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What does salting your pasta water do, other than aligning with how it was "meant to be"? I've never noticed a difference, but also didn't salt it that extensiv
by Vinnl 4y ago
What does salting your pasta water do, other than aligning with how it was "meant to be"? I've never noticed a difference, but also didn't salt it that extensively, and this was years ago.
- michaelchisari 4y agoYou need to salt it enough that the pasta itself becomes salty. So the sauce you use doesn't have to have much salt, a pinch or two, and the pasta carries the saltiness instead.
- muzani 4y agoWithout salt, the pasta tastes plain. You can't really make up for it by salting the sauce more, the pasta carries it better. And in dishes with less salt, you'd normally salt the pasta and not the sauce.
- Vinnl 4y agoAh OK, so the same reason I use salt elsewhere - I thought it might affect the cooking process somehow. Any idea why the pasta carries it better? I usually add it to the sauce, the idea being both that I need to use less salt (healthier), and that it interacts with the herbs I added to the sauce.
- ghostpepper 4y agoIt makes the pasta salty. It's not just pasta - almost any dish will be better if you salt/season as you go instead of adding it on top at the end
- leephillips 4y agoAlso the water will boil at a higher temperature. I wonder if this affects the texture of the pasta. I suppose it will cook somewhat faster.
- halkony 4y agoIn college I got into an argument about this, believing this was the primary reason to salt the water. I was wrong -- at best it raises the boiling temp by 2F which is negligible.
- leephillips 4y agoYeah, I used to think that too, but later I suspected it was actually as you say.
- throwaway743 4y agoIn addition to flavoring, it helps the pasta not stick together when you're boiling it. Add a small amount of olive oil as extra help for that
- thiht 4y ago> Add a small amount of olive oil as extra help for that It really doesn't. Oil doesn't mix with water. The only thing it does is oiling your pasta when you drain the water, which prevents the sauce from sticking correctly. Pasta naturally don't stick together if you use a pot large enough, with enough water. And even then it doesn't stick, I honestly don't know how people make their pasta stick.
- gpderetta 4y ago> with enough water. that's another secret to making pasta: abundant water, not just barely covering it.
- SuperQue 4y agoCheap pans. Thin-walled that doesn't distribute heat evenly. So hot spots burn the pasta to the walls. Secondly, not stirring at all. Boiling will do some circulation, but you have to keep some amount of stirring to prevent a small sticking turn into a burned to the pan problem.