How to use the online timer
Ten minutes suits most dried pasta shapes, though the packet should win any disagreement, since thin spaghetti can be done in seven while big rigatoni want twelve or more. What does not change is the setup: a large pan, plenty of water at a proper rolling boil, and enough salt that the water actually tastes of it. Skimp on the water and the pasta releases enough starch to turn the whole pan gluey.
The last minute is where it is won or lost. Fish out a piece just before the timer ends and bite it; you are after a firm centre with a little resistance, not softness, because the pasta keeps cooking in the residual heat and again in the hot sauce. If it is going into a pan of sauce to finish, pull it a full minute early and let that minute happen in the sauce, where it will absorb flavour instead of water.
Keep a mugful of the cooking water back before draining. That starchy, salty water is what loosens a sauce that has gone thick and what makes it cling to the pasta rather than sliding off into a puddle at the bottom of the bowl. Drain rather than rinse, and do not leave it sitting in the colander while you finish everything else.
Common questions
Should I follow the packet or the timer?
Follow the packet, since shapes vary from about seven minutes to thirteen. Ten minutes is a reasonable default when there is no packet to hand, but taste a piece before draining either way.
Why keep the cooking water?
It is salty and full of starch, which loosens a thick sauce and helps it cling to the pasta instead of sliding off. A mugful is plenty, and it is easy to forget before tipping the pan into the colander.
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