One of my favorite things about cooking is the science behind it. I think a lot of people don't think of how much science goes into good cooking technique. Also, I enjoy experimenting with baking...
One of my favorite things about cooking is the science behind it. I think a lot of people don't think of how much science goes into good cooking technique.
Also, I enjoy experimenting with baking in the same way a small child would with a chemistry set. It's never dull.
It sure seems like it at first, and it will vary depending on how much you eat personally and what kind of pasta it is. It's definitely something to experiment with, and it is possible to kill...
It sure seems like it at first, and it will vary depending on how much you eat personally and what kind of pasta it is. It's definitely something to experiment with, and it is possible to kill your pasta with too much salt (I've done it!). But a lot of people suffer from under-seasoned pasta, I think. You could start with half as much to start, and add it to your water as it reaches boiling to ensure it fully dissolves. There's a noticeable difference between properly seasoned pasta and under-seasoned.
Good point. When I've tried it in the past I think I used a tablespoon, at most, and always put it in before the water boiled. I... never had great cooking instruction when I was growing up....
Good point.
When I've tried it in the past I think I used a tablespoon, at most, and always put it in before the water boiled. I... never had great cooking instruction when I was growing up. Definitely going to experiment a little more.
Here's a Serious Eats post on this exact topic: How Salty Should Pasta Water Be? They also have a longer one about general pasta cooking, from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt who is fucking awesome. Serious...
Well, the internet is a resource, yeah? We can all learn whatever we strive to put our efforts into, and cooking is one of those things where we get to eat the products of our labor 😁 Good luck in...
Well, the internet is a resource, yeah? We can all learn whatever we strive to put our efforts into, and cooking is one of those things where we get to eat the products of our labor 😁 Good luck in your experiments!
Most of it isn't actually ending up in the pasta, of course, so it seems like you're adding quite a bit. I have to wonder a bit about how water and the salts in water are absorbed into pasta. If...
Most of it isn't actually ending up in the pasta, of course, so it seems like you're adding quite a bit.
I have to wonder a bit about how water and the salts in water are absorbed into pasta. If we immediately start with the possibly ridiculous assumptions that the pasta itself is negligible, and consider it as water, which seems like a possible upper limit, then the amount of salt in the pasta would seem to be determined by the ratio of final pasta volume to total volume. While this would depend on the packing of the pasta and amount of water used, I expect it is unlikely that this ratio would be more than 1/4 (I'll have to try measuring this). At that level, adding 80 mL of salt will result in only 20 mL of that salt being in the pasta.
One of my favorite things about cooking is the science behind it. I think a lot of people don't think of how much science goes into good cooking technique.
Also, I enjoy experimenting with baking in the same way a small child would with a chemistry set. It's never dull.
Hell yes, I need this video in my life. Everyone tells me "put salt in your pasta water!" but it never tastes any different when I do!
You may also not be using enough!
If you're cooking enough pasta for two, something like a quarter-cup of kosher (not table) is what you might need.
...oh my god, that is way too much salt. I guess I need to experiment a bit.
It sure seems like it at first, and it will vary depending on how much you eat personally and what kind of pasta it is. It's definitely something to experiment with, and it is possible to kill your pasta with too much salt (I've done it!). But a lot of people suffer from under-seasoned pasta, I think. You could start with half as much to start, and add it to your water as it reaches boiling to ensure it fully dissolves. There's a noticeable difference between properly seasoned pasta and under-seasoned.
Good point.
When I've tried it in the past I think I used a tablespoon, at most, and always put it in before the water boiled. I... never had great cooking instruction when I was growing up. Definitely going to experiment a little more.
Here's a Serious Eats post on this exact topic: How Salty Should Pasta Water Be?
They also have a longer one about general pasta cooking, from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt who is fucking awesome.
Serious Eats is perfect for this sort of thing, they go into the actual science behind it rather than just "do what the cookbook says".
Well, the internet is a resource, yeah? We can all learn whatever we strive to put our efforts into, and cooking is one of those things where we get to eat the products of our labor 😁 Good luck in your experiments!
Most of it isn't actually ending up in the pasta, of course, so it seems like you're adding quite a bit.
I have to wonder a bit about how water and the salts in water are absorbed into pasta. If we immediately start with the possibly ridiculous assumptions that the pasta itself is negligible, and consider it as water, which seems like a possible upper limit, then the amount of salt in the pasta would seem to be determined by the ratio of final pasta volume to total volume. While this would depend on the packing of the pasta and amount of water used, I expect it is unlikely that this ratio would be more than 1/4 (I'll have to try measuring this). At that level, adding 80 mL of salt will result in only 20 mL of that salt being in the pasta.