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I am not sure if this is on topic but was wondering if there is some "trick" to cooking this pasta. That is my question in a nutshell.

The package direction say to boil for 10 min. which I did, however, as I was cooking the pasta it was foaming very heavy and I could not see the actual pasta. I stirred it in order to keep the foaming down which seemed to help.

When the time was up and I drained the pasta it was about a third of the amount I originally started with. There was a heavy film of what seemed to be melted pasta at the bottom of the pan.

I assume these ingredients just melt. So maybe this is why wheat is the most used ingredient for making pasta.

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I've been gluten free for two decades and have probably cooked every kind of GF pasta available. The first challenge is to not expect it to look, behave or taste like wheat pasta ;-)

Use a big enough pot. Like wheat pasta it needs space. Add a little oil to the boiling water to keep it from sticking together.

If the water is boiling like crazy, bring the heat to a gentler boil. GF pasta can be fragile. If it's spaghetti the ends are probably sticking out of the water so patiently and gently immerse it.

Once it's swimming in the pot, stir a bit with a wooden spoon or silicone utensil to make sure it's not sticking together, same as with regular pasta.

Usually the package says 8-10 minutes. You have to taste it to know. Remember it will cook a bit after drained so keep it a little bit on the chewy side.

Personally I prefer combinations of quinoa and corn as opposed to rice. "Ancient Harvest" in a turquoise box is my favorite, with Barilla a close second. Just my opinion.

There is definitely a learning curve with GF cooking. You will succeed, even if it takes more than once to attain perfection!

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    The oil in the water is a great idea. ...
    – Sedumjoy
    Commented Sep 30, 2020 at 0:33
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    IMHO buying higher-quality GF pasta is another good approach. Bionaturae makes a GF pasta that has a higher protein content than other GF pastas and is much closer to wheat pasta in many ways. Generally I have been able to cook the better brands of GF pasta essentially the same ways I used to cook wheat pasta. Obviously, some people may be stuck in places where better GF pasta isn't available. Otherwise, I would suggest trying other brands as well as other cooking methods.
    – Todd Wilcox
    Commented Sep 30, 2020 at 7:09
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    I don't know whether it applies to GF pasta or not, but it was my (perhaps flawed) understanding that the oil-in-water technique did not meaningfully impact the stickiness of pasta during the cooking process because the oil will stay near the top of the water without sticking to the pasta.
    – Onyz
    Commented Sep 30, 2020 at 12:45
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    @Sedumjoy A quick google search indicates that water-in-oil for cooking pasta is an old wives tale.
    – Onyz
    Commented Sep 30, 2020 at 12:53
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    Do not put oil in the water. It will not keep the pasta from sticking together, obviously - oil and water do not mix, so the oil just floats on top of the water. The only thing it will do is slightly coat the pasta when you pull it out of the water, interfering with the ability of your sauce to stick to your pasta. If the foaming bothers you, lay a wooden utensil across the top of the pot as it boils. That will keep the foam from overflowing the sides of the pot.
    – Alex M
    Commented Sep 30, 2020 at 17:43
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I admit I've only been cooking gluten free pasta for about 10 to 12 years or so, but I saw some advice on a blog many years ago which has dramatically changed how I cook it.

They recommended giving it a cold water soak before cooking, and then cook in boiling water. (I don't remember if they said oiled, but use oil as it'll help with the foaming problems, as Joy mentioned. You may also want to go with slightly less water than you'd cook regular pasta so there's more room in the pot as it seems to expand more)

The exact length of the soak varies by brand and shape of pasta, but I generally go for about 10-20 minutes. It will dramatically decrease the cooking time for the pasta (especially for longer soaks), so start tasting it after about 1/2 the time that the package recommends.

What I think it does is let the outside of the pasta cook faster than the middle -- so you can actually achieve 'al dente' before the whole thing turns to mush. You can even sauce it and have leftovers the next day that aren't just a giant blob.

I've seen lots of people online recommend either washing the pasta, or even an ice bath to stop the pasta from cooking, but I find that a good drain and then quickly get it into the sauce (with the cold water soak) is enough. Especially true if you're using a jarred tomato sauce at room temperature or some other uncooked sauce which will help to cool it down some.

Note : I usually cook Trader Joe's brown rice pasta ... it's reasonably priced, and comes in a plastic bag, so I can just slit the top and pour water in (leaving it in the sink in case of spills, as it expands as it soaks). I've mostly been cooking shapes (penne or spirals) instead of strand pasta, so I don't remember if there were any issues with those sticking to each other while soaking.

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  • Yes , I can try to rinse first , thx...but one of my problems is that the pasta MELTS. The volume appears to be about half to me. So I lost about half the pasta in the form on a yellow syrup at the bottom of the pan. I used some of it for sauce and the rest I tossed in the garden so as to not plug the drain. Is anyone else seeing this?
    – Sedumjoy
    Commented Oct 1, 2020 at 13:47
  • @Sedumjoy : it's not a rinse. It's a soak. You're letting the outside of the pasta absorb moisture, so it's not trying to hydrate while cooking. This lets the outside cook faster, so you still have an "al dente" center. One note though -- it needs to go from the cold soak into boiling water. Do not try to do the 'start the pasta in cold water' thing, it's not the same thing.
    – Joe
    Commented Oct 1, 2020 at 13:54
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    @Joe...thank you. Got it! I got rinse confused with soak.:-) . I also figured the residue I can use for my bean soups...after all it's full of nutrients and protein.
    – Sedumjoy
    Commented Oct 1, 2020 at 14:11

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