Should salt be added to pasta water? Here is the mistake that many people make
Some habits have a hard tooth. Take, for example, cooking pasta: our mothers and grandmothers always taught us to add a little salt to boiling water. And, from generation to generation, this tradition has been perpetuated without really understanding the reason. However, it turns out that this step, which we thought was essential, is useless in a sense. If you add salt at the end of cooking, it is pure waste, because it will have no impact on the flavor of your spaghetti. On the other hand, at the beginning of cooking, if you drain the pasta water, the flavor will be better. And if you thought until now that salt speeds up the boiling process, you were wrong. Turn of the question.
As with the most popular culinary dishes, we often follow certain pre-established rules with our eyes closed. What if sometimes we make mistakes without even realizing it? For years, we’ve been told that adding a few pinches of salt, a clove of garlic, or a few dried peppers to the pasta cooking water will make all the difference in the preparation of our spaghetti, tagliatelle, fettuccine, and other macaroni. But is it really as useful as we are led to believe?
Is it useful or optional to salt pasta cooking water?
Add salt when cooking pasta
Without a doubt, when preparing good Italian spaghetti, we all tend to season the cooking water. Systematically, spices, especially salt, are added without really knowing why. Popular beliefs abound: some are convinced that it would have a great influence on the temperature of the water and that it promotes a much faster boiling.
Also read: How many days can you store cooked pasta in the refrigerator? Do not eat them again after this time
There is truth and falsehood. In fact, salted water will be hotter than soft water, but the impact on cooking time is minimal (just a few seconds for a reference cooking time of 8 minutes) and, on the other hand, salted water will take longer. in boiling than fresh water. So it doesn’t really matter when you get dirty.
And if that were not enough, the pasta does not adhere properly to the salt that we have added to the pan. The reason is very simple: they probably don’t absorb enough water to make the seasoning worthwhile. As you can see, regardless of the added spice or even the olive oil, the pasta does not stick to anything and retains less water than we imagine. Not to mention, the starch granules don’t dissolve completely, so the center of the noodles remains more intact than the surface.
Finally, in terms of cooking, opinions are quite mixed on the subject. While some believe that a broth of spices in water will have minimal or no effects, other chefs believe that using salt has some significant advantages. In particular, preventing our pasta from being too sticky. Nothing is more unpleasant than having spaghetti on your plate with a pasty texture that is difficult to remove. Precisely, salt would have the ability to reduce the gelatinization phenomenon of starch.
And what about the taste? Would salt make our pasta taste good? Supossely Yes. It is still necessary to dip the pinch of salt at the beginning of cooking. According to specialists, the salt water will penetrate the pasta evenly and give it that touch of flavor that it lacks. But be careful, have a very light hand, because if you plan to put salt in the sauce, you may have an overly salty and inedible dish!
Cooking Pasta: Some Common Mistakes to Avoid Making
Cook pasta
· Not respecting the cooking time established by the manufacturer
Almost all of us tend to cook our pasta blind. And, admit, it’s always random: sometimes al dente, sometimes overcooked. However, it only takes a few seconds to check the optimal cooking time indicated on the packaging. To avoid unpleasant surprises, we strongly recommend that you follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Please note that the cooking time should be measured from the moment the water begins to boil.
· Use little water or an inappropriate pot
When cooking spaghetti, you should use about 1 liter of water per 100 g of pasta. That is, the pan must be large enough to hold them and prevent them from sticking to each other. Reminder: insert your pasta only at the time of boiling.
Read also: Julie Andrieux’s trick to make delicious pasta without boiling it in water
· Add oil so that the pasta does not stick
Another popular belief: you need to pour a little oil into the cooking water to prevent the pasta from sticking. Again, this is a common mistake. The oil remains on the surface and does not adhere to the paste. Since salt already plays this role, as noted above, there is no need to waste. Another tip