Pasta is the kind of safety-net dish that even the less sparkling cooks among us can't fail to get right.
After all, what's so taxing about boiling up a handful of fusilli and adding sauce to the mix? It's easy, delicious and a crowd-pleaser, all rolled into one.
But scientists have just thrown our trusty pasta knowledge - honed over years of student living - into doubt.
Hold the front page.
According to a video titled "What's The Best Way To Cook Pasta?" posted on YouTube this week (below), there are a number of things we routinely do that, well - we just shouldn't.
In a move that can only be described as revolutionary, the guide's produces PBS and the American Chemical Society unveil a series of ground-breaking home truths about the best way to cook one of our all-time favourite meals.
"Pasta noodles contain only three ingredients: eggs, water and flour. But how can you achieve a tasty result every time?" they ask. "Cooking pasta chemically changes how the proteins and starches interact, making the noodles sticky and springy. Therefore, what you do – or don't do – to the cooking water can change the edible result."
Three simple steps
Here are the three nuggests of wisdom we took home from the video; and honestly, they change everything...
1. Use salt, not oil
Bad news for those of us who like to slather a boiling pot of pasta in olive oil. The folks at the American Chemical Society reckon most of this will just wash off when you drain it, so you're better off adding in salt; the finest flavour-giver of all time.
2. Add pasta water to your sauce
The scientists recommend adding a ladle-ful of your salty, starchy pasta water to the sauce before you drain it. They say this will help thicken the sauce and make it more delicious. The starch will also encourage sauce to stick to your pasta once you come to actually eating it.
3. Never rinse drained pasta
Many of us are tempted to give drained pasta a hose with cold water to cool it down - but researchers brand this "a classic mistake". They say you should never pour water over your pasta when it's in the colander - because otherwise you will wash away all that sticky starch that's so full of goodness for your sauce. Who knew?
So, perhaps you're one of those clever-clogs who has been doing this process right all along.
But if, like us, this comes as a total surprise - feast up on your pasta know-how with the video, below.
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