You might be thinking: “But what if I pull it too early and it’s crunchy?” Relax. You can always cook it a little longer, but you can’t uncook mushy pasta. If your first bite feels too firm, just drain the pasta, keep the hot water in the pot, drop the pasta back in, and let it simmer for another 30 seconds. No stress, no waste, just a quick fix.
Let’s Bust a Myth: Rinsing Pasta
Unless you’re making a cold pasta salad, never rinse your al dente pasta. Rinsing washes away that clingy starch that helps the sauce stick. You want that starch on there. Let the pasta be a little tacky—it’s not dirty, it’s ready for action. Trust the process.
