Spaghetti sinks
I have two brands of spaghetti, and I'm wondering if anyone can shed insight into which one of them has better quality.
I have been cooking a certain brand X of spaghetti for some time. When cooking, the noodles sort of float and play around near the top of the pot, making it easier for me to grab a piece and test for firmness. The resulting pasta water is pale or off-white.
On the other hand, another brand Z of spaghetti seems to be denser and sticks to the bottom during cooking. At the start, upon dumping into boiling water, the pasta softens/flexes much sooner than brand X. Finally, the resulting pasta water is more yellow in color. Because brand Z spaghetti sinks at the bottom of the deep pot, it has to be stirred constantly, to avoid overcooking and fusing of noodle strands.
As cooked, the Brand X spaghetti is thicker than Brand Z - both cooked to my own standard of al dente, around 9 minutes.
Without knowing the price of the two brands, would anyone be able to tell any tell-tale factors of quality for store bought spaghetti noodles?
Best Answer
Are these fresh pastas or dried? That might explain the differences in cooking "behaviors"- however, I agree completely with mrog- I would just go with which ever one you like more.
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Why does my pasta sink?
Because pasta is made of flour, it releases starch into the cooking water as it boils, creating a white, cloudy liquid that we often deem \u201cdirty\u201d and then dump down the sink.Is pasta supposed to sink?
Don't drain all of the pasta water: Pasta water is a great addition to the sauce. Add about a \xbc-1/2 cup or ladle full of water to your sauce before adding the pasta. The salty, starchy water not only adds flavor but helps glue the pasta and sauce together; it will also help thicken the sauce.The Real Reason You Should Never Drain Pasta In The Sink
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