How to Cook Fettucine

Put a pot of water on the stove. Add salt until it tastes almost as salty as the ocean. Bring it to a full rolling bowl. Most pasta packages will say you need 4-6 quarts of water to boil 1 lb of pasta. That's excessive. All you really need is enough water to keep your pasta covered for the duration of cooking, or at least keep it submerged once it's softened in the case of long pasta. Using too much water is wasteful of both energy and water.

Cooking long pasta can be a little tricky sometimes. If the noodles are not separated they can fuse together and create a mega noodle that doesn't cook properly. You can avoid this. Grab the whole bundle of pasta and stand it on end in the center of the pot. Then, simply release. The noodles should fan out naturally as they fall.

Continue to keep an eye on the pasta until it softens enough to become fully submerged. Stir frequently to further protect against having noodles stick together. Once all of the noodles are separated and submerged and the water has returned to a full boil, you can pay less attention. Periodically, fish out a noodle and take a bite. Is it ready?

When pasta is cooked, remove from hot water. How do you know it's done? That's up to you. Maybe you like your noodles with a little bit of a snap. Maybe you prefer them limp and squishy. Just keep in mind that they will continue to cook after straining or when simmered in a sauce. Serving pasta is like shuffleboard. Launch it at the right moment that it hits the perfect texture at the same time that it hits your teeth.