Rinse Or No Rinse? (when Making Pasta)

Kitty Reeves

Community Member
Jan 9, 2015
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My friend, who is Italian and comes from an all Italian family, never rinses her pasta after draining it. I was always taught to lightly rinse drained pasta with cold water to stop it cooking. To both cool it down enough to eat and to rinse off anything that floated away (salt, preservatives, aka the "scum") when boiling. She was taught to never rinse off pasta after draining because it "washes away the flavor". (ಠ_ಠლ)

We asked her mother and aunt, and while my friends mother said she doesn't rinse, her aunt (the mothers sister) said she does rinse! Haha, my friends mother just looked at the aunt was like, "Wait you rinse your pasta? Why?!" Which brought up another argument/discussion of rinse vs no rinse but between those two. :rolleyes:

So, when you're making pasta, do you rinse it or do you not rinse it? :)
 
My friend, who is Italian and comes from an all Italian family, never rinses her pasta after draining it. I was always taught to lightly rinse drained pasta with cold water to stop it cooking. To both cool it down enough to eat and to rinse off anything that floated away (salt, preservatives, aka the "scum") when boiling. She was taught to never rinse off pasta after draining because it "washes away the flavor". (ಠ_ಠლ)

We asked her mother and aunt, and while my friends mother said she doesn't rinse, her aunt (the mothers sister) said she does rinse! Haha, my friends mother just looked at the aunt was like, "Wait you rinse your pasta? Why?!" Which brought up another argument/discussion of rinse vs no rinse but between those two. :rolleyes:

So, when you're making pasta, do you rinse it or do you not rinse it? :)

What? I never rinsed my pasta. I never thought of doing that. I rinse my blanched veggies to stop the cooking process, but never the pasta. I think that to call the things you wash away "the scum" is so weird. I would not call it washing away the flavors, though in a way, it kind of is -- it washes the texture away and I really in general cannot imagine wanting to do that.

Actually, scratch this, I even keep some of the cooking water to put it in my sauce. And then I put my pasta in my sauce and the point *is* for it to still cooks a tiny bit as it absorbs the sauce in.

I never met anyone ever rinsing pasta in their life. Putting olive oil in to keep it not sticking together, yes. Putting water in? That's... so weird for me to hear.
 
What? I never rinsed my pasta. I never thought of doing that. I rinse my blanched veggies to stop the cooking process, but never the pasta. I think that to call the things you wash away "the scum" is so weird. I would not call it washing away the flavors, though in a way, it kind of is -- it washes the texture away and I really in general cannot imagine wanting to do that.

Actually, scratch this, I even keep some of the cooking water to put it in my sauce. And then I put my pasta in my sauce and the point *is* for it to still cooks a tiny bit as it absorbs the sauce in.

I never met anyone ever rinsing pasta in their life. Putting olive oil in to keep it not sticking together, yes. Putting water in? That's... so weird for me to hear.

OH, no no, you rinse it while it's still in the colander you drained the pasta it, so the cold water drains out. But yeah, every one in family rinses their pasta.
 
I don't rinse my pasta, I don't see any need. For certain oriental noodles you can rinse them, but never for pasta because often I will serve it straight from the pan and add a sauce on top. Even on cooking shows I have never seen chefs rinse pasta and they add it to the plate or stir in a sauce straightaway.
 
OH, no no, you rinse it while it's still in the colander you drained the pasta it, so the cold water drains out.

Yeah, I got that. And it still looks weiiiiiird! Like Gabe mentioned it, I think that no cooking show, book, recipe, anything, ever mentions rinsing pasta after cooking them.

I think we live in a society of over cleanliness, like how some people rince their chicken before cooking them but it's actually not recommended and all.
 
I never rinse my pasta either. I'm usually pouring it right back into some kind of sauce so I have no need to rinse. The only reason to do it is if you are not going to use it for a while and want to make sure to stop cooking it because you like your pasta al dente.
 
I was also taught to rinse the pasta to stop the cooking process. I guess it is all a matter of preference. This argument could go on forever.
 
Rinsing is for correcting mistakes.
If you choose a low quality brand that leaves scum, if you poured too much salt, if you left it cooking too long, then rinse.
If everything was properly done you don't need it.
 
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I never rinse my pasta, but I am Irish. My friend's who are Sicilian rinse their pasta. I think it depends on which taste you like best. I have an acquired taste for starch, and I feel like when you rinse it off, it doesn't taste as starchy. I also don't like that when you rinse it, it often can cool it off too much depending on what temperature the water is and how much you use. I like to have the pasta as warm as possible so that the butter melts in it. I am always using stick butter in my pasta, so it takes awhile to soften and melt in there anyways, so I think if I rinsed it off, it would just slow down the process!
 
I believe you are not supposed to rinse it because the starch on the pasta helps your sauce adhere better. Also I have heard if you are making a sauce, to put a ladleful of the cooking water into the sauce to stretch it out.

I used to rinse my pasta but when I learned this I stopped. I actually think it is better un-rinsed and since I have been putting the cooking water in the sauce too, I think my pastas taste way better.
 
I’ve never actually thought twice about rinsing the pasta or not after I cook it. I usually do rise it to help cool it off, also to get any of the water it was sitting in off. I wonder why people don’t rinse it? Did you say why she doesn’t?
 
To be honest I have to admit that I've never rinsed my pasta either when making a dish. I never even thought about it to be honest and I've never seen it done either.

I guess when it comes to cooking though, everyone just does it the way that they've been shown so in that respect, it's not as if it will do it any harm.
 
I've never rinsed it either - I don't recall either my mom or my Nonna doing so either, and since we have an Italian background I guess that I am going to say that they know what they're doing when it comes to making pasta!
 
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I never rinse pasta - and I never really understood why people do that. Initially I thought perhaps they were referring to making pasta salad, and were perhaps trying to cool the pasta down quickly. But for regular pasta dishes, why would you want lukewarm "cooled down" pasta? Not to mention, as others noted, some recipes specifically call for some of that starchy pasta water to be used in making a quick pan sauce.

Plus you run the risk of having "puddles" of water on your plate since you're flushing the pasta with even more water after initially draining it, which is a big no no. A good technique I came across on one of the cooking blogs I frequent recommended draining the pasta completely then putting it back into the warm pot and letting it rest until the steam stops coming off of it, then dress it with your sauce. That keeps the pasta from being too waterlogged. Another similar method is to drain it, put the pasta back into the hot pot, dress it, then put a lid on it and let it rest for a few minutes, until the pasta soaks up any excess moisture.
 
It depends on how you are going to use your cooked pasta actually. If you are using it for salads or for some Chinese meals like noodles or something similar, you should always rinse it to get rid of the starch and stop the cooking process. If you use it with sauces or in any other way never rinse pasta just drain it good before you put it on the frying pan or before you put your sauce on it.
 
I totally agree with djordjem87, I only rinse pasta if I'm going to make salads and eating it cold. Rinsing it in this case, allows you to have a firm enough pasta, without starch. I've never heard of someone rinsing pasta otherwise. Actually some dishes like pasta with fresh ricotta, ask for a little of the cooking water so you don't have to drain it totally. I usually drain my pasta "al dente" and throw it in a frying pan with the sauce. Then I saute it for about a minute and I serve it. I've always done this and it has always turned out delicious.
 
It is really interesting - I have heard of it before, briefly but never though that I should rinse my pasta. It's just seems unnecessary . Maybe if your pasta accidentally overcooked a little, and you want to stop the cooking part itself and get some firmness in it?
 
Same thing with my family, I guess it's less sticky when you rinse afterwards, but apparently it removes the "flavor" or whatever that means. Hey, I'm not saying I'm a cook or anything, but a sticky pasta really ruins the flavor too, but I guess it has been a generational tradition in the family when it comes to cooking pasta, and it has been handed down from parent to their children, so I guess questioning them about it would be pretty useless by now, huh?
 
I have never rinsed my pasta, but I have the arguments for and against for a long time now and I have just gone with how I was taught, by my mother, and that is that. I can see where the whole stopping the process might work, but then maybe you can just cook it for a little less time. Either way, I am a fan of the whole "if it ain't broke don't fix it" mentality, so I will apply that here. I think that I might see where @Hermann is coming from, though, where if you need to stop the cooking process then you can give it quick rinse, and correct that mistake as he says.
 


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