Fill the pot, turn up the heat, walk away, come back to a stove covered in foam. Repeat. That was my routine for about ten years of cooking pasta.

The fix is a thing my grandmother did without ever explaining why it worked: lay a wooden spoon across the top of the pot.

Why the spoon trick works

When boiling water bubbles up and hits the dry wooden spoon, the bubbles pop. The spoon breaks the surface tension and gives the foam a place to collapse instead of climbing over the edge. It is not magic, just physics, but it works almost every time.

• Set the spoon handle-to-handle so it spans the pot
• Leave it there while the pasta boils
• Keep the heat at a rolling boil, not a full blast

Things I got wrong at first

I tried putting a lid on slightly and it made everything worse. A closed pot traps heat and foam, and it boils over faster and harder. Leave the lid off and rely on the spoon.

I also used to add olive oil to the water thinking it stopped sticking. It does not, and it keeps sauce from clinging to the noodles later. Skip it. A good stir in the first minute does more than oil ever did.

If you really want a guarantee

For anything starchy like pasta or potatoes, drop the heat a notch once it starts boiling. A gentle rolling boil cooks just as fast and barely ever foams over.