Pasta that doesn’t stick

Using lots of water and stirring pasta frequently while it’s boiling are the traditional ways to keep pasta from sticking to itself. But while I use lots of water, I am usually doing a zillion things at once while the pasta boils — making a sauce, answering the phone, helping the kids — so pasta would end up sticking together anyway.

Recently, I read a tip in a Cook’s Illustrated magazine. If you add an acid (vinegar, lemon juice) to the pasta water, the noodles won’t stick, even if you don’t get a chance to stir. I tried it, and it works! I use plain ol’ white vinegar, since it’s so cheap, and I just pour in a “glug” of it. The smell dissipates really quickly, and there is no flavor of vinegar in my pasta.

This really, really works for me.