The 10 Commandments of Cooking Pasta

The most important rule of making pasta comes into play before you even start cooking — you have to salt the boiling water to ensure that the pasta itself gets flavored. One of my favorite quotes from Food Network chef Anne Burrell about pasta water is that "it should taste like the sea!" One or two small pinches isn't enough. The correct salt-to-water ratio for pasta is one tablespoon per one quart (four cups) of water.