- Oh-ho-ho-ho! - I gotta, you know...

(laughs) salt bae it up in here. - Look at that.

♪ (upbeat intro) ♪

- (FBE) So, on a scale from one to 10, how would you rank your ability

to make pasta? - I'm gonna say 10.

Pasta's an easy one. I think I've made pasta

since I was like eight. - I'll give it a medium, like six.

- If ramen counts, I would say like a 10.

- God. I don't know how to cook anything,

but pasta might be the one thing that I can do, 'cause you just

boil water and put sticks in it. - (FBE) I'm sure you know this,

but there are a lot of common rules that people swear by

when they're making pasta. What are some rules that you have

when you're making pasta? - Of course, you gotta put oil

in the water when it's boiling, so that the pasta doesn't stick

and like a little bit of salt as well. - Salt the water.

That's number one. You need to salt the water,

and, like, a lot. - I add salt to the water,

and then put the pasta in, make it al dente.

- (FBE) Well, today, we are giving you everything you need to make spaghetti.

- Ooh! - (FBE) First, we're gonna have you

make it your way. - Okay.

- (FBE) And then, I'm gonna run through some of these rules

that are actually pasta cooking myths. - Myths. Myth busters. (bangs desk)

- Well, it sounds delicious, but I feel like I'm gonna

make all the mistakes. So this will actually be very helpful.

- (FBE) Well, let's go. Let's start boiling.

- All right. - Step number one: agua.

I'll put like that much. I'm nervous. What if I burn

this whole joint down? (giggles) - I'm using my hands.

Okay. Start. (beep)

Cool. - And then maybe we'll pour

some salt in the agua. Sprinkle it.

This is the method of transportation into the water.

You sprinkle. Don't pour it directly in.

It's very important. A TV show told me.

- I'm just gonna add a [bleep] ton of salt.

We're going with three sprinkles. - Pew!

Olive oil's good with everything. Throw some of that in there.

- I like to add a little bit of oil right off the bat.

And then when it starts boiling, I add a little bit of salt.

- I don't like that there's salt in olive oil,

'cause I don't usually throw anything besides water until after.

- And then...

You guys wanna talk about the weather?

- You're not supposed to open the lid, 'cause then the steam escapes.

I learned that in Girl Scouts. - This looks like it's starting

to boil a bit. Ooh, I like this kind of salt.

- It's really important to have really salty water,

so you put a lot in there. The pasta's not gonna taste like that,

and you usually mix it with sauces and stuff,

so you make up for it in other spots.

- We're gonna take some spaghetti, and we're gonna put it in the water.

Just gonna break it up.

Ah, pasta's coming in good this time of year, boys.

- Just grab them babies with your hands.

- One by one. Oh. Oh, yeah. Look at me. (chuckles)

- Put the pasta in there. We are gonna cover that.

- Sometimes, I put 'em in long. Sometimes, I put 'em in short.

It really just depends. - Sometimes, you can stir it.

I don't really know why, but I've seen people do it

in TV shows and it looks right. - It's like a child.

You just kind of keep checking on it till you feel like it's ready.

- Oh, yeah. I could be like salt bae right now.

I gotta, like, you know... (laughs) salt bae it up in here.

- I feel like Martha Stewart, except I'm not high.

- Always wanna keep it moving, you know?

Even distribution of that cooking.

Adding oil would be good, just a splash. Ugh.

That was a little bit more than I wanted.

- So, if I put in this amount of oil...

Oh, it changes color.

- Is anyone timing this? - (FBE) Uh, no. So...

- Oh. - (FBE) ...just taste when you think

it's ready. - Oh, no. I'm very by the rules.

If it says six to eight minutes, I do exactly seven minutes.

- Woo. - (FBE) You can turn it down.

- Yup, okay. - Yo, what if I just put--

you know what? It needs more salt.

It's a very pee-like color. That must mean it's delicious.

- All right. Let's give it a final taste test.

Mmm! It's not bad. You guys want some pasta?

- Let's see. Absolutely delicious.

You can taste the olive oil on it. Fantastic job, Kim.

- I'm satisfied. - Yeah. They're limber.

- That looks good. - All right.

So, I'm gonna turn it off. - You gotta get all of the water out.

(water pouring)

- I got my noodles. - See, that looks delicious.

- Gotta salt bae it up at the end... with a fork in there.

It's very salty. (coughs) - (FBE) Now, we're gonna see

if your pasta is done by throwing it against the wall.

- This is a really [bleep] up darts.

- Yeet! - (FBE) Ooh. It's sticking.

- Come on, glue! - (FBE) Wow.

- Oh-ho-ho-ho!

- See? It's fine. - There's no chance they stick.

It didn't stick, but I don't know,

it would taste good.

- Some of them got on there. - I've never done that,

but cool to see it work. - (FBE) All right. So,

we're actually going to clear everything.

And now, I'm gonna show you a video on the things

you did wrong today. - All right.

- Did I do something wrong? What? Crazy.

- I'm excited. I'm curious, 'cause I don't know

how the hell else you make pasta. - (voice-over) Never rinse

your pasta after cooking. This will remove the starches

that help your sauce stick to the pasta.

- Duh. That's why I don't rinse my pasta.

- I did not know that. - I didn't even know that was a thing.

After you strain it, you leave it in the pot.

- See, I did it correctly. I didn't rinse that.

Gordon Ramsay, hire me. - (voice-over) Saving your pasta water

can be handy in thickening up your sauces later,

because the starches in the water act as an emulsifier.

- Okay. - (voice-over) It may seem a little

watered down at first, but it thickens back up

after a little mixing and cooking together.

- I do that. Yeah. I always do that.

You gotta put the pasta water back into it when you're cooking.

I wasn't really sure exactly why people do it, but that's just

what I was taught. - I knew that.

I know my pasta. - Never thought about that,

but it makes sense, a little thick water, (laughs)

a little slimy water. - That one seems a little iffy

to me, 'cause it's like, the sauce is already made,

but maybe I'm just really missing out.

- (voice-over) Adding salt to your water for flavor

is a totally valid pasta cooking strategy.

However, you wanna add it after it's already boiled.

Adding it before will just slow down your cooking time,

because salt raises the boiling point of water.

- Wow. Science. - Okay, the salt

makes it taste better. The salt doesn't help it

boil faster. I just add salt, 'cause it tastes good.

- Salting your water is a pretty big thing

that people do when they cook pasta, but I didn't know people do it

to boil faster. - It kind of makes me

feel a little sad that I've been doing it wrong this whole time.

- (voice-over) Don't add olive oil to your pasta to stop it

from sticking. Since water and oil separate,

it actually doesn't do anything but sit on the top of water.

- Yeah, that's not gonna-- it just doesn't work.

- (voice-over) Just stir your pasta continuously during

the cooking process to make sure it doesn't stick.

- (snaps) Listen to him. - I felt so targeted.

- If you wanna put that on, put it on after for a flavor.

It's not that hard to not get it to stick to your pot.

Just... that's what I do the whole time is just keep

stirring it every once in a while, open it, tch, tch, and you're good.

- I'm questioning my existence at this point. Oh, no.

I disappointed Sensei Ramsay. - (voice-over) While this trick

may be a fun one, it's a wasteful way

to tell if your pasta's done. It also may mean that

you've overcooked it. It's best to just taste your pasta

to see if it's where you want it to be.

- Yeah, that's what I was saying. I was like why would I throw it

against the wall when I could just eat it? My wall!

- But that would be a pretty good kid activity.

If I have kids, I'm just gonna let them throw pasta

at the blackboard. - Just put it in your mouth.

Just taste it like a normal adult human.

- I would never do that, because it's like, "Hold on, Mom,

let me just throw this against the wall real quick."

Like, it just makes no sense. But I am-- he put salt in his water.

- (FBE) To flavor it. - Yeah-- oh, okay! So, to flavor it.

Oh, okay! Makes sense. - Oh but I did such a good job

with the wall. Such a good job.

Did you see how well it stuck?

- (FBE) I did. - I was gonna take that on the road.

- (FBE) Now, we're going to have you remake your spaghetti

using all of those tips. - Okay.

- (FBE) With actual sauce too. We'll give you sauce this time,

so you can make spaghetti. - Oh, really? Okay, perfect. Okay.

- We're gonna start by putting in the pasta.

Then I'll start it. - (FBE) Is there water in there?

- Yeah, there's-- hold up. I have a process.

- Gonna use my hands again.

- Okay, I'm gonna hit High. I'm gonna hit Start.

Oh! - We're gonna start by putting

in the spaghetti. - So, we're not gonna add any oil.

- Waiting game. - ♪ (humming) ♪

- Hi, buddy. You okay? (laughs) - So, now that the water is boiled,

now I add the salt, switching it up.

- Dip it in the water. Dip it in the water.

- Grab this pasta real quick. - Pasta going in.

- You just put that sucker right in there.

- Oh, yeah. - So, you stir immediately.

- Constant stir. Very important.

- Things don't stick when you move 'em.

- See, look at me. I am Mr. Stirrer.

- And this time, I'm setting an alarm.

Stir, my precious. - I feel like a TV show, like...

We've learned a lot today here. Find out something new every day

on Cooking with Kim. ♪ (heartwarming country music) ♪

I just need one those pings.

Ping. (ping)

- A little bit more. I'm turning it off.

It's gonna cook a little bit more while it's in there.

- Okay, yeah. I think we're gonna call it there.

- Oh, yeah. Now we're noodle-y.

- It's so beautiful. - Mm-hmm.

- Mm. Fantastic. - We're just gonna

drain this really quickly.

- Noodle water.

(water pouring)

- This is a big workout. Is that why Gordon Ramsay's so buff?

And Salt Bae?

Am I supposed to (whispers) boil it?

- (FBE) You should-- you do need to put the heat on, yes.

- I knew that. (beep)

- We're just gonna pour this in here.

- And pasta, pasta, pasta fasul.

- Saucin'.

- Okay.

- I'm not gonna put that much in, 'cause I'm gonna put

some of the water in there.

- Gonna add some olive oil just for fun.

- You know what? I'm gonna put some olive oil in.

I think that's what it needs. Ooh, just a little.

- And then, we're gonna put some of the pasta water in.

- I don't wanna add a lot. Let's see how this works.

- I'm gonna put about this much in there.

(water pouring)

- Just a dash, you know? It'll fizzle out. It'll boil out.

- Ah, yeah, I put in too much water.

- Stir this sucker. It does seem like it's getting thinner.