Pasta is a universally known food that is always tasty and delicious. 

Well, almost always as there are a few mistakes that can easily ruin your pasta dish and prevent you from a perfectly delicious meal. Cooking pasta is easy but making certain mistakes will result in a less than tasty dish, so here are the most common pasta missteps so that you can avoid them:

1. Forgetting to add salt to boiling water is a common mistake that results in the pasta sticking together. Adding salt will help enhance the flavour of your pasta and ensure they do not stick to one another. The amount of salt required depends on the amount of water you’re boiling and how much pasta you plan on cooking. You can use your discretion and add more or less as required.
2. Not keeping about half a cup of the pasta water is another common mistake and people often pour all of it out without saving any, which is needed to add back into your sauce. As that used water contains starch, it will help thicken your sauce without the use of heavy cream or butter, which you want to avoid. Adding a little bit of the used pasta water into the dish will provide you with better flavours and taste. 
3. Adding cheese into the pasta sauce as it’s still cooking is something many of us are guilty of but it’s important to wait at least 30 seconds after the pasta has been plated before proceeding with the cheese. If you do it while the sauce is still cooking, your sauce will become oily and your dish will not taste as good.
4. Not caring about the type of pasta shape is easy to do because many of us will just grab whatever pasta we have but this is wrong because different shapes will taste better with certain sauces. For example, delicate pastas that are very thin are better paired with light sauces, whereas thicker pasta shapes pair better with heavier sauces and shapes with holes are meant for chunkier sauces. The pasta shapes and sauces do matter, so keep this in mind the next time you cook spaghetti, fettuccine or rigatoni, just to name a few. 
5. Throwing out leftovers is both wasteful and a big mistake. There is a lot you can do with leftover pasta like incorporating it into a soup or turning it into a salad. The bottom line is that there is no need to get rid of any leftovers. 

Avoiding these mistakes will ensure you cook amazing pasta at home. If you want a professionally cooked meal, visit Stan’s Pizza in Burnaby for the best pizza and pasta you’ve ever had. In addition to great taste, they offer delivery as well, so call them to place an order now.