No matter which method you choose, there is one universal sign of success. Pick up a strand or a piece. Snap it (gently) in half. If it breaks with a clean, dry sound, you have resurrected starch from the dead. If it bends like a wet noodle (literally), nuke it for 10 more seconds.
And if you burn it? Throw it away. Do not try to “save” burnt pasta with ketchup. That’s a cry for help. Just order pizza. You can try again tomorrow with the cold pizza. That’s a different article.
Remember this: You are not just reheating food. You are performing an act of culinary defiance against entropy. You are saying, “I will not let this perfectly good penne become a landfill sacrifice.” You have power. Use it wisely. And for heaven’s sake, don’t use full power.
