Toss Flour Into Your Pasta Water To Make Sauce Stick Better
Pasta is one of those dishes that is easy to learn but takes time to master. People have been making pasta for thousands of years, and during that time they've come up with countless tricks and hacks to make the final product as tasty as possible. One of the best ways to ensure your pasta comes out perfectly is to check that the water is properly prepared. You may already know that it's essential to thoroughly salt your pasta water, and as it turns out, you should throw in a bit of flour as well.
When you boil pasta, it releases some of its starch, a white, carbohydrate-rich powder. Since professional restaurants typically use the same pot to cook multiple pasta dishes, a lot of starch builds up in the water and adheres itself to each batch of noodles. To achieve this delicious effect in your own kitchen without cooking a day's worth of pasta, you can add a bit of flour to your water. Semolina flour, which is what many kinds of pasta are made of, is the best option to avoid clumps.
The effects of flour on sauce
Pasta that has a bit of starch stuck to it is easier to incorporate with a sauce. If you've ever read a pasta recipe where the chef recommends adding a bit of pasta water to your sauce, this is the same idea. Ideally, you should move the starchy pasta to the sauce right before it's done cooking. Once in the warm sauce, the starch disintegrates and creates a binding effect between the sauce and the pasta. This makes the sauce thicker and more homogenous and allows it to properly stick to your pasta instead of sliding off.
To figure out the right amount of flour, start with a couple of tablespoons and then adjust depending on how much you enjoy the final result. You can also still add a bit of your pasta water to your sauce to get the most out of the starchy concoction. This trick will work whether you're making simple spaghetti and marinara, or something more complex like this creamy Cajun shrimp pasta. Once you have this technique down, you'll be one step closer to achieving the perfect bowl of pasta.