Should You Actually Rinse Your Pasta/Noodles After Cooking Them?

A question for the ages!

To some, in might be common knowledge, but since I’ve been cooking more and more for our family the last couple of years, I’ve also been looking more into different “myths” I learned about cooking growing up (washing chicken before cooking it doesn’t really have to be done!).

One of those myths was rinsing pasta noodles after draining them. It was one of those things I had always heard from one source or another that it didn’t necearrily have to be done, but I was never entirely sure. Until today!

So do they have to be washed after you cook and drain them? In short, no. But also, sometimes.

Sarah Jampel from Bon Apetit explains that “Rinsing noodles removes starch from their surface, thereby making it more difficult to get any kind of sauce to cling.” That explanation makes sense, right?. But what about the times when you do have to rinse them?

“If you’re making a dish that will be served chilled or at room temp—think cold soba, rice noodles, pasta salad—you do want to rinse so that you get toothsome (sorry) individual strands rather than one big gummy clump” Sarah says. Again, make sense!

So to wrap things up: No, don’t rinse your noodles unless you’re making a dish that specifically calls for it. Simple as that!