FOOD NEWS
Throw Flour Into Your Pasta Water To Make Sauce Stick Better
BY CHLOE O'DONNELL
When you boil pasta, it releases starch, which should never be rinsed off the noodles. It helps the sauce cling to the pasta better when the two ingredients are tossed together.
However, if you follow all the rules and yet your sauce isn't sticking to your pasta very well, you can add a bit of semolina flour to the water you use to cook the noodles.
To figure out the right amount of flour, you'll have to do a bit of trial and error. Start with a few tablespoons in the water, see how you like the result, and adjust from there.
The flour will make the pasta starchier, so it combines with the sauce smoothly for a uniform dish. Boil the pasta until it's just shy of being done, then toss it with the sauce.
Once it meets the warm sauce, the starch disintegrates and creates a binding effect. Finish cooking the pasta in the sauce and all the ingredients will meld perfectly.