A watched pot never boils.
So you walk away for a moment.
And like THAT the pot boils over and you get big sizzling flames lapping up around your pot.
Or it puts out the flame altogether and your kitchen now has a delightful smell of natural gas.
Anyone who has attempted making pasta has probably experienced this at some point.

The solution?

A Wooden Spoon!

I originally saw this trick on Life Hacker, and it has been floating around Pinterest too. The above picture is my attempt (admittedly, I am a bit skeptical of “tips” I see online, and I just like testing ideas too). Wouldn’t you know, it did work.

A word to the wise though: The wooden spoon (or in my case, spatula with a wooden handle) becomes saturated with the boiling water/ foam and is therefore HOT to the touch. Also, it can cause the handle to warp, so you probably don’t want to use an heirloom wooden spoon passed down from your great great grandma. Lastly, the whole pasta-pot-foam-boiling-over predicament can be avoided all together by using more water in a larger pot, keeping the starches at bay.