Thoughts on breaking spaghetti prior to cooking

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Do you break your spaghetti/linguine prior to cooking?

  • Yes, almost always or always

    Votes: 27 35.1%

  • No, never or barely ever

    Votes: 41 53.2%

  • Less than 50% of the time

    Votes: 6 7.8%

  • More than 50% of the time

    Votes: 3 3.9%
  • Total voters
    77
no mayonnaise said:
On this particular topic, I disagree; it's wrong to break the pasta, but that's just my opinion.

The steak analogy would work if we were discussing pasta doneness.

Do you cut your steak into small pieces before cooking it?
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It was not a direct analogy...it's an opinion and a preference, there is no right or wrong about any of it.
 
PrincessFiona60 said:
It was not a direct analogy...it's an opinion and a preference, there is no right or wrong about any of it.
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PrincessFiona is right! There is no right or wrong way...just opinions. Obviously some pretty strong ones. So, isn't Giada De Laurentiis Italian? She has a show on the Food Network and is quite the chef right? Don't tell anyone but this Italian Chef has a recipe where it says to break spaghetti. So do many other Chefs as well, some don't. However, there are many recipes out there that tell you to break up the pasta. Just cook it the way you like it and eat it!

As for depriving my kids of twirling and slurping. I didn't. We all know you can still twirl and slurp pasta broken in half or thirds. The fork is less full which was my goal to prevent choking. That's all.

No Mayonnaise, yes at times I do cut my steak before cooking. For stir fry! Ha! Back to spaghetti..the texture is the same if it is a full strand or half. Texture and shape are two different things. So, do you pick out the broken pieces from the box before you cook them? If not, can you actually tell the difference when you eat that shorter strand because the "texture" is different? Do you continue eating that piece or spit it out?

Isn't this absurd? It's spaghetti! Let's just enjoy it any way we like it. It's very versatile! But I do love a good argument for arguments sake.

No pasta for me tonight, dare I tell you what I am cooking and how? Some may disagree with my technique. I am open to new ways to cook though.

 
LindaM. said:
No Mayonnaise, yes at times I do cut my steak before cooking. For stir fry! Ha! Back to spaghetti..the texture is the same if it is a full strand or half. Texture and shape are two different things. So, do you pick out the broken pieces from the box before you cook them? If not, can you actually tell the difference when you eat that shorter strand because the "texture" is different? Do you continue eating that piece or spit it out?
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a) That's cooking a stir fry, not cooking a steak.

b) No, the way stringy pasta twirls around the fork in long strands has a different texture than the way short strands (don't) twirl around the fork. The way it feels when you bite into them is different. Yes, I pick out the broken pieces from the box and avoid cooking them. But even then, we're talking about a fork-full, not one or two errant strands in a bowl of otherwise whole pasta.

c) @PrincessFiona, You're postulating that my opinion is wrong while espousing the idea that opinions are inherently preference-based and therefore not right or wrong. Or am I reading that incorrectly?
 
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No mayo, even if you're right, the decision to break pasta for a wide variety of reasons is not the end of the world. Not suggesting you should do it. Others prefer it that way and that's OK.
 
The real reason I don't break my pasta is the same reason I have my pizza cut into 6 slices. I can't eat eight!:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
 
I break angel hair in half when cooking just for me, for lunch. Less water, less time. For hubby and me, or company, I wouldn't dream of it. When when I do the former, I'm making a bowl for one, and make a sort of primavera, and want it to be fast & easy. Otherwise, never.
 
CraigC said:
The real reason I don't break my pasta is the same reason I have my pizza cut into 6 slices. I can't eat eight!:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
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:LOL: :snicker:
 
I just want to comment how much I've enjoyed reading this thread. It's almost as funny as the "funny thread" :D I like making my own spaghetti, and making the noodles extra long. So needless to say I don't break my spaghetti. But my mom did when we were kids, and if I had kids, I might too.
 
My mom always did, and when I went out on my own I did too. I quit when I would find spaghetti shrapnel around the kitchen when cleaning, :LOL: I know lots of people who do it out of habit.
 
In our case, a household with no natural teeth left, breaking the spaghetti is a new learned behavior. Pasta is also now cooked past al dente. It's true, as you age and certain things befall you, you regress back to childhood.
 
I like it unbroken, but when daughter was little she wouln't eat it if it was left whole so then broke it into 4's then progress to just broke in 1/2 which meant cooking in separte pans. by 7 were up to full and didn't mind twirling it.
 
Sometimes it depends on which pot I have available. I prefer unbroken. but if the tall pan has not been washed yet, I used a shorter three quart saucepan. Break the angel hair in half, toss it in the boiling water, stir and walk away. Tall pan requires more water so that when I place unbroken pasta in it, the wait for the boil is longer.

When cooking bucattini you can't twirl it whether you have one stand on your fork or several. So breaking it or not has no effect on that effort. Slat pasta is another one that can propose problems for twirling. You wouldn't think so but Linguini can be difficult to twirl. My favorite is Angel Hair. Cooks fast, and easy to eat and twirl I want to have fun with my food.

When I have stew or soup, I have to decide what the next mouthful is going to have on the spoon. A piece of meat or all veggies. Should I save the meat for last or mix it with the veggies. Just shoving an eating untensil into my mouth with whatever I pick up on it, makes for a boring meal. Since I eat alone every day, I would like some excitement in my meals. Some folks live to eat. Other eat to live. I want to live to eat. And if you don't believe me, take a look at my waistline. :angel:
 
:chef: I break my pasta. It's easier for me and tastes delicious. No one I ever served over the years ever had a problem with it. We entertain often and our company gets quite boisterous and honest. If they found it to be a flaw it would be made fun of, trust me. Also, a bunch of us are Italian. Perhaps next time I will bring it to their attention to see if there is a reaction.:)

First time here. I like the discussions! Looking forward to checking things out.
 
This thread was funny. I remember a few years ago when my husband and I first got married I broke the pasta in half to put it in the put and I hear my husband running towards me screaming "no!!!!.... Sacralige!" haha. I prefer mine with a fork and in a bowl to twist it but it takes forever id it's too long if I don't break it. My husband sits patiently with the unbroken pasta and twirls it with a fork on a spoon eating from a plate.... Yet we somehow managed to stay married nearly 5 years despit all that. We shall see who the baby takes after but right now she just shovels it in her mouth with her hands and throws it on the floor.
 
Siegal said:
This thread was funny. I remember a few years ago when my husband and I first got married I broke the pasta in half to put it in the put and I hear my husband running towards me screaming "no!!!!.... Sacralige!" haha. I prefer mine with a fork and in a bowl to twist it but it takes forever id it's too long if I don't break it. My husband sits patiently with the unbroken pasta and twirls it with a fork on a spoon eating from a plate.... Yet we somehow managed to stay married nearly 5 years despit all that. We shall see who the baby takes after but right now she just shovels it in her mouth with her hands and throws it on the floor.
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Nooooo!! Pasta on the floor!! Sacrilege!!! :LOL:
 
Siegal said:
This thread was funny. I remember a few years ago when my husband and I first got married I broke the pasta in half to put it in the put and I hear my husband running towards me screaming "no!!!!.... Sacralige!" haha. I prefer mine with a fork and in a bowl to twist it but it takes forever id it's too long if I don't break it. My husband sits patiently with the unbroken pasta and twirls it with a fork on a spoon eating from a plate.... Yet we somehow managed to stay married nearly 5 years despit all that. We shall see who the baby takes after but right now she just shovels it in her mouth with her hands and throws it on the floor.
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My money is on your husband. Kids love to play with pasta. Kids love to play with any food.

And welcome to DC. :angel:
 
Five or six inches (of spaghetti broken in half) wrapped around 1" wide fork is enough. unless you come to dinner with a sleeveless undershirt and use a spoon to twirl your spaghetti.
 
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justplainbill said:
Five or six inches (of spaghetti broken in half) wrapped around 1" wide fork is enough. unless you come to dinner with a sleeveless undershirt and use a spoon to twirl your spaghetti.
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I agree.

Maybe I'll make a video about this :)
I mean, if you can learn to use Chinese sticks, you can surely learn how to roll good old spaghetti, whole length, on a fork.
You don't really need to know it. But maybe it comes a moment when you decide to come to Italy. And you will go eating in restaurants. I mean, I cannot see any other reason for coming here :ohmy:
In this case, if you learned the skill, you'll avoid to be laughed at by us bunch of pasta bigoted cumpà :LOL:
 
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