Don’t Drain Your Pasta Into The Sink! (Video)

We’re in the water preservation business over here. Sure, we like protecting our planet and oceans, but really, we’re talking about pasta water. You know, the cloudy, starchy liquid gold that’s left behind after you boil your pasta to a perfect al dente. The stuff that you shouldn’t be pouring down the drain, because pasta water can turn good pasta into the silky, saucy pasta of your dreams.

How does that work though? Pasta water looks, well, kind of dirty. But that murky liquid is filled with plenty of salt and leftover starch from those boiling noodles which, when added to whatever hot fat—olive oil, butter, pork fat, all of the above—is hanging out in the pan that you’re finishing your pasta, results in a luxuriously smooth sauce. (That’s called emulsification.) Using pasta water properly is what separates the pasta you eat at your favorite Italian joint from the pasta that Uncle Frankie serves on Sunday nights. Sorry, Uncle Frankie (and his colander). It’s time to change.

Instead of draining your pasta into the sink, invest in a couple of cheap tools to move your pasta to the finishing pan. Tongs. Pasta fork. Spider. That’s the trifecta of pasta transportation technology. All three allow you to get pasta out of the pot and directly into a skillet quickly while preserving all of that glorious liquid. But even though all three of these tools work perfectly, you’ll catch us using two more than the other.