If you've just dumped the water and discovered that the pasta is still crunchy, the easiest thing to do is simply put it back in boiling water. When you do this, it's important that you stay by the stove the entire time, testing the pasta every 30-60 seconds to make sure you don't end up overcooking it.
The best way to reheat noodles that haven't been tossed with sauce is to place them in a metal strainer and dip them into a pot of boiling water until they're warmed through, about 30 seconds. This will not only keep them from drying out—the quick hit of intense heat will prevent them from getting mushy, too.
The al dente texture of pasta can be improved by a quick rinse in cold water before making a cold dish, like a pasta salad. If you want to serve it or add other ingredients, you just need to drain it in a colander.
And remember: you can always cook pasta longer, but you can't un-cook it. There's no going back once you've hit al dente, so it's better to move your pasta from pot to pan sooner rather than later. If you need to, add more liquid into the pan to continue cooking your pasta for an extra minute or two.
If you cook pasta in the same water twice, it will become increasingly starchy as it draws more water from the pasta. Eventually, it will become too thick to use. If you reuse the same water to boil pasta over and over again, discard the water after it gets thick and cloudy.
You shouldn't cook them until al dente like regular pasta! Al dente is perfect for noodles served hot, but when your noodles are cold and come straight from the fridge, they'll get much tougher and firmer, which results in awful texture.
No. It is not unhealthy to eat undercooked pasta. In fact, many people prefer pasta with a little chew left in it.
When pasta sits in water that's not hot enough, it gets gummy and sticky. → Follow this tip: Wait for the water to come to a rapid, extravagant boil, then add the pasta.
Sounds like you are using a pot too small for boiling. Pasta needs room to boil. And you need to boil at least 10 to 12 minutes with SALTED WATER.
One is to run cold water over the cooked pasta and either drain it or set a colander in the sink for about 5 minutes. The other is to cover with water, add about 1 tablespoon of salt, let it sit for 8-10 minutes.
Because starch needs to be heated to gel properly, soaking pasta in cold water will allow you to hydrate it without worrying about it sticking together. Once it's fully hydrated, you've just got to finish it off in your sauce and you're ready to serve.
Overcooking pasta breaks down the sponge-like network of protein molecules, making it softer.
Boiling your pasta in less water in a large, shallow pan, will allow you to get the water boiling in 2-4 minutes, which gets you cooking faster. I use a large, wide pan that is only about 3 inches deep, instead of a large stockpot, and use only as much water as I will need to just cover the pasta.
Place the pasta in an oven-safe shallow bowl with some leftover pasta sauce and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Preheat the oven to 350° and cook the pasta for about 20 minutes, until heated through.
If you've already added the sauce, you can cook the pasta in the sauce for a few minutes. Just remember that this will cause the sauce to thicken. If necessary, add a bit of water, being mindful that the pasta will absorb some of the extra moisture.
The best way to do this is to plunge it quickly into boiling water, to which you've added a tablespoon of oil or butter. Then drain again, and it should come unstuck. If this is a continual problem for you, try adding oil or butter to the water as it boils the first time.
Undercooked pasta is hard, chewy, and sticks in your teeth. Overcooked pasta turns to a textureless mush.
Molto al dente is the culinary, Italian, term for slightly undercooked pasta.
Test for Al Dente
Some chefs suggest that when you bite into a piece of pasta which is cooked al dente, you should see a tiny white dot in the center of the pasta. Others say that al dente is when the dot is no longer there. The dot represents the center of the pasta is slightly undercooked.
Rinsing the pasta after cooking
Shocking pasta with cold water after it comes out of the pot will indeed stop the pasta from cooking more, but it will also rinse away all the delightful starch that helps sauce cling to noodles.
Do not rinse the pasta, though. The starch in the water is what helps the sauce adhere to your pasta. Rinsing pasta will cool it and prevent absorption of your sauce. The only time you should ever rinse your pasta is when you are going to use it in a cold dish like a pasta salad.
Dry spaghetti rehydrates in about ten minutes in boiling water, and in around two hours in room-temperature water, so you can soak your spaghetti for a couple of hours to complete the first half of the process without using energy to boil water.