Brown Rice Pasta Sticking To Itself

[EmiPark210]

How do you keep brown rice pasta from sticking? The worst I've dealt with is spaghetti and shell style noodles. I used a bigger pot tonight and that helped but I still had an entire section of spaghetti that adhered to itself creating a crunchy, chewy glob at the end of the strands. All the pasta that did not get stuck to itself was a perfect texture. Is this just something I'm going to have to anticipate? 

[psawyer]

We use Tinkyada brown rice pasta and have not had problems. Lots of water in a big pot is important. When boiling spaghetti or lasagna noodles, I put some canola oil in the pot--1 to 2 teaspoons. I haven't done any comparative testing. It is something I did long before going gluten-free.

[Adalaide]

I have found that I absolutely have to use a larger pot than I think I need, and more water. It is also important to stir immediately after the noodles are in the water, and very frequently. Make sure you get into the corners of the pot when you stir or you may end up with stickers there. As for spaghetti? The only long noodles I ever liked were angel hair, and I haven't found a thin gluten free spaghetti that doesn't suck so I can't really help there. I did try a few times early on with spaghetti and they all stuck together but that was before I learned what an art it is to keep them apart.

[psawyer]

Yes, stirring is important. I forgot to mention that. Especially in the first minutes, stir, stir, and stir some more. If sticking is going to happen, it will be at the beginning.

[BridgetteIMcleod]

Try 1/4 cup olive oil in a very large pot of boiling water. Add the spaghetti noodles slowly making sure they are separated as they hit the water. Continue to stir the noodles until they start to bend and become flexible. Lifting and coating the noodles with the olive oil. Continue to cook until they are cooked to your preference. 

I have tried all different brands and this is the only things that works for me.

[psawyer]

With spaghetti, to help it separate as it enters the water, I hold it in a bundle vertically, put the lower end in the center of the pot, and let go. It drops in all directions, and after a few seconds is soft enough to stir.

[tarnalberry]

How do you keep brown rice pasta from sticking? The worst I've dealt with is spaghetti and shell style noodles. I used a bigger pot tonight and that helped but I still had an entire section of spaghetti that adhered to itself creating a crunchy, chewy glob at the end of the strands. All the pasta that did not get stuck to itself was a perfect texture. Is this just something I'm going to have to anticipate? 

 

Very large pot, rolling boil before you put the pasta in, stir once just after putting it in, bring back to a boil before turning down, then wait.

[Adalaide]

Very large pot, rolling boil before you put the pasta in, stir once just after putting it in, bring back to a boil before turning down, then wait.

 

This is also a very good point. No matter how much of a hurry you are in, your water must be at a full rolling boil before you add pasta. Skipping this is a recipe for disaster. And, it is also important that it boil again. Not sort of simmer, or have a little movement on top, but actually boil. A little water getting on the stove isn't going to be the end of the world, skipping rolling boils could be the end of the the pasta.

 

So funny the things you forget are important until it becomes a group effort.

[pricklypear1971]

And if you don't want it to stick after you drain it, rinse it with cold water. We usually combine sauce with noodles in the pot before serving so temperature doesn't matter.

[love2travel]

Maybe try another brand or kind of pasta.  I make my own but also have found that some brands stick worse than others.  One pasta brand I buy is made from a combination of brown rice and millet; another sweet potato and buckwheat.  They do not stick at all.  Homemade does not stick in my experience.  It cooks in about 1 to 2 minutes and does not have time to stick! 

 

Yes, you can add oil to water BUT I never do it.  Scientifically in the culinary world it is a no no.  Why?  Some sauces do not adhere as readily to slick pasta but of course it depends on the type of sauce.  But in the gluten free world, the rule is whatever works is best. 

[Takala]

If you don't have a large pot, break the noodles in half before you put them in the boiling, oiled, salted water.  Stir and make sure it is not trying to settle on the bottom of the pan in the begining.  Once done, drain, and rinse in cool water in a colander to get the sticky stuff off and to stop the cooking process.  You then might have to add just a little olive oil again and a little salt and re - toss, you can reheat on a plate if you want it then to be hotter.  (rice pasta is sort of a PIA.) 

 

Also, the cooking times on the packages are only a suggestion, and it works best to cook up a single serving as an experiment, timing it from the time it hits the boiling water, then testing it before it allegedly is going to be done.  Overboiling can give you a mushy, sticky mess, too.  High altitude is going to take longer.  

 

Agree with Adalaide that the thicker noodles are the way to go with rice pasta, now I prefer them. 

[EmiPark210]

Thanks for all your tips! I made Tinkyada pasta tonight which (unbeknownst to me when I bought it) has spinach powder that turns the water a lovely green. But I don't know if it was that or the near obsession level of care that I put in  to make it not stick... But it worked!! 

[Adalaide]

Qapla'

 

Or, for those who aren't complete dorks and don't know what that means, gratz on your success!