How to keep pasta before serving

[reidhilltop]

I need to know how to keep pasta from over cooking and getting sticky. It may be to sit for awhile before serving. Thanks

[Andy M.]

If I just have to keep it for a few minutes, I drain it and toss it with some oil. When the sauce is ready, I reheat it with the sauce and serve.

For longer term storage, I'd probably undercook it, drain and oil it, then toss it into boiling water to reheat abd finish cooking.

[RDG]

pasta goes on to cook for the whole time before eating, so it's very difficult to stop it. A first stop can be given putting it outside of water, just a little "al dente", not completely cooked. Save some water of cooking, and, just before serving, add a half glass of this water before adding the sauce, and mix. It's not a wonderful idea, but can be useful. Some restaurants do so.
Otherwise, if the delay is little, you can add a half litre of cold water in the pan in which you are cooking pasta, as soon as you have switched off the fire. So cooking nearly stops. Of course, the temperature goes down.....

[Corinne]

My son worked in a pizza joint & I used to go in to work with him. They cooked a big pile of pasta - very al dente, tossed it with olive oil & kept it in a Rubbermaid container in the fridge. They would take out individual portions when someone ordered a pasta dish. All they did was throw it into some boiling water for a minute or 2 & then sauce it. I've done that here at home, too - to reheat pasta - & it works well.

Does that answer your question or were you asking something different? If so, can you give us some more details?

[pdswife]

If it's not long before dinner is done.. I drain mine - mix with a little olive oil and then put in a covered dish. It stays "warm enough".

[marmalady]

Corinne's method is what we did in the restaurant, and also for catering - remember all those 'pasta bars'? Just remember to use a very light hand with the oil, and mix it well.

[urmaniac13]

Whichever the method you use, the idea of pasta cooked and sat out for a while and reheated doesn't sound quite appetizing... I would make other adjustments so they can be cooked just before serving... but then again it is my theory that food becomes priority, maybe in other household things are different...