Why oh why do I always manage to have a load stuck to the bottom of the saucepan? I've tried using bigger saucepans, doubling the water, adding oil to the water, stirring constantly and still there it is glued to the bottom.

Grrrrrr !!

Make sure there's a good rolling boil - so the stuff doesn't have chance to stick to the bottom.

Maybe that's the answer. I'll report back

A pan of boiling water, salt to taste, a teasp of oil. After adding my spaghetti I reduce the heat so the water gets to rolling boiling point (just under full on boiling point). Start the 10/12 minute countdown. Meanwhile I get a chopstick in each hand and start seperating the strands of spaghetti while stirring at the same time. When satisfied the strands can stay seperate on their own, I leave alone for the remainder of the cooking time, meant to be just after al dente, since your hot meat sauce will continue heating the spaghetti when added. It's another method you can try and I hope it helps.

You really need to have a lot of water. My pot takes two kettles full - say 3 litres for half a packet of pasta. And as the others say, well boiling before you put the pasta in. And it's a special pasta pot - you fill the pot with water, and put a kind of colander thing, or like a deep fat frier, inside the pot.

Plenty of boiling water.
Never put oil in the pan.
Stir regularly to prevent sticking.

Some add cold water at the end to the stop cooking process.

Drain immediately.

I prefer the Southern Italian method of mixing the spaghetti with the sauce prior to serving as this keeps the pasta hot.

I.m going to add the sauce to the sphagetti tonight seems like a good idea , i usually add the leftovers to the sauce anyway to fry up later on.

Sorry I'm having a dumb moment - when else would you mix the sauce with the pasta?

Some people serve the spaghetti on the plate and then put the sauce on top, but as the poster says it is best to mix the sauce in with the not--quite-fully-cooked pasta as it then absorbs a bit of the liquid and the flavour from the sauce. (This was a tip I got from watching the Sopranos. The other one was on the question of meatball size. According to the Sopranos, meatballs should be tennis-ball, not golf-ball sized.)

Oh yes, like my MIL. I find it bizzare and would always mix it together.

Oh and the Sopranos are wrong about the meatballs