junglist platton (wtev), Monday, 30 July 2018 21:17 (six years ago)

Always set timer for 1 minute less than package says, comes out reliably al dente. Except for farfalle which needs a minute longer.

― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Monday, July 30, 2018 10:04 PM (twelve minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

farfalle is a pasta outlier. if the middle folds are al dente then the outside 'wings' are probably too soft. dried folded pasta is a no-no imo.

lefal junglist platton (wtev), Monday, 30 July 2018 21:19 (six years ago)

I had fancy orrechiete for dinner with onion, pesto and a bit of fresh tomato with some of the starchy cooking water tossed in. Was delish.

― Stoop Crone (Trayce), Monday, July 30, 2018 11:36 AM (ten hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

love onion being a keystone of a pasta dish

lefal junglist platton (wtev), Monday, 30 July 2018 21:22 (six years ago)

xp yep exactly. and I'd rather have the outside be lil beyond al dente than have the middle be crunchy eww eww.

A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Monday, 30 July 2018 21:22 (six years ago)

I like a crispy bottom because my favorite part of the lasagna is the crispy, chewy bit.

Yerac, Monday, 30 July 2018 21:26 (six years ago)

Basically, a faster way to get that baked pasta feel.

Yerac, Monday, 30 July 2018 21:26 (six years ago)

sorry yerac i was being facetious with my earlier post

lefal junglist platton (wtev), Monday, 30 July 2018 21:40 (six years ago)

t/s sauce or lasagne sheets at the bottom of the dish?

lefal junglist platton (wtev), Monday, 30 July 2018 21:40 (six years ago)

lasagna sheets

off topic, but the egg part reminds me that I've always wanted to try shakshuka

Dan S, Monday, 30 July 2018 21:42 (six years ago)

shakshuka is great

devops mom (silby), Monday, 30 July 2018 21:44 (six years ago)

I was youtubing a quite daft UK based Italian chef last year, i forgot his name but i know he was an associate of the late Carluccio. What I picked up from him was to mince the onions, garlic, carrots, celery etc to absolutely tiny fragments - i was doing pasta sauces way too chunky for years.

calzino, Monday, 30 July 2018 21:44 (six years ago)

CRUSTY BOTTOM

Yerac, Monday, 30 July 2018 21:47 (six years ago)

I put an olive oil, balsamic, clove of garlic sliced and a dash of sauce mixture on the bottom so it makes the lasagna sheet on the bottom roasty, garlicky. Plus I don't cook my noodles beforehand and just use the dry sheets.

Yerac, Monday, 30 July 2018 21:49 (six years ago)

^sounds like a good idea

A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Monday, 30 July 2018 22:06 (six years ago)

My family always had lasagna on xmas and easter. Unlike Yerac, everyone hated how the top layer was prone to getting dry and crunchy. My aunt (who married into the family) solved that by protecting the top with foil. I think my mom still resents the fact that it took an "outsider" to figure out such a simple solution haha. I make sure every speck of the top layer of noodles is covered liberally with sauce, which prevents crispiness even moreso.

A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Monday, 30 July 2018 22:10 (six years ago)

I'm ok with a little pasta crunch

Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Monday, 30 July 2018 22:54 (six years ago)

i'm sorry, Yerac, but that's two days in a row that you've blown my mind!:

this is brilliant: That way I get a nice runny egg on top and a crusty bottom.

and that other pasta thread revive that had the buzzfeed article which led to Miyuki's insta. that showed those beautiful, inspired, refined noodle creations was like some life-changing stuff.

ty!

lâche pas la patate (outdoor_miner), Monday, 30 July 2018 23:11 (six years ago)

Massimo Bottura of Osteria Francescana does that dish, The Crunchy Part of the Lasagna.

xpost No problem! I was looking all over my kitchen trying to find textured things to run my pasta against because of that instagram. So many possibilities.

Yerac, Monday, 30 July 2018 23:16 (six years ago)

do you manage/worry about the egg holding the integrity of its shape of sorts or do you just plop raw egg on top and just leave it be? sry if that doesn't make sense and if this should be in aks Yerac thread

lâche pas la patate (outdoor_miner), Tuesday, 31 July 2018 00:30 (six years ago)

I make a little nest in the pasta. The oil and parmesan on the bottom helps with getting the crispyness going before I put the egg on. If I don't have a good lid for the pan I am using I will sometimes add some water to help create the steam for the egg. Today I had a hard time getting the egg to cook (all the whites solid) so I had to add a little water like 3 times. Normally my problem is that the egg cooks too fast and the yolk is no longer runny and I get sad.

Yerac, Tuesday, 31 July 2018 00:38 (six years ago)

Residual heat is often quite enough to cook an egg sufficiently; c.f. carbonara

And where did you acquire this fine bundle of lettuce? (Ye Mad Puffin), Tuesday, 31 July 2018 03:13 (six years ago)

I incubate plain al dente pasta for three weeks until an egg forms on the top

an incoherent crustacean (MatthewK), Tuesday, 31 July 2018 05:54 (six years ago)


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