Be prepared with everything you need to drain, cool, and store your pasta before you start cooking. Once you start, there is no time for a break.

Don't add oil. Sticking and clumping is caused by lesser quality pastas and poor technique, not by the absence of oil in the water.

Don't overcook the pasta or it will not be al dente.

Remember: Every minute counts and every minute the pasta is in contact with heat and liquid, it will continue to overcook.

Remember: Not all pasta is the same. Anyone who has worked in a kitchen has seen results of bad pasta - sticky, clump or broken apart during cooking, or just plain mushy. Technique is partly to blame, but you can't fix pasta that wasn't good to begin with. Choose a good-quality pasta for a perfect meal experience every time.

Don't store too much pasta in one container. It will flatten and degrade the pasta.