Do not rinse the pasta, though. The starch in the water is what helps the sauce adhere to your pasta. Rinsing pasta will cool it and prevent absorption of your sauce. The only time you should ever rinse your pasta is when you are going to use it in a cold dish like a pasta salad.

Are you supposed to rinse pasta?

The liquid that you cook your pasta in is full of starch that the pasta has expelled, making it a great liquid to help thicken up a sauce. ... In other words, you should rinse your cooked pasta if you're using it for a cold pasta salad or a chilled noodle salad.

How do you keep spaghetti noodles from sticking together after cooking?

Add olive oil to the cooking water to keep the pasta from sticking. Pasta shouldn't stick when properly cooked. If it's cooked with olive oil, it will actually coat the noodles and prevent sauce from sticking. Throw the pasta against the wall -- if it sticks, it's done.