Correctly cooking pasta depends on balance between water, time

We think of cooking pasta as a simple task — putting dried noodles or spaghetti into a large pot of boiling water, and in minutes it is ready. All that bubbling water and the usual kitchen distractions make it is easy to overcook pasta. Cooking pasta perfectly "al dente” requires a few simple steps, techniques and attention.

Imagine a strand of spaghetti as it goes through the cooking process to understand the transformation from dry noodle to sauce-ready perfection. The culinary term for this stage is al dente, which means "to the tooth pasta that is firm, cooked through but not mushy and holds its shape without sticking together. The strand of spaghetti cooks from the outside in. If you pull out a strand after 5 minutes and bite into it, the center will still be tough while the outside has softened.

A few minutes more and the inside has just softened. The spaghetti has a sort of rubber band quality to it. An old testing method suggests throwing spaghetti strands against the refrigerator and if they stick, it is done. (Yes, I have done this a number of times.) But it sticks even if the pasta is overcooked. A better method is to bite into a strand; it should remain chewy but cooked through.

Plan cooking times according to package directions for each specific shape and variety of pasta. Different sizes and shapes of pasta require different cooking times, and you will find similar pastas packaged under different labels will vary in the time required to cook them. Pasta used in a recipe that will require further baking time, like lasagna, should be slightly undercooked.

Timing the cooking of the pasta to finish as the sauce and the rest of the meal is ready helps assure it is perfectly cooked. You don't want pasta sitting and sticking together while you are trying to get the rest of a meal finished. Spaghetti sauce and salad can be made ahead of cooking the pasta. You may want to bring the water to a simmer and keep it covered while preparing the sauce.

How much water to use? The National Pasta Association recommends four to six quarts of water for each pound of dry pasta.

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