by Lyn Lomasi

Created on: October 20, 2010

Everyone knows how to cook spaghetti...right? Wrong. Do your noodles come out as mushy as the food you feed your baby? Please don't tell me they instead look like a bird's nest, all sticky and weaved together. Spaghetti noodles should be soft, but not so soft you'd mistake them for mush. They also shouldn't be so sticky that you can't tell there's more than one. In fact, they shouldn't be sticky at all. If yours sound like these examples, don't you worry. Just follow this simple guide on how to tell if spaghetti noodles are done.

The first step in preparing spaghetti noodles is boiling water. Hopefully, you know how to do that. Possibly you know this too, but just in case, do not add the noodles until the water is boiling. Break the spaghetti noodles in half. Unless you want some stray pieces to fly, bend the middle of noodles downward over the boiling pot when splitting them apart. Now drop the noodles into the boiling water and stir in a tablespoon of olive oil with a fork. The stirring motion and olive oil will help keep them from sticking. Be sure to protect your hands near the water.

Depending on the type and brand of spaghetti noodles, boil times will vary. You also may be using soft or homemade noodles, rather than dry ones. Either way, boiling time will likely be between five and fifteen minutes. This is why you'll need to watch your spaghetti closely. For some, this is the tricky part. One way to tell if your spaghetti is done is to take out a couple noodles with a fork. Look at the ends. If they're whiter than the rest of the noodle, your spaghetti needs to cook a little longer.

Besides the end test, examine the texture. Do your noodles sway back and forth if you move the fork? That's a good sign they are done. If the test noodle breaks off and falls to the floor when moving the fork, your noodles may be too mushy. You could also take a noodle and do it the old-fashioned way. What's that, you say? Why, throw it at the ceiling of course? Did it stick? Oops, too bad. They're not done.

But if it falls back onto your face, that spaghetti just might be done. If all else fails, take out a noodle and taste test. Your final step in ensuring your noodles aren't sticky is to strain them and rinse them well. Failing to rinse the noodles will allow the starch to accumulate and make them stick together. So, there you have it - how to cook spaghetti. Aren't you ready to make some now? Yum.

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