Why You Should Never Rinse Pasta In Cold Water, According To Stanley Tucci

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Stanley Tucci knows his pasta. Given his travels across Italy, the actor is well-versed in cooking exceptional Italian cuisine. Tucci, who urges Americans to give credit to Northern Italian fare, pays particular attention to pasta in his 2012 cookbook, "The Tucci Cookbook." In that book, he specifically urges home chefs to avoid rinsing cooked pasta with cold water. While this step may seem like a simple, secondary detail in any pasta recipe, it actually hinders the amount of starch a pasta retains — with a major impact on your pasta's ability to hold sauce. "Never rinse cooked pasta under cold water," Tucci explains. "This washes away the pasta's natural starch and flavor, and sauces will not adhere as well." 

Basically, dousing any type of pasta with cold water will chemically stop that pasta from continuing to cook. This step ultimately cools down your noodles quickly — but inadvertently removes the invaluable starch your pasta developed while in the pot. That starch matters because it connects your sauce to your pasta, binding the two together for one cohesive dish. Without starch, your sauce won't have anything to stick to, and the pasta will struggle to come together. Say hello to bland noodles that can't hold marinara. 

That's not to say you're out of luck if you want your pasta to cool down quickly. In fact, Tucci's rule invites other opportunities to chill your spaghetti without sacrificing its starch.

Tucci's rule applies across all pasta recipes, from spaghetti carbonara to shrimp scampi. However, it's especially important in cold pasta dishes, when the urge to rinse your noodles likely strikes the strongest. For example, if you're making a creamy macaroni salad in a time crunch, you're probably tempted to rinse your noodles under cold water, expediting the chilling process. In this case, resist that temptation — and employ a different trick to cool down those noodles.

As outlined in "The Tucci Cookbook," Stanley Tucci recommends simply draining your noodles as normal — sans any rinsing. Then, he suggests either giving them time to cool in the refrigerator or spreading them out individually across a baking sheet. You can even put that baking sheet in the refrigerator to maximize your time. Note, however, that it may be better to make your pasta salad while the noodles are still warm, as the heat helps bind and emulsify your dressings. Tucci also adds olive oil to cold pasta before laying it out on a baking tray.

Of course, you'll also want to consider additional pasta cooking hacks that make the most of your go-to box of penne from Barilla. From properly salting your pasta water to choosing the right noodle shape on a sauce-by-sauce basis, these pasta hacks — alongside Tucci's — will benefit your next pasta party. Just don't forget the complementary wine.