If you don’t know how to strain pasta properly, it’s all too easy to cook pasta to perfection and then ruin everything in the final step. Straining is equally important to all the other techniques used to prepare a pasta dish. Pasta should first be strained as soon as it reaches the desired level of doneness. Don’t simply turn off the heat because the softening process will continue in the warm water.
If the pasta is long, instead of using the colander, remove the pasta one piece at a time using the big-toothed, holey spoon you have in the kitchen. Use a colander for short pieces of pasta, but don’t leave it there for too long or it might become lumpy and dry. It only takes a few good shakes and a few minutes.
The spaghetti-serving and slotted styles work best because they let boiling water drain out right away, but even if you only have a large, sturdy nylon or metal spoon, your pasta can still make an elegant, if laborious, exit.
Some people swear by a good set of tongs for draining pasta. In fact, chefs all over the world frequently use tongs to retrieve long pasta varieties like spaghetti, linguini, fettuccine, and pappardelle. When pulling long noodles from a large pot of water, any tong will work, but if you want to ensure maximum pasta-pulling efficiency, look for specifically made pasta tongs. These tiny tongs, like the pasta serving spoons, have short, fingerlike tips that protrude from the edges of their strong pinchers. This allows your noodles to hang gracefully without escaping their hold.
But what if your pan lid is kicking it old school and is missing those requisite peepholes? No problem, says Bon Appétit, suggesting taking safety precautions when using your pan lid to drain pasta water. “Leave the lid slightly askew, about ¼ inch. Hold the lid down with insulated oven mitts. Make sure to hold the pot away from you as you pour — otherwise you risk steam burns,” the article points out. This method allows you to drain the water out while letting the lid catch any pasta that would otherwise find itself in your sink. A word of caution though: Dont choose this option if youre unwilling to take extra care, youll be risking the possibility of a steam or boiling water burn.
A chinois could be a bit of a stretch, as it might stand to reason that if you dont own a colander, odds are you probably dont have a chinois — but you never know! Maybe your grandma or great aunt Hildy sent one over in that box of stuff they dont need anymore. (You should go check. Its that conical metal thing you used as a witchs hat as a kid.) Seriously though, the Chicago Tribune describes the mesh chinois as “one of the greatest inventions of culinary tools.” Its usually reserved to ensure silken sauces and gravies are lump-free, but, hey, if youve got one lying around, you could use it to strain pasta. Chef Nick Tamburo prefers it to a colander, telling Eater, “You can use a chinois for everything you would use a colander for, plus so much more. Its selling point is its versatility.”
Spider strainers, also known as skimmers, are traditionally used in Asian cooking, as well as for frying. These long-handled, spiral metal or woven wire nets vaguely resemble a spider web, and have become a favorite tool of chefs like Bastianich, who told Today, “Boy does that do wonders to pull pasta out of the water!” Bon Appétit calls the tool “extremely useful,” explaining that its not only great for straining pasta, but also for removing dumplings, eggs, and blanched veggies from boiling water.
TikTok user sw1ssm1ss, aka Stephy Meier, recently uploaded a video where she reveals the secret of pasta straining.
The young woman demonstrates a fresh method for straining pasta with a strainer that she learned that avoids placing the strainer in the sink.
Instead, after the pasta is cooked, she inserts the colander inside the pot and flips it, letting the water drain while securely holding the pasta “trapped” between the pot and the strainer.
But let’s see if this method of straining pasta actually works- spoiler alert: it doesn’t! And, if not, why?
First of all, this is not the first time someone suggests that pasta strainers should be used like this. A few years ago, there was a similar hack posted on Twitter and it went viral then, too.
FAQ
How do you strain your noodles?
- TikTok claims that placing pasta and water in a colander inside a sick person is no longer acceptable. ( .
- Doherty places the colander in the pot. ( …
- Doherty then flips it over into the sink to drain the water. (.
How do you strain noodles without a strainer?
Only use a spoon (the biggest one you have) for vegetables that have been blanched, small pasta, and beans. Scoop the desired amount, then place the spoon’s edge against the pot and tilt it slightly to drain. It takes a while, but it works.
Should you strain noodles?
Straining is equally important to all the other techniques used to prepare a pasta dish. Pasta should first be strained as soon as it reaches the desired level of doneness. Don’t simply turn off the heat because the softening process will continue in the warm water.
What is the proper way to use a strainer?
Actually, before pouring, we shouldn’t use the kitchen sink strainer. The correct course of action would be to take the strainer, place it inside the pot, and then drain the water into the sink. Less waste and less chance of burning ourselves!.