I cleaned my stovetop three times in one week before I finally admitted the pasta pot was beating me. Every single time I turned my back for thirty seconds, the water climbed up and spilled over the sides, leaving that starchy white ring that bakes onto the burner.

It is not a mystery why it happens. The starch in pasta makes the water foam, and that foam rises fast. The question is just how to stop it.

The wooden spoon trick, explained

You have probably seen this one. Lay a wooden spoon across the top of the pot. It genuinely works, and here is why: the foam hits the spoon, the bubbles pop, and the foam collapses back into the pot instead of over the edge.

The catch is the spoon has to be wooden or another material that pops bubbles on contact. A metal spoon gets too hot and does not grab the foam the same way.

A little oil is the easiest fix

Add a teaspoon of cooking oil to the water before it boils. The oil floats on top and breaks up the foam as it forms. It is cheap, it takes two seconds, and it works every time.

Some people worry the oil makes the sauce slide off the pasta. In my experience a teaspoon in a big pot of water is not enough to matter, especially if you do not rinse the pasta after draining.

Other things that help

• Use a bigger pot than you think you need. Less water means less room for foam.
• Turn the heat down once it reaches a rolling boil. Pasta does not need a violent boil, just a steady one.
• Do not cover the pot once it is boiling. A lid traps the foam and pushes it out faster.

The one thing that made the difference for me

Honestly, the biggest change was just not walking away. Pasta only needs a few minutes. If I stir it once when it goes in and once a minute after that, the foam never gets a chance to build. The wooden spoon sits across the pot as backup, and that is the whole system.