Don't Rinse Pasta Before Saucing It
Draining pasta into the sink and running water over it feels like tidying up, but that starchy film clinging to the noodles is exactly what makes sauce cling to them instead of pooling at the bottom of the bowl — rinsing washes it away, along with some of the pasta's flavor. It's also the reason recipes tell you to save a cup of pasta water: that starchy water, whisked into a sauce, helps it thicken and bind to the noodles. The one time rinsing makes sense is cold pasta salad, where you want to stop the cooking fast and keep the noodles from clumping as they cool.
Sources & methodology: These tips draw on established food-science references —
Harold McGee's food-science writing, America's Test Kitchen /
Cook's Illustrated testing, Serious Eats'
technique reporting, USDA food safety guidance,
and peer-reviewed food-safety research (including UC Davis
cutting-board studies) — not reworded recipe-blog consensus.