Do you break your spaghetti?

Do you break your spaghetti before cooking?

  • I have a tall pasta pot, so no need to break it.

    Votes: 7 23.3%

  • I use a regular pot, but do the "half in" trick.

    Votes: 13 43.3%

  • I break it into smaller pieces so it fits in the pot.

    Votes: 2 6.7%

  • I break it into smaller pieces because I prefer eating smaller pieces.

    Votes: 3 10.0%

  • Other (please explain)

    Votes: 5 16.7%
  • Total voters
    30
Keltin

Keltin

New member
When you make spaghetti, linguine, angel hair pasta, or any other "long" pasta, do you break the pasta into smaller pieces, or do you cook it whole.

Long ago, I used to break it in half so that it fit into the pot. Then I learned the trick if putting the pasta half in, and then swirling it in whole as the lower half softened.

What do you do?
 
I've always broken it in half....it's easire to twirl, much more manageable that way. And never never never twirl into a spoon. simply use the bottom of the plate to hold the strands to the fork.
 
I used to do the "half-in" trick, but Jerry prefers his pasta in smaller, manageable sections, so I break it up for him. Oh, the things we do for love!
 
NO BREAKING!!! Man, my mother and aunt used to do that and it drove me nuts!

I do the "half in" thing and leave the strands long, the way nature intended.

Lee
 
Is half in where you stick it in then let it soften a bit till it sinks in? If yes, I do that when I use the small pot otherwise, I have a pasta pot.
 
i break long pastas in half, then spread the handfuls in sort of a helical fashion as i put them in the pot.
 
I use a regular pot.

Just depends on how big a dish I am making with pasta.
If say I am making two servings of spaghetti for myself, I'll add the pasta whole and spread it out around the boiling pot of water and use a fork to poke it down as it cooks.

If I am making a larger portion (over 4 servings) then I'll break the pasta in half.
 
I break the pasta in half, unless I'm using Fideo (love those coils). I used to stand it up in the pot, but the pasta stuck together & didn't cook evenly. I don't add salt or oil to the water. I bring the water to a boil, add the pasta, turn the heat down, & stir once or twice.
 
Just depends--if I'm cooking a lot of spaghetti, I use a large pot with a strainer and don't break it. If I'm just making a couple of servings, I'll break it in half so that I don't have to wash the big pot/strainer.

And I never twirl with a spoon, makes too big of a bite.
 
Hmmm….here's one I didn't consider. I just saw Rachel Ray on 30 Minute Meals, and she had a large oval pot that the pasta could fit in whole lengthwise. Interesting.



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No breaking because Lidia will smack you if you do! lol

I just add the pasta and stir it into the water. Takes like 30 seconds.
 
I put it in whole and swirl it when it's myself and my lady friend or friends, but for my kids I break it in half.
I have less sauce on the walls and their clothes that way LOL!
 
I like my long pasta whole. I take a handfull & just drop it in the center of the large tall pot & it just falls all around . I also do not rinse it . I like my sauce to stick. I roll it around the fork ..
 
I also never break Italian pasta and I do the twirl.

When I make the chinese sesame noodles I DO break those because they are ONE mile long strand!! lol
 
Yep, I break it half. That's mostly because I'm usually cooking for kids, though, and depending on the size of the kids, I'll actually break it into thirds because I know I'm going to have to cut it all up anyway. :(
 
People tell you to cook pasta with a lot of water but I put spaghetti in a 12-inch skillet with water and cook it laying down. I stir it as soon as it gets soft. It doesn't stick together and my skillet is deep enough that I can cook a whole box of spaghetti at once. It does not take as long to boil either.
 
Norm said:
People tell you to cook pasta with a lot of water but I put spaghetti in a 12-inch skillet with water and cook it laying down. I stir it as soon as it gets soft. It doesn't stick together and my skillet is deep enough that I can cook a whole box of spaghetti at once. It does not take as long to boil either.
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That's a great tip! :thumb:
 
Norm said:
People tell you to cook pasta with a lot of water but I put spaghetti in a 12-inch skillet with water and cook it laying down. I stir it as soon as it gets soft. It doesn't stick together and my skillet is deep enough that I can cook a whole box of spaghetti at once. It does not take as long to boil either.
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How much water are you using? Sounds interesting! :thumb:
 
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I cooked a pound of spaghetti in the teflon skillet here 2 or 3 days ago. It probably used around 6 cups of water.
 
Yes, I do break the spaghetti in half. Not only that, but when it's on my plate and sauced up I cut it up with a knife into small pieces. I don't like to twirl at all.
 
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