Why do we have to wash pasta after cooking it?

I used to do that but not anymore. It is quite dangerous to maneuver that pot of boiling water from stove to the sink. Accident of burning or scalding yourself is more likely to happen. This is done perhaps for two purposes. One is to kill the heat from the pasta.Even if thr pasta has been removed from the pot, the heat will keep on cooking it. So to make the pasta stay aldente, it should be wash right away. It is like blanching vegetables, too, to make the vegetables crisp and green even after cooking. Two, to avoid the pasta sticking together once they get cold. The flour from pasta makes the water thicken while cooking the pasta, thus the tendency of getting that pasty pasta. To avoid all those, I only not follow the cooking procedure but I'm checking the pasta every now and then to test the tenderness I needed so as not to overcook it even if i will leave it hot after removing it from the pot. I also use oil or butter or margarine to avoid getting that pasty pasta once they get cold. It works for me that way. I get to enjoy an al dente, hot pasta that don't stick together.:-)

you certainly do not need to wash it if you already use some oil when the cooking process.it's either you use some oil when cook the pasta or wash it with cold water after cooked to avoid them sticking to each other.that's all.

hi no no no. thats all backwards you do that first, if you had instructions telling you otherwise that was a typo error, I have 'always rinsed spaghetti off first then put in boiling water to cook not the other way round,. thats utterly wrong,we want it hot with its sauce and cheese and whatever else. we do not chill it.

Hi, damned_dle. I don't wash pasta after I cook it. I just will drain all of the excess water out of it. I cooked pasta today and I did not wash it at all. There is no need to wash it. I never knew that it can be done.

If you want to wash some of the milkiness from your pasta, which I often do when draining, I'll just use hot water.

yes, you have to wash the pasta, thats how it should be done, unless you will serve all of it already. why? you see, if you dont wash the pasta, its still hot right? and when its hot, your pasta will continue to cook even its out of the stove already. the result, you end up having a soggy pasta because it got overcooked. i dont see this a wrong practice because the sauce is hot anyway.

Pasta does not need to be washed afterwards, based on what I heard, washing pasta will remove all of the nutrients (not sure if this is true). You can wash it though is it will be used in a cold dish, like pasta salad. If you really need to wash it, just toss the pasta in the warm sauce you are making. :)