There are numerous myths surrounding the topic of "How to cook the perfect pasta". At the forefront of these are the questions surrounding the correct way to prepare pasta. When and how much should you salt pasta water? Or do pasta noodles turn out best without salt? We provide clarity in the pasta chaos!
One thing is pretty certain: pasta is one of the Germans' favorite dishes.
For me, they end up on the plate at least once a week. The other day I was cooking for a friend and she looked quite horrified when I sprinkled the salt into the pasta water - even before it had boiled.
Then a hot "how-to-salt-pasta-water-correctly" discussion broke out.
So you don't have to argue with your friends and can cook the pasta perfectly in the future, I've done the research for you, me and all pasta lovers.
You can read here how to salt pasta water correctly and what positive effects salt has on your pasta!
I've long wondered why I even need to salt my pasta when cooking.
We all know that crisp, short sentence on the pasta package: "Add the pasta to boiling salted water and cook until the pasta is firm to the bite." Salt for what?
Is this really for taste reasons or does salt also affect cooking time?
The answer is pretty simple: salting pasta water has several practical side effects.
When does the salt get into the water?
When you salt the water, it increases the Boiling point. That is, the normal boiling point of water at 100 degrees increases in salt water to about 101 degrees.
Now you might think that cooking pasta takes longer because the water has to be made hotter. However, this is not true. The higher water temperature also reduces the cooking time of the pasta. This equals the preparation time at the end and makes no difference.
It doesn't matter when you put the salt in the water. If you put salt in cold water at the beginning, it will dissolve in cold water. The salt water must then be heated to 101 degrees to boil. The same applies to already boiling water to which salt is added. Here, too, subsequent heating to 101 degrees is necessary so that the solution continues to boil.
In your daily kitchen routine, you can decide when to salt the pasta water according to your personal taste.
By the way: In the past, the salt was always added to boiling water just before the pasta. This is due to the more widespread pasta pots made of aluminum, which can be attacked by the salt. If the pasta water were salted when it was not boiling, the salt would end up on the bottom of the pot and this would lead to corrosion. Today, our cooking pots are mostly made of stainless steel and salt cannot harm them.
Mega delicious: pasta with spinach and salmon!
Why do you need to salt pasta water?
The second important effect of salted pasta water is of a flavorful nature. If you think that salt in water will flavor your pasta, you are actually wrong.
Salt in the water makes the noodles not salty.
Salting the pasta water balances the salt content of the water and the pasta. This ensures that the flavor remains in the pasta and is not lost in the water. In unsalted water, noodles often become watery and limp. You certainly know this rather unpleasant taste.
How can salt in water be responsible for pasta not losing its delicious taste? This is due to a molecular process. Osmosis describes the equalization between two solutions with a concentration gradient. This means that water migrates from the solution with a higher concentration to the solution with a lower solute concentration.
This process is used in reverse when boiling meat for soups. The meat is then boiled in unsalted water so that the ingredients pass into the "soup".
But we want to have the delicious taste of pasta in the noodle. So: salting pasta water is a must. What is the best way to do this? You can read it now.
Low carb pasta in the taste test!
Salting pasta water: the right way to do it
Actually, cooking pasta is a science in itself. Everyone has their own way to the perfect pasta.
Here we show you how to cook guaranteed tasty pasta. For the perfect pasta you need to salt the pasta water.
By the way, my favorite recipe at the moment: Farfalle salad with sun dried tomatoes.
How much salt per 1 liter of water?
But how much salt belongs in the water? There is no blanket answer here. However, there is a rule of thumb. Many cooks advise adding about one percent salt to pasta water. This means that you should add about ten grams of salt to one liter of water. This applies to every dish, by the way.
For pasta, there is also the mysterious 10, 100, 1000 rule. Don't worry, you don't have to do the math to make your pasta perfect. 😁
The rule simply says that you should use 10 grams of salt per 100 grams of pasta and 1000 milliliters of water if you want to salt the pasta water properly.
By the way, due to the salt in the pasta water, the water usually bubbles a bit more during cooking. This is because the salt crystals become so-called boiling nuclei. Bubbles form on these as soon as the water comes to the boil. When the salt pieces are dissolved, the strong bubbling also stops quite quickly.
In summary, you can add salt to the water whenever you want, you need about 10 grams of salt per 100 grams of pasta, and you definitely shouldn't skip salting!
This is how you succeed in making the most delicious pasta.
Should you cook pasta with oil?
No, do not use oil in the pasta water when preparing pasta. If you add oil or butter to the water, the pasta will not be able to develop a coating of durum wheat starch. This coating also ensures that the flavor is retained in the pasta. Quenching with cold water is also rather counterproductive, because it destroys the durum wheat starch coating.
It is best to mix the pasta with the sauce or pesto directly after cooking in salted pasta water. Then they don't stick together and you don't have to compromise on taste.
Our conclusion
Actually, cooking pasta is pretty simple after all. We've dispelled the myth that you can't salt pasta water until it's boiling! This is only true if you have aluminum pots.
For the full taste, salt must not be missing in the pasta water. Only then can you enjoy the perfect pasta flavor.
I now have a real desire for pasta with homemade pesto - by the way, with us you can find also many recipe ideas for pesto. We wish a good appetite and have fun cooking after! :)
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