Secrets to Making Perfect Pasta Every Time

3/27 Previous Next

© Getty Images

When the Water is Boiling...

Salt your water heavily. It should basically be as salty and murky as sea water when you add it, and do so only after the water is boiling (if you add it before, it will raise the water's boiling point and therefore take longer to come to a boil). We prefer coarse sea salt or kosher salt for cooking pasta as it has a purer taste compared to iodized table salt. As a rule of thumb, you can expect to use 2 to 3 tablespoons of salt per gallon of water. Once the water is salted and at a rolling boil, then you can add the pasta.