Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
That's great. Relax and enjoy. The spaghetti police won't bother you.
I never break long pasta, I'm a simple 100% Italian pasta eater. I mean, they make them spaghetti long, I eat them long, they make them penne short, I eat them short. Though I'll admit it could be more difficult to lengthen short pasta then to shorten long pasta.
And I always asked for my spoon when eating pasta, but I did it just to look fanciful. Now I don't do it anymore.
However, according to the (disputable) rules of etiquette, long pasta must be eaten only with the fork: you shall not cut it with a knife and you'll not use a spoon. You have to gently rotate the fork clockwise ohmy to collect a reasonable amount of pasta, then carry it to your mouth: no spaghetti long thread must hang from the fork.
However, in my career, I ate spaghetti with my bare hands, with forks, spoons, knives, breadsticks and only with my mouth (the latest option is really horrible, but we were drunken and everyone wanted to win that bet).
I used to put unbroken pasta (Lady & the Tramp style lol), standing up in boiling water around the edges of the pot; but found that the pasta sometimes stuck together - even when I used a large enough pot to accomodate same.
Unbroken pasta (spaghetti, etc.) looks nicer on the plate, but my concern is that the pasta is cooked al dente (not over or undercooked)... so I break it in half, & no twirling with a spoon.
I am with you on that Andy. You can't put pasta in the pot and then walk away. You have to keep stirring it until it is all under water. Then return several times during the cooking time. You pasta should be dancing in the boiling water. If you can sing a nice polka, your pasta should be dancing in step with your singing. (Well it works for me!)
You're making me nervous, Addie. First you invite wild bears into your home then you sing polkas to pasta.
You're making me nervous, Addie. First you invite wild bears into your home then you sing polkas to pasta.
That twirling the spaghetti on the spoon always looked awkward to me. I've never done that. I think Emily Post would agree with me that manners are always about avoiding awkwardness. If it's awkward don't do it.Most Italians don't use a spoon either. They would look at you with amusement in their eyes if you tried to use a spoon. I know my late m-i-l told me ever so politely don't do that!!!!. Never tried it again after the first time.
kades
In some cultures the knife is held in the dominant hand during the course of a meal. Such a custom makes it pretty difficult to use a fork and spoon simultaneously.
EP be hanged, if it works for you go with it. my grand kids like their getti short so I cut it after plating it. makes more work but the smiles are worth it. Just do what you want and let others do the sameThat twirling the spaghetti on the spoon always looked awkward to me. I've never done that. I think Emily Post would agree with me that manners are always about avoiding awkwardness. If it's awkward don't do it.
I never broke any spaghetti. Sometimes it doesn't fit in my boiling pot. I stick in whatever fits and poke it again in a minute or so, at which point it's limp enough to all curl in.
There is no need to make this complicated. If you want short spaghetti then break it. I never saw that need. It might even be easier to curl one or two strands and poke a meatball with long spaghetti, than managing several maverick strands.
And while we're at it, how about discussing meatball size? I recently enjoyed dinner cooked by an authentic home chef from Italy, and she cooked the most humongous meatballs I've ever seen, about 2" to 2-1/2" in diameter. I'd cook them myself single bite size, but I'm pretty sure her style is authentic. I had to cut each meatball with fork and knife before I could bite it. I would have preferred smaller meatballs, perhaps 1" size.
In the end you just have to cook this stuff (strand length, meatball size) to suit yourself. There are no rules beyond doing what you like. Except from Emily Post: don't look awkward when you eat it.
I am with you on that Andy. You can't put pasta in the pot and then walk away. You have to keep stirring it until it is all under water. Then return several times during the cooking time. You pasta should be dancing in the boiling water. If you can sing a nice polka, your pasta should be dancing in step with your singing. (Well it works for me!)
I am with you on that Andy. You can't put pasta in the pot and then walk away. You have to keep stirring it until it is all under water. Then return several times during the cooking time. You pasta should be dancing in the boiling water. If you can sing a nice polka, your pasta should be dancing in step with your singing. (Well it works for me!)