Mush!
By Marie Anne
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
United States
January 7, 2009 5:37pm CST
How do you like your pasta cooked? Do you like it cooked to within an inch of it's life and it's all mushy?
I think I must be different than most folks. I like spaghetti done, but not where it's boiled for so long that there's no flavor left. When I get macaroni and cheese or macaroni salad in a restaurant or deli, it's always cooked way too much for my taste, big and fat and lacking flavor.
I guess you could say I like mine cooked al dente, but I think it's softer than that. My husband cooked some hamburger helper a while back and I wouldn't eat any. The pasta in it was so icky I just couldn't do it.
So, do you like pasta or do you prefer mush?
17 people like this
49 responses
@3cardmonte (5098)
•
7 Jan 09
I hate mushy pasta, My sister does it with pasta and veg, she boils the life out of it, which boils the goodness out of it!
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
7 Jan 09
Oh, I know! I remember once when I was just a kid, I visited my brother and his wife for a couple weeks. She made spaghetti one night and I thought oh yum, I love spaghetti.
Oh man, when I sat down to eat I just couldn't. It was one big pile of mush, you couldn't even tell it was spaghetti noodles. I didn't think it would affect the taste but let me tell you, I forced a bite or two down and then had to leave the rest, saying I didn't feel well.
It really was disgusting. I don't know if she learned to cook after that, but who can't cook spaghetti?
3 people like this
@jesssp (2712)
• Canada
7 Jan 09
I guess you could say I like mine firm but yielding (that sorta sounds dirty). I like it so it isn't really a thick and gummy texture and I hate it when it's so mushy the noodles actually fall apart. I think I prefer it just a little more cooked than al dente.
3 people like this
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
7 Jan 09
That sounds about right to me. Glad I'm not alone!
3 people like this
@deebomb (15304)
• United States
7 Jan 09
I really don't like pasta that is cooked so long it doesn't have any life to it any more. I guess I like mine like you like yours done just to the point of being soft but still having some flavor. We don't often get deli macaroni because they do over cook it. I don't like frozen pasta dishes for the same reason. I do sometimes freeze pasta but cook it only until it' just under done so when it's reheated it will still have some flavor and life to it.
2 people like this
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
7 Jan 09
Ok, now this is weird. I've had three responses that all sound like we're the same, and no one yet that likes it too soft. So why is it prepared that way in restaurants and the deli?
3 people like this
@roniroxas (10559)
• Philippines
8 Jan 09
when my children are still toodlers i over cook pasta. that is for they can digest it all well. but now we all prefer the way you do. not over boiled that they have no taste already. it does not look good if the pasta is boiled for so long. on resto i dont like pasta that is over boiled too for ir is not my moneys worth. like you said it is icky dont like to eat something like that
@sudalunts (5523)
• United States
8 Jan 09
I like my pasta done, just a little more than al dente. I do not like mushy pasta either. Whenever I am making a pasta dish that requires additional cooking in the oven, I only boil it for about five minutes, because there will be more cooking time when I put it in the oven, and I do not want it to be overcooked.
2 people like this
@sweetdesign (5142)
• United States
8 Jan 09
Oh I hate mushy pasta. I have to have mine just a bit past al dente. I think we could enjoy each others pastas lol. My mom likes hers done more than mine which kind of drives me nuts lol. She is a trooper though cause she eats it my way.
2 people like this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
7 Jan 09
I like mine al dente as well, still a little firm but now pasty uncooked taste, or limp noodles which happens when it is over cooked.
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
15 Jan 09
I'm exactly like you, whenever I cook pasta I love it al dente....I was always taught that's how it's supposed to be and not overcooked and mushy...that's why I prefer making my own macaroni salads, mac and cheese and so forth
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
8 Jan 09
I hate mushy pasta! I don't like it al dente, it's too hard for me then, but cooked just a tad more than that.
1 person likes this
@gemini_rose (16264)
•
8 Jan 09
I have to say that I like my pasta cooked not to hard and not too soft. I hate it when my pasta is all soft and mushy and I also think that when it is over cooked it is all slimy too!!
1 person likes this
@dropofrain (1167)
• India
8 Jan 09
I like to eat pasta which is properly cooked and not overly cooked. It can be either spaghetti or macaroni but one thing needs to be there. It should be taken care that it is not overly cooked otherwise the whole essence of passta is totally lost.
@fasttalker (2796)
• United States
8 Jan 09
I hope my mom doesn't invite you over! LOL Bless her heart she overcooks everything LOL
I know what you mean. I like my pasta done but a little life (and flavor) left in it. Firm I guess you would call it.
No mush for me.
1 person likes this
@royal52gens (5488)
• United States
15 Jan 09
I like pasta. Actually, I love pasta. I like it cooked a little past al dente. But like you, I will not ever eat it mushy.
@nancyrowina (3850)
•
15 Jan 09
I like it still quite firm just as long as it's not still crunchy in the middle if your using dried pasta (as most of us do now days). It's meant to be served "El Dente" which literally means "firm bite" apparently, so it is wrong to boil it until it's mush. 
@BarBaraPrz (47611)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
8 Jan 09
I guess I'm like you -- I like it somewhere between toothpicks and mush. 
1 person likes this
@ruthinian (2309)
• United States
27 Jan 09
I usually cook pasta according to package instruction. In that case, I get the best result I want.
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
8 Jan 09
Cooked through but not mushy or as my mother-in-law likes to say (incorrectly), I like it 'hard'. She is the mush queen!
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
8 Jan 09
Twenty-six responses so far and not a one of them disagrees with me.
So who is buying all this mushy pasta? Someone must be, or they wouldn't continue to sell it!
