We’ll happily devour a bowl of 13-hour slow-roasted Pork Sugo as quickly as a plate of buttery noodles piled high with Parmesan. If we’re being honest – we could (and often do) eat pasta every night of the week. 

While any pot capable of boiling water might seem sufficient to get the job done, the secret to a truly transcendent bowl of pasta starts with the right pan. 

The 3 Essentials 

If you only take away three tips, make them these: 

1. Pick a Smaller Pot.

Less water means starchier pasta water, which helps thicken and bind sauce like magic.

2. Curved Walls = Perfect Mixing.

A saucier’s rounded sides make it easier to emulsify sauces and evenly coat your pasta perfectly with the right amount of sauce.

3. High Side Walls Help Retain Moisture.  

Tall walls help prevent evaporation, so the pasta stays silky and al dente, but not sticky or dry.

Forget Boiling Water Basics – Let’s Talk Sauce 

We’re going to assume you’ve got the whole “boiling water” thing down and don’t need a tutorial. What you may not know is that the size of your pot can actually change the outcome of your pasta sauce. 

Normally, the common advice is to boil pasta in a lot of water (such as 4 quarts for every pound of pasta). But we disagree. Using less water means faster boiling and starchier pasta water, which is like liquid gold for  making sauce. The starch will thicken and emulsify your sauce, and help it bind perfectly to your noodles. 

By using roughly half the amount of water recommended on the package, you’ll get an extra-starchy liquid that takes your pasta from good to luxuriously great. 

What Exactly IS a Saucier?

A saucier and a saucepan might look like the same thing to a normal human being (we assume that’s you), who might look at either one and think, “Oh, that’s a pot.” And you’d be right. 

But there’s one key difference: A saucier has rounded sides that curve into the base, like a big metal bowl, while a saucepan  has straight sides that meet the base at a hard corner. 

If you've ever tried to get peanut butter out of a jar with a spoon, you know how stuff can get stuck in the corners of the jar. The rounded shape of the saucier eliminates this issue, so stirring, mixing and serving is easy peasy. But those rounded walls do a lot more….

How the Saucier Raises Your Pasta Game

If you’re someone who dumps drained noodles on a plate and covers them in sauce (hey, no judgment), this might not matter to you. But if you like to finish pasta in the sauce to meld the flavors, then the right pot actually makes all the difference.

The rounded shape of a Saucier does the heavy lifting in two big ways:

1. Easy Stirring and Tossing.

Those curved walls make it so much easier to mix the pasta and sauce. Think of a basic oil-based sauce – if the pasta water and oil don’t properly blend well (aka emulsify), then you’re left with greasy noodles. But with the right pot, and proper mixing, you’ll get that creamy, addictive texture every time.

2. Keeping in Flavor

The tall, rounded walls lock in moisture, so your sauce doesn’t evaporate too quickly. This means you can let your pasta simmer in the sauce longer, soaking up even more flavor while still coming out perfectly al dente. 

Pro Tip: Misen’s 5-ply Stainless Steel and Nonstick Saucier are non-reactive, so your sauce will always taste fresh, with no metallic undertones like some cheaper, lower-quality cookware brands.