>cook for X minutes for al dente >it's already extremely

You're boiling pasta and are disappointed in the directions?

I have no sympathy for people who get fucked up by recipes. I never follow recipes, but then again, I actually know how to cook. So I look at an ingredient list and temperatures, but time is something you should be able to figure out on your own.

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>>7462187
how many italians does it take to climb the ladder

>>7462187
Just check at intervals to see if it sticks to the wall.

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>>7462651
>this guy just happens to share the same boards and threads as i do

>>7462641
how the fuck else are you supposed to cook pasta

>>7462187
I don't think you understand how variables work

>>7463940

You start checking the pasta well before the time it says on the box.

It ought to be obvious that cooking times vary depending on your stove, how large a pot you are using, your elevation, and so on. Times in recipes are guidelines, following them exactly without checking is retarded.

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>>7463958
no i mean how do you cook pasta except boiling water

>>7463958
that doesn't make sense

the amount of water cant matter as long as it is submerged in it

water is in thermal equilibrium

elevation can matter but the size of a pot and he stove can't. it's at boiling temp with the same surface area contact no matter what

>>7463972
>the amount of water cant matter as long as it is submerged in it

Sure it matters. A large pot of water maintains a more stable temperature than a small pot does. In other words, there is a smaller temperature drop when you add the room-temperature pasta to the boiling water. A large pot of water is also less likely to be crowded, therefore it lets the pasta move around and makes sure all of it is exposed to the boiling water. Too much pasta in a small pot can create a condition where the pasta near the bottom is boiling hot but not all of it is (unless you are constantly stirring it).

There's plenty of other variables like the age of the pasta, the relative humidity the pasta was stored in, and of course each person has a different idea of what a "boil" ought to look like. I've had roommates in the past who added the pasta to the water before it was actually boiling.

Point is that there are variables involved therefore it's silly to trust the number on the package exactly.

>>7464001
so basically pull the pasta out and check if it still has a small amount of uncooked 'white' area?

if you people seriously need help boiling pasta just go fuck off. It doesn't get any easier than boiling premade pasta.

>>7464011
it's just a joke about how the cooking times on packages are always far longer than they need to be because of liability concerns about undercooked food

>>7464024
are you a wizard

>>7464029
?