On Sep 30, 4:53 pm, ChattyCathy wrote:
Heh. I am talking store-bought (dried?) spaghetti here.... so sue me!

The cooking "destructions" say that it should be cooked in boiling
(salted) water (with a tablespoon of oil added to the water) for 10-12
minutes...

Yeah right!

Mine always takes *at least* 25 minutes before it's "al dente" i.e. it's
not "soggy".
And yes, before anyone asks, the water is *boiling* the whole time...

Is it just me or...???

Comments welcome
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Garlic: the element without which life as we know it would be impossible

my question would be is, are you cooking with electric or gas?? C

In article irRLi.969$6Y5.308@trnddc07,
"James Silverton" wrote:

We used to go the oil-on-top route since it was supposed to
prevent the spaghetti from sticking together but many years ago,

James Silverton


I've never known it to prevent sticking -- I think you dump oil in the
water to reduce foaming and possible boil-over.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Dinner at Yummy! 9-15-2007 Pictures included.

"margaret suran" wrote in message
...
Melba's Jammin' wrote:
In article irRLi.969$6Y5.308@trnddc07,
"James Silverton" wrote:

We used to go the oil-on-top route since it was supposed to prevent the
spaghetti from sticking together but many years ago,

James Silverton


I've never known it to prevent sticking -- I think you dump oil in the
water to reduce foaming and possible boil-over.


Oil in the cooking water is supposed to keep the strands of pasta from
sticking to each other. It definitely does NOT, but it may keep you from
blaming yourself when you look at the mess in the pot.

How about using a big spoon to keep the pasta moving and off the bottom
until the water returns to a boil? High tech, but definitely possible. :-)

margaret suran wrote:


I've never known it to prevent sticking -- I think you dump oil in the
water to reduce foaming and possible boil-over.

Oil in the cooking water is supposed to keep the strands of pasta from
sticking to each other. It definitely does NOT, but it may keep you
from blaming yourself when you look at the mess in the pot.


I always thought that the reason was to break the surface tension on top of
the water so that it doesn't boil over and make a mess.

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
"margaret suran" wrote in message
...
Melba's Jammin' wrote:
In article irRLi.969$6Y5.308@trnddc07,
"James Silverton" wrote:

We used to go the oil-on-top route since it was supposed to prevent the
spaghetti from sticking together but many years ago,

James Silverton


I've never known it to prevent sticking -- I think you dump oil in the
water to reduce foaming and possible boil-over.


Oil in the cooking water is supposed to keep the strands of pasta from
sticking to each other. It definitely does NOT, but it may keep you from
blaming yourself when you look at the mess in the pot.

How about using a big spoon to keep the pasta moving and off the bottom
until the water returns to a boil? High tech, but definitely possible. :-)

And if you really want to go high tech, try a big fork.

Felice

"Felice Friese" wrote in message
. ..

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
"margaret suran" wrote in message
...
Melba's Jammin' wrote:
In article irRLi.969$6Y5.308@trnddc07,
"James Silverton" wrote:

We used to go the oil-on-top route since it was supposed to prevent
the spaghetti from sticking together but many years ago,

James Silverton


I've never known it to prevent sticking -- I think you dump oil in the
water to reduce foaming and possible boil-over.


Oil in the cooking water is supposed to keep the strands of pasta from
sticking to each other. It definitely does NOT, but it may keep you
from blaming yourself when you look at the mess in the pot.

How about using a big spoon to keep the pasta moving and off the bottom
until the water returns to a boil? High tech, but definitely possible.
:-)

And if you really want to go high tech, try a big fork.

Felice

Maybe even a stick!

margaret suran wrote:

Oil in the cooking water is supposed to keep the strands of pasta from
sticking to each other. It definitely does NOT, but it may keep you
from blaming yourself when you look at the mess in the pot.

Larger pots with more boiling water works much better.

"Goomba38" wrote in message
. ..
margaret suran wrote:

Oil in the cooking water is supposed to keep the strands of pasta from
sticking to each other. It definitely does NOT, but it may keep you from
blaming yourself when you look at the mess in the pot.

Larger pots with more boiling water works much better.

I got the Rachel Ray oval pasta pot. Never had a problem with my pasta
sticking together with it.