Question

Should you rinse pasta after cooking?

Answer 1

If you're making a cold dish such as Pasta Salad and not adding any pasta sauce to the pasta then rinsing the pasta is a good idea.

But if you're eating the pasta as a hot dish as pasta and want to add pasta sauce then you should not rinse the pasta after cooking.

When you rinse the pasta after cooking it cools down the pasta which then prevents the pasta sauce from sticking properly to the pasta.

So only rinse the pasta after cooking if it's gonna go into a cold dish such as a salad.

Answer 2

Pasta should never, ever be rinsed for a warm dish.

The starch in the water is what helps the sauce adhere to your pasta.

The only time you should ever rinse your pasta is when you are going to use it in a cold dish like a pasta salad or when you are not going to use it immediately.

You should only rinse your pasta with cold water if you're using the cooked pasta in a dish such as pasta salad.

However if you're making pasta and are adding sauce to the pasta you should not rinse the pasta with cold water or any water.

If you rinse the pasta with cold water or any water after cooking it and then put sauce on the cooked pasta that you rinsed with the cold water then the pasta will not absorb the sauce.

So if you want the pasta to absorb the sauce never rinse the pasta with cold water or any water.

Just drain the water off the pasta and then add the pasta sauce to the pasta while it's hot.

Rinsing the pasta with the cold water or any other water removes the starch and the starch in the pasta is what allows the pasta sauce to adhere and absorb into the pasta.

Without the starch in the pasta the pasta sauce will just run off the pasta.