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
@ Luca: That´s It Luca, The Way To Go !

Good Morning Luca, :ROFLMAO: :yum:

You would be a fine Italian Regional Culinary Instructor and Humorist !

My pastas dance and sing to Eros Ramazotti, Luciano Pavoratti. Laura Pausini, Il Divo, Barbara Streisand & Celine Dion ... Truth ! I have been doing this for years ... and whatever you bake, comes out better too ...

Have lovely Day,
Margi Cintrano.
 
Good Morning Luca, :ROFLMAO: :yum:

You would be a fine Italian Regional Culinary Instructor and Humorist !

My pastas dance and sing to Eros Ramazotti, Luciano Pavoratti. Laura Pausini, Il Divo, Barbara Streisand & Celine Dion ... Truth ! I have been doing this for years ... and whatever you bake, comes out better too ...

Have lovely Day,
Margi Cintrano.

Thanks Margi!
Maybe one day I'll publish some website of mine to further pollute the cyberspace, after all everyone on planet Earth is doing it...
But I'm one of the worst procrastinator ever baked under the sun. So sad. What a disgraceful waste of talent and intelligence. :ROFLMAO:
 
Thanks Margi!
Maybe one day I'll publish some website of mine to further pollute the cyberspace, after all everyone on planet Earth is doing it...
But I'm one of the worst procrastinator ever baked under the sun. So sad. What a disgraceful waste of talent and intelligence. :ROFLMAO:
hello again luca!
personally i never break spaghetti,i just tuck the tablecloth into my collar,restaurants have laundries right:LOL:!
ok luca,please put the olive oil in the water debate to bed.i see chefs on the tv over here recommending adding olive oil(probably the ones who have their own brand oil on the supermarket shelves-cynical?moi?!) to the cooking water to avoid sticking.
personally i can't see the point,oil floats on the surface so even if the pasta goes through the oil on it's way to the water it won't stay with the pasta & i don't have a problem with pasta sticking anyway.
harry
 
Just as a side dish.....................


On top of spagetti (on top of spagetti)
All covered with cheese (all covered with cheese)
I lost my poor meatball (I lost my poor meatball)
When somebody sneezed (when somebody sneezed)

It rolled off the table (it rolled off the table)
And onto the floor (and onto the floor)
And then my poor meatball (and then my poor meatball)
Rolled out of the door (rolled out of the door)

It rolled in the garden (it rolled in the garden)
And under a bush (and under a bush)
And then my poor meatball (and then my poor meatball)
Was nothing but mush (was nothing but mush)

Alright now
I'll tell you the words
And you sing it back to me

On top of spagetti (on top of spagetti)
All covered with cheese (all covered with cheese)
I lost my poor meatball (I lost my poor meatball)
When somebody sneezed (when somebody sneezed)

It rolled off the table (it rolled off the table)
And onto the floor (and onto the floor)
And then my poor meatball (and then my poor meatball)
Rolled out of the door (rolled out of the door)

It rolled in the garden (it rolled in the garden)
And under a bush (and under a bush)
And then my poor meatball (and then my poor meatball)
Was nothing but mush (was nothing but mush)

Oh, the mush was as tasty (oh, the mush was as tasty)
As tasty could be (as tasty could be)
And early next summer (and early next summer)
It grew into a tree (it grew into a tree)

The tree was all covered (the tree was all covered)
With beautiful moss (with beautiful moss)
It grew lovely meatballs (it grew lovely meatballs)
And tomato sauce (and tomato sauce)

So if you eat spaghetti (so if you eat spaghetti)
All covered with cheese (all covered with cheese)
Hold on to your meatball (hold on to your meatball)
And don't ever sneeze (and don't ever sneeze)
And don't ever sneeze

On Top Of Spaghetti - YouTube
 
hello again luca!
personally i never break spaghetti,i just tuck the tablecloth into my collar,restaurants have laundries right:LOL:!
ok luca,please put the olive oil in the water debate to bed.i see chefs on the tv over here recommending adding olive oil(probably the ones who have their own brand oil on the supermarket shelves-cynical?moi?!) to the cooking water to avoid sticking.
personally i can't see the point,oil floats on the surface so even if the pasta goes through the oil on it's way to the water it won't stay with the pasta & i don't have a problem with pasta sticking anyway.
harry

Harry, we need to open another thread. But, before of that, I need to gather irrefutable evidence supporting my personal idea.
And maybe some funny video! :LOL:
 
One of my favourite TV chefs said that if you add oil to the pasta cooking water you get non-stick pasta. So, don't! You want the sauce to stick. In fact, if it doesn't stick well enough, add a splash of the pasta cooking water to the sauce for the starch. She calls that an "Old nonni trick".

And I believe her. ;)
 
One of my favourite TV chefs said that if you add oil to the pasta cooking water you get non-stick pasta. So, don't! You want the sauce to stick. In fact, if it doesn't stick well enough, add a splash of the pasta cooking water to the sauce for the starch. She calls that an "Old nonni trick".

And I believe her. ;)

Taxlady, I believe her too. Oil in the water is not an option in Italy. :)
 
One of my favourite TV chefs said that if you add oil to the pasta cooking water you get non-stick pasta. So, don't! You want the sauce to stick. In fact, if it doesn't stick well enough, add a splash of the pasta cooking water to the sauce for the starch. She calls that an "Old nonni trick".

And I believe her. ;)

Taxlady, I believe her too. Oil in the water is not an option in Italy. :)
hey luca/taxlady
i don't have a problem with pasta sticking so can't see the point,maybe we cook better than the celebs......now there's a thought,wadda they know anyway:LOL:!
harry
 
One of my favourite TV chefs said that if you add oil to the pasta cooking water you get non-stick pasta. So, don't! You want the sauce to stick.
Coincidentally I just recently asked that question to an expert chef who grew up in Italy and she told me the same thing. Oil it if you want slippery pasta, don't oil it if you want the sauce to stick. It makes sense too.
 
bakechef said:
I find that it twirls better with a fork and spoon if it isn't broken first, so I don't break. I used to break but then dealt with spaghetti shrapnel flying around the kitchen!

I use a stir-fry type pan (it's pretty deep) to cook pasta and it is wide enough to take the whole length of spaghetti laying down.

My partner just cuts up his spaghetti to eat it.

I never heard of anyone doing it this way.
 
My mom always broke the noodles so they would fit in the pan. It drove me crazy!! I like twirling my pasta, and it's more fun with long noodles. This thread inspired me- I'm going to whip up some grilled chicken and have chicken Alfredo tonight! No broken noodles please!

Oh and this thread reminded me of an old joke- I asked my mom why she always cuts the top off her ham and she said, "Well, because that's how my mother always did it." So I asked my Grandma, and she said because that's how her mother did it. So I asked my great grandma and she said, "I cut the top off because my pan was too short!"
 
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Ok, here's a good one. A friend comes from an Itanian background and so does her husband. They have my family over for dinner. It was delicious! Unfortunatelly my 5 year old spills a drink in the middle of the kitchen floor. I demand to clean my childs mess. I notice dried spaghetti pieces all over the corners and sides against the cabinets on the floor. When I took her aside to ask her she said she likes it smaller but her husband likes it long so she just breaks it in half without him noticing basically b/c it is still long. Is this phenomea so sided that they cant admit to being flexible? AS stubborn as I once was (out of ignorance) I do feel there is a happy medium. Taste the same and convienient to all. Thoughts?
 
Ok, here's a good one. A friend comes from an Itanian background and so does her husband. They have my family over for dinner. It was delicious! Unfortunatelly my 5 year old spills a drink in the middle of the kitchen floor. I demand to clean my childs mess. I notice dried spaghetti pieces all over the corners and sides against the cabinets on the floor. When I took her aside to ask her she said she likes it smaller but her husband likes it long so she just breaks it in half without him noticing basically b/c it is still long. Is this phenomea so sided that they cant admit to being flexible? AS stubborn as I once was (out of ignorance) I do feel there is a happy medium. Taste the same and convienient to all. Thoughts?

Years ago, we used to be able to get the packages of 2 foot long spaghetti. Awkward to cook, but Dad liked it. Then they quit selling it. He was devastated, but did agree that the shorter tasted just as good, it just wasn't as fun.

Everybody does things differently, doesn't matter who they are. I suspect many Italians break their spaghetti, just like many Americans do. How many people do you know that will not pick up their fried chicken with their fingers? I know one or two. Are they nuts? Of course they are, but it's how they do it.:rolleyes:
 
Years ago, we used to be able to get the packages of 2 foot long spaghetti. Awkward to cook, but Dad liked it. Then they quit selling it. He was devastated, but did agree that the shorter tasted just as good, it just wasn't as fun.

Everybody does things differently, doesn't matter who they are. I suspect many Italians break their spaghetti, just like many Americans do. How many people do you know that will not pick up their fried chicken with their fingers? I know one or two. Are they nuts? Of course they are, but it's how they do it.:rolleyes:

I am one of those nuts. If I am out in a restaurant, I will cut the meat off with my knife. The same with ribs. So now I save those foods for home. I was leaving too much meat on the bone. I am a quick learner.

Good morning. :yum:
 
I am one of those nuts. If I am out in a restaurant, I will cut the meat off with my knife. The same with ribs. So now I save those foods for home. I was leaving too much meat on the bone. I am a quick learner.

Good morning. :yum:


See, I told you they were nuts! Here's one now!

Oh! Good Morning Addie!:angel:
 
Good morning all! Yikes! I can't spell after midnight...too tired. Plus I didn't even use my little friend spell check. What was I thinking?? Shame, shame. My apologies for spelling Italian wrong. My husband would be mortified being he is Italian or should I say "Itanian" like I did last night. Here's the rest of the conversions: unfortunatelly=unfortunately, phenomea=phenomenon and convienient=convenient. Ok, perhaps it would make alittle more sense now. No more posting for me after midnight, over tired and without my glasses/contacts.:LOL:

Yes, I have seen the broken pieces in the stores. Too short for me I like to twirl. I guess you can't please everyone! However, that's what my friend purchases now and they love it.

Have a great day everyone!
 
I never break mine either. I'm very superstitious so breaking it would be a big no no and I also throw salt over my left shoulder, never walk under ladders etc lol!
 
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