Mark Thorson wrote:
> George wrote:
>> Sounds like you need to use more water. Not sure why you are breaking
>> the noodles. Is it because you are using a small pot (which would also
>> likely mean not enough water)?
>
> Exactly! Beats me why pasta does this, but there's
> a certain amount of water needed to cook it properly.
> Below that amount, you get a lot of starch dissolving
> out of the pasta. I learned this when I was a college
> student and trying to make pasta using an immersion
> heater in a Pyrex measuring cup. Fried pastas like
> ramen can be made this way, but real pasta can't.

I suspect that the concentration of starch in the water is too high when
using a small pot. So that leads to clumping and sticky films and
attempts to fix it by dumping oil in the water.

>
> I went through a ton of immersion heaters as a college
> student. I became an expert on everything you could
> make with one. I should have written a cookbook on
> the subject. Too late now, though. I've forgotten
> too much. That's what happens when you turn 50.