How to Keep Spaghetti From Sticking After Draining

Add salt to your spaghetti to prevent it from sticking together.

Starchy foods like spaghetti have a surface that can leave the noodles sticky and unpleasant to eat. When spaghetti noodles meet boiling water, the hot water removes the starch, causing the spaghetti to swell. Sometimes even after the spaghetti is rinsed, the starch still causes sticking. Preventing this sticky problem requires several tricks.

Things You'll Need

• Sea salt

Instructions

1. Add 4 to 5 qt. water to a pot for each pound of spaghetti. Boil the water before you put the noodles. That will reduce the starch.

2. Stir the spaghetti for the first two minutes. If you do not, the noodles will stick together.

3. Add 2 tbsp. sea salt to the pot of boiling spaghetti. The salt, like oil, prevents the spaghetti from sticking together. However, salt doesn't create an oily bath. The salt will season the spaghetti as it absorbs the liquids and releases the starch.

References

• Fine Cooking: Cooking Pasta Properly