Nope, nevah! Is that the answer you were looking for, RL?

tee heeeee!

Well, actually I often put the cover back on and then start timing it because it seems that my burners on this new stovetop seem to take longer to get back up to speed. I don't adjust the time, I just put the cover back on for a minute or two and then take it off.

On my old stovetop I "nevah" had to do that. Things just happened naturally. Life is different with this new, "improved" stuff!

BTW - I wonder if the extreme exhaust fans they must have in the TV studios would draw some heat away from the pots? What do you think?

Every time I put the lid back on the pasta it boils over and I have to clean up a mess.... so NO! I don't do that very often.

It wouldn't occur to me to cover it.

I put the cover on just to speed up heating the water to a boil and then after adding the pasta I vent the lid. If you put just a few drops of oil in the water it won't boil over...learned that from Alton. He also tested the process of adding oil to water resulting in sauce not "sticking" to the pasta. It made no difference at all. I love it when he proves the food police wrong:)

Marilyn

No, I never cover mine either but I noticed that several of the cooks on FN did and I was wondering. Marilyn, I used to use oil in my pasta water too but have found that if I use a lot of water, mine doesn't boil over and the pasta never sticks either.
Actually, Teresa, I was simply wondering what other folks do.

No m'am, not here in my kitchen. Brenda

Wonder what the "chefs" know that we don't? I saw Emeril cover some pasta he was making the other night and maybe Giada too. And they didn't just vent it, they actually covered it. I have seen recipes that tell you to bring the water to a boil, add pasta, stir well, cover and remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes but have never tried it.
RL`

I always put a wooden spoon across the top of the pot & that stops it from boiling over.

I cover mine....but keep close watch for an impending boil over....
It comes back to a boil more quickly and once it re boils I turn it off ( if it's "little stuff" like angel hair or spagetinni, orzo or acini de pepo) or let it cook a while before I turn it off to cook to the perfect al dente stage.
It keeps my stovetop cleaner from spatters.....if it doesn't boil over...:-(
Linda C

I don't cover mine. I'm thinking they may cover it on FN because if they didn't the resulting steam could fog the camera lens. If they did it for any other reason I think they would tell use why.

Could be, Beverly, I never thought of the cameras getting that close to the stove though.

I go topless too. I confess!

No cover here either. Only cover to get water boiling then uncover. That's how my mother did it and she knew best (IMHO)!

Oh - my mother also used to test doneness of spaghetti by taking a strand and throwing it against the backsplash of the cooktop. If it stuck, it was done. Funny that! I never do that but it does work.

Are there mirrors above the cooktops? Some cooking classes have those so you can see if you're in the audience but maybe they use mirrors for the cameras, too???

Has anyone seen the gadget they advertise on TV that's tall & skinny & you put the pasta in with water & it cooks it (supposedly perfectly.)

Never have been on TV so don't know anything about mirrors so don't have any idea.
Yes, I have seen that thing you are describing on TV but think I will stick with a pan and boiling water sans lid!!
What do you think??

Yes Ginger I've seen that gadget! Reminds me of the 'quick defrosters' - just a slab of aluminum. Hoo-ey!

Yes, don't understand, or understand the purpose of that gadget. How much trouble is it to boil water and pasta in a pan!

Roselin, you don't have your own cooking show????

Re the pasta gadget, I didn't "get it" either but thought maybe kids in dorms could use it. I don't see how it could work that well & I'd think the pasta would stick together.

Lowspark, I have never heard of anybody REALLY doing that throw the pasta against the wall thing. Are you sure your mom wasn't just being funny?

I did an informal survey a couple of years ago on that because somebody told me they saw it in a movie (The Odd Couple) and out of 83 people I asked, none of them had heard of it except as a joke. The prevailing opinion was "eeeyew, really?"

No, no cooking show for me-I'm too shy. By the way, I asked my husband if I was impossible to live with and he just laughed-said not any more than he was so we will keep each other. Look for a Leo, Ginger.
That pasta thing-you still have to heat the water so, might as well just put the pasta in the pan, IMHO.
RL`

No, my looking days are over. Ah, the injustice of that since cataract surgery, I can actually see for the first time in my life!

Now, now, looks are only skin deep, you know! Don't you get all of those body builder types there in St.Thomas??
Is that what you are looking at? LOL

Yeah, but I'm not interested. How sad is that?

If anything happened to mine, I wouldn't be looking either-have always told him that he has spoiled me for any other man

Lowspark, I have never heard of anybody REALLY doing that throw the pasta against the wall thing. Are you sure your mom wasn't just being funny?

No, she wasn't being funny. She always did it, every time she cooked spaghetti. I think that's how she learned to do it and it became habit because she was a very good and very experienced cook and could certainly tell if the spag was cooked without throwing it. Kind of a fun thing to see though, when I was a kid!

I saw Alton Brown do that a few days ago.

When I was a kid all our Italian neighbors tested it that way.

First time I tried, it, though I got the back of Mom's hand, so have never thrown pasta since.

Hi all - I'm new to this forum. Had to put my 2% in here, LoL.
I use to test my pasta by throwing it against the cabinet door. Now I just keep a close eye on the tips unless it's angel hair or something similar, and then I might give a quick toss :-).
Don't leave it on the cabinet if you have painted cubboards however, it'll pull the pain right off, LoL.

Nice to meet you all!
Tina

Hi, Tina!

Hello Tina......love your login name. We have two hummingbirds here that think this is their personal B&B.
Such fun to watch.