Why Add Salt To Pasta Water

You Should Always Salt Your Pasta Water—Here’s Why

Do you want to create the most delicious spaghetti you’ve ever had? Then make sure to follow Nonna’s instructions. In the event you grew up cooking alongside your Italian nonna, you may already be familiar with the key to perfectly moist meatballs, the fact that pasta water should always be “as salty as the sea,” and the fact that singing to your red sauce will make it taste better. Although that final item is unlikely to make much of a difference (other than providing a slight mood boost), we’re here to confirm that Nonna was correct in her observation regarding the pasta water.

For the rest of us who had to learn the hard way, salting your water is the first, and possibly most crucial, step in making a delicious dish of pasta from scratch.

That’s because, no matter how delicious your Bolognese or Alfredo sauce tastes right off the spoon, if your pasta strands aren’t boiled in salted water, you’re going to get a very blandforkful of noodles.

There is just one acceptable reason to salt your pasta water, according to scientific principles: it equally season each noodle from the inside out.

The similar principle applies to preparing pasta, when seasoning the water with salt is like setting the groundwork for a delicious feast to come.
Examine the water when the salt has completely disintegrated; it should be briny, but not overpoweringly salinity-laden.
In reality, it is believed that a pound of pasta will only absorb around a fourth of that amount.
Table salt, kosher salt, sea salt, or any combination of these will work nicely.
To finish, don’t toss out the water just because your properly seasoned pasta has been dropped into the sauce.

Here’s what happens when you add salt to boiling water

What is the purpose of adding salt to boiling water? There are a handful of possible responses to this often asked culinary question.

Key Takeaways: Adding Salt to Boiling Water

When cooking, many chefs add salt to boiling water, and many recipes call for it. The most important reason to season water with salt is to enhance the flavor of food cooked in it. Adding salt to water also helps it to boil (little) more quickly. While adding salt to water does raise the temperature at which it boils, the effect is so modest that it has no influence on the amount of time it takes to cook.

Salting Water for Flavor

Typically, salt is added to water before it is brought to a boil in order to cook rice or pasta. A salty solution imparts taste to water, which is then absorbed by the meal being served.

The ability of chemoreceptors on the tongue to detect chemicals that are experienced through the sense of taste is enhanced by the addition of salt. As you’ll see, this is actually the only reasonable explanation.

Salting Water to Raise Water Temperature

Another benefit for adding salt to water is that it raises the boiling point of the water, which means that the water will be hotter when you add the pasta, resulting in better cooking results. That is, at least, how it works in theory. In actuality, it would take 230 grams of table salt to increase the boiling point of a liter of water by 2 degrees Celsius. The equivalent of 58 grams per half-degree Celsius for each liter or kilogram of water is 58 grams per kilogram of water. That is far more salt than most people would choose to consume in their diet.

Salting Water So It Boils Faster

Although adding salt to water raises its boiling point, it’s important to note that salted water boils much more quickly than unseasoned water. That appears to be counter-intuitive, yet it is simple to put to the test yourself. Cooking two containers at the same time on a burner or hot plate: one with pure water and the other with water containing 20 percent salt Why does salted water boil more quickly than unseasoned water, despite the fact that it has a higher boiling point? This is due to the fact that adding salt decreased the heat capacity of the water.

Pure water has an extremely high heat capacity compared to other liquids.

In essence, when you use a 20 percent salt solution, you lose so much resistance to heating that the salted water boils significantly faster than unsalted water does not.

Adding Salt After Boiling

Some individuals like to add salt to water after it has been brought to a rolling boil. Obviously, this has no effect on the rate at which the water boils because the salt is added after the water has begun to boil. However, because the sodium and chloride ions in salt water have less time to react with the metal, it may be beneficial in protecting metal pots from corrosion in some cases. Really, the difference is small when compared to the harm that can be done to your pots and pans by leaving them out for hours or even days before washing them, so it isn’t a huge concern whether you add your salt at the beginning or the end of the process, either.

Do You Have to Salt the Water?

If you’re following a recipe that calls for salting the water, but you’re attempting to reduce your sodium intake, you might question if it’s safe to omit the salt altogether. Will your recipe be damaged as a result of this? In baking, salt is beneficial since it helps to keep leavening at bay (how baked goods rise). When baking, omitting the salt has an impact on the outcome of the recipe.

Adding salt to water before cooking rice or pasta, on the other hand, is all about flavor. Neither the cooking time nor the final texture of the product are affected by this factor. If you don’t want to salt boiling water, that’s perfectly OK.

Sources

Atkins, P. W., et al (1994). Physical Chemistry is the study of matter and energy (4th ed.). ISBN 0-19-269042-6
Chisholm, Hugh (ed.) Oxford University Press, Oxford. ISBN 0-19-269042-6
Oxford University Press, Oxford (1911). “Cooking.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. (11th ed.). Eds. : Elvers, B., and colleagues (Cambridge University Press)
Et al (1991). Ullmann’s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry (5th ed.). Vol. A24. Wiley. ISBN 978-3-527-20124-2
McQuarrie, Donald
Et al. Ullmann’s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry (5th ed.). Vol. A24. Wiley. ISBN 978-3-527-20124-2
Et al (2011). “Collaborative characteristics of Solutions” is an abbreviation. Chemistry in general. The Library of Congress, Mill Valley, California, ISBN 978-1-89138-960-3
Serventi, Silvano
Sabban, Françoise (2002). Pasta: The Origins of a Universal Food (in Italian). Columbia University Press, New York, ISBN 0231124422
New York: Columbia University Press.

How Much Salt Should You Put in Pasta Water?

The question is, how much salt should you use in your pasta water? It all depends on the type of salt that you’re using, really. Here at Basically, we always advocate using Kosher salt for flavoring food when you are cooking. Do not use iodized table salt, which is very salty and imparts a tinny, bitter flavor to food when consumed in excess. There is a significant variety in the size and form of the salt crystals among the many kosher salts available, and as a result, there is a significant difference in how salty each one tastes per volume.

For the same amount of saltiness, you would need to use roughly twice as much Diamond as Morton’s, according to the recipe.
Keep in mind that while being liberal with salt is a wonderful thing, it is very possible to OVER-salt the water for the pasta.
It also happens when I fail to turn off the heat and lower the amount of water in the pot, which accentuates the salty flavor.
You didn’t think there was much to say about seasoning your pasta water, did you?
Making modest, simple, incremental changes to the way you season food, on the other hand, will undoubtedly make you a better cook.
And that’s as good a cause as any to do anything.

Ready for some fettucine alfredo? Yeah, us too:

We independently choose these items, and if you make a purchase after clicking on one of our links, we may receive a commission. (Photo courtesy of Emma Christensen/Megan Gordon.) – Sure, seasoning pasta water with salt makes for better pasta, but does it truly result in more efficient preparation? When it comes to preparing pasta at home or with friends, the question of how much salt to put in the water seems to be a fairly popular one. Do you use a salt solution in the water? How much is it, exactly?

Do you believe it makes a significant difference?
The addition of salt raises the boiling temperature of water, resulting in a longer time required to bring your pot to a boil.
As he points out in his section on Boiling Points, “a minimal 1°F increase in the boiling point of water may be accomplished with one ounce of salt per quart of water.” As a result, we’re not going to say much.
So, how much salt do you use in your dish?
I’m afraid to admit that this isn’t founded on scientific evidence, but rather on personal preference.
It’s possible that the pasta dish will require less salt altogether.” We’re going a little more towards the taste side of things and a little less towards the scientific side of things on this one.
After much deliberation, we’ve come to the conclusion that salted pasta water results in tastier pasta.

The case has been closed. Megan Gordon is a writer who contributes to this site. Megan is a writer, recipe creator, and cookbook author who works as a freelancer. Its debut book, Whole-Grain Mornings, published by Ten Speed Press, is available in retailers all around the United States.

Dear Olive Garden, This Is Why You Need To Salt Your Pasta Water

A recent 294-slide criticism of Olive Garden by hedge fund Starboard Value unflatteringly exposed the fast-casual restaurant’s faults in an attempt to shame Olive Garden into altering its business practices. Much of the criticism is directed at the way the company is operated, but it appears that the Internet’s favorite slam is directed at Olive Garden’s complete inability to season its pasta water. Take a look at this slide, which says it all: Despite the fact that it may not come as a surprise that Olive Garden has absolutely no clue how to prepare pasta, we are pleasantly shocked at how furious the general public is at the restaurant’s inability to master the most fundamental of culinary skills.

Olive Garden maintains that skipping this crucial step saves money by reducing the wear and tear on the pasta-cooking pots, which means that O.G.
As a result, we were left wondering: Is this even true?
So, does salt really cause pots to deteriorate?
Stainless steel rusting is a kind of rusting caused by the interaction of chloride in salt, oxygen in water, and chromium in stainless steel.
YOU ARE WHAT YOU SAY YOU ARE.
(Continue reading)Can anything like this be avoided?
Here’s a straightforward solution: In order to avoid allowing the elements too much time to interact with one another when the water is cold, add the salt to the saucepan after the water has come to a boil.

The real Italian debate on salting pasta water—not if, but when

For Olive Garden to realize that they had a major problem, a 300-page hedge fund study was required. The problem: there is no salt in the pasta. As the story points out, “Olive Garden no longer salts the water it uses to boil the pasta, just for the purpose of extending the warranty on its pots.” It is shocking, to say the least. “Sciocca” is an Italian term that refers to pasta that has been devoid of salt. It also denotes “silly.” That should be enough to say anything. Starboard Asset Management filed the report, which claims that the company took a business choice to discontinue salinating its pasta in order to save money.

As stated in the study by Starboard analysts, “the first step in every pasta dish is to boil water in a large pot and salt it.”

Not so fast

While there is universal agreement that salty water is required for well cooked pasta, the question of when to add the salt remains a source of much debate. Everybody in Italy has an opinion on whether salt should be added before or after the water boils, and it is almost impossible to find a consensus. Here’s a short rundown of what the two camps think in terms of their respective positions.

Cold water salting

This has one clear advantage: you won’t forget to add salt at the end of the cooking process. But, beyond that, cold-water salters claim that their technique is backed by scientific evidence. There is a school of thought that believes that adding salt, or sodium chloride (NaCl), to water causes a solution that allows the water to reach a higher boiling point. Their argument is that cooking pasta at a higher temperature is the best option.

Salt when boiling

To my knowledge, this is the most widely used method of salt control. They suggest that waiting displays diligent cooking on the part of the boiling-salters. Furthermore, because water without salt boils more quickly, it saves both time and energy during the cooking process.

The Answer

It really doesn’t make a difference. There is no optimal timing to add salt as long as the salt is given sufficient time to dissolve into the water and permeate the pasta. Yes, increasing the boiling point of water by adding sodium chloride raises it—but only by a negligible 0.17°C per liter of water. In contrast, delaying the addition of salt until later saves time and energy, but not significantly. Engineers with a penchant for noodles conducted research that revealed the time was less than a second.

How to Salt Pasta Water – Tips for Cooking Pasta

We’re sharing tips and tactics that we’ve learned from talks on the Food52 Hotline to make navigating all of our kitchens easier and more enjoyable. Today: What is the first step on the path to great pasta? It’s all in the salt, you know. If you’re reading this page, it’s probable that you’re familiar with the process of making pasta. In fact, you’re probably familiar with three distinct methods of preparing it. You presumably even know how to make ravioli from scratch, if not from a box. Cooks of all levels, including the most seasoned professionals, can make the fatal error of underseasoning their pasta water.

While you could absolutely toss in a couple of large pinches of salt and call it a day, let’s take it a step further and investigate.
Why?
In addition, what is the appropriate ratio of salt to water?
It is necessary to salt the pasta water.
Seasoning the pasta water is the only opportunity you have to flavor the pasta itself, and it is an important step that should not be skipped.
When the water comes to a boil, add the salt and stir well.
However, after doing some research, it appears that there is no definitive solution when it comes to seasoning pasta water with sea salt.

Many people (including Marcella herself) believe that the salt should only be added to the water once it has reached a full rolling boil.

If you want to dissolve your salt in cold water, make sure to stir it around with a spoon (or your palm) until the salt is completely dissolved.

Continue reading:Now that you’ve made a perfectly cooked pot of pasta, here’s how to dress it up.

For myself, I prefer to envision it being declared, rather than said, by a wise old Italian grandmother, who is gesticulating furiously and tossing salt around her rustic kitchen.

So, in terms of cold, hard figures, what does all of this add up to?

If you receive a sense of accomplishment from precise measures, feel free to break out the measuring spoons.

While the amount of salt in your pasta water will have an impact on the final outcome, the kind of salt will also have an impact.

Christopher Boswell, of the Rome Sustainable Food Project, never uses anything other than coarse sea salt, which is the salt of choice for the Italians, and he never uses anything else.

This is a Public Service Announcement from your friends at Food52.

Thank you for reading. Keep this in mind, everyone: Make sure to season your water with zest. Make your water taste better with panache. But, most importantly, always salt your water – period. What method do you use to season your pasta water? Please share your thoughts in the comments section!

Why add salt to the water when cooking pasta?

That there was no response above referring to the basic truth that adding even half a teaspoon of salt to boiling water accomplishes this goal is surprising to me.

The salt helps to fill water molecules, which decreases the transfer of vitamins, particularly B-vitamins, from noodles into the cooking water, which is then thrown away when the boiling noodles are drained, along with all of the vitamins in that water.

There’s a Scientific Reason Behind Salting Your Pasta Water

Nanisimova Select the checkbox. No, honestly, look on the side of the box for any boxes of pasta that may be lurking in your pantry. A side of “season with salt to taste” will almost always be included, no matter what. If such sentence or a version of it is not printed on the box, that box should be thrown away immediately since it is performing incorrectly. (Optimally, you could give the spaghetti rather than toss it away figuratively. For seasoned pasta cooks, adding a pinch of kosher or sea salt to your pasta water is a given, but what precisely does it accomplish is less well understood.

Even if the first part of the proverb is correct (the chemical composition changes), the second half does not ring true in terms of technical validity.
However, this does not imply that your lasagna night will be postponed in the slightest—at least not by a significant amount of time.
There will be very little difference in taste, but the salted water will be a little hotter with salt than without, which means the pasta will need to spend less time boiling and toiling through the eight minutes of expectation before it is transformed into bolognese.
Yes, despite the fact that the procedure offers little scientific advantages, it will, simple and simply, result in better tasty pasta.

How To Properly Salt Your Pasta Water

It is possible that this content contains affiliate links. Please take the time to read my disclosure policy. Greetings, fellows! I thought I’d take the day off from providing a dish and instead provide a Very Important Tip for all of you pasta lovers out there who like reading my blog. My little culinary soap box happens to be about something that we haven’t talked about explicitly on the site before, and I wanted to bring it up for discussion. How to correctly season your pasta water is what I’m talking about!

In fact, my first inquiry to them is usually the same: “Do you heavily salt your pasta water?” In the vast majority of cases, it turns out that they don’t.
It’s also common for people to add only a little sprinkle or two of salt to their pasta since they are unsure of how much to use and are concerned about over-salting the dish or consuming too much sodium.
Those priceless seconds while the pasta is boiling in the water are basically the only time during the cooking process when you have the opportunity to season the actual pasta itself with salt and pepper.
For it to be properly seasoned, you must ensure that the pasta water has a high enough salt to water ratio that it can really make a difference with the relatively little amount of pasta that is being cooked in it throughout the seasoning process.
However, using correctly salted pasta water will make a significant difference in the flavor of the dish.
When do you include it in the equation?
How much spaghetti do you want?

So first and first, I should definitely state emphatically that everyone will almost certainly have a different point of view on this.

But, as a starting point, I’ll share with you the fundamental formula that I’ve been using for the past many years.

1 pound of pasta is equal to: 4:1 water: 1 tablespoon salt = 4 quarts (16 cups).

1 pound of pasta is equal to: There are no restrictions on the type of uncooked, dried pasta you may use here.

1 pound is a unit of weight.

I recommend 1 tablespoon of table salt or sea salt if you’re using regular table salt.

Alternatively, if you want really salty pasta, as I do, try with adding another half to a full tablespoon and seeing what you prefer.

You may argue that you could use more or less, but this is the standard for me.

Add the salt and mix well. After that, boil the pasta until al dente according to the package guidelines, drain, and then plate it. So, if you’re new to the practice of salting your pasta water, I strongly advise you to give it a try! Wishing you a wonderful pasta-making experience! Print

Description

The following formula will teach you how to appropriately salt your pasta water. 1:4 It will unquestionably enhance the flavor of your pasta to a delightful new level!

1 pound (uncooked) dried pasta
4 quarts (16 cups) water
1 tablespoon normal table salt (or 1.5 teaspoons Kosher salt)

Bring the water to a boil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Add the salt and mix well. Cook the pasta according to the package directions, turning periodically and lowering the heat if it begins to boil over, until the pasta is al dente
Remove from the heat and set aside. Remove any surplus water from the area
Prepare your favorite pasta recipe right away and serve immediately.

Notes

*If you like a saltier pasta, feel free to increase the amount of salt by 1/2 tablespoon every batch until you discover the level that tastes good. A post published on August 31, 2016 by Ali

How Salty Should Pasta Water Be?

I am frequently asked how much salt should be added to a pot of boiling water while making pasta, and I typically just advise folks to guess. I was thinking about this when someone recently asked me about how much salt I should use in my pasta water, and it got me thinking about a more specific question: how salty should my pasta water be? I’m not sure when the last time was that I measured the salt in my pasta water. I only add enough salt to make the water taste well-seasoned without making it taste too salty.

While I’ve made the error of over-salting my pasta water on occasion, the vast majority of individuals I’ve witnessed make the opposite mistake, adding much too little salt.
My hunch is that a lot of home chefs are intimidated by the prospect of adding a lot of salt to their pot of pasta water, but they’re overlooking one essential point: the majority of the salt ends up going down the drain.
(For more information on how much water to use while cooking pasta, see our post here.) You might be surprised by the response.) If you use too little seasoning, the pasta will be unable to be adequately seasoned.
Rather than an absolute amount of salt, the response will be expressed as a ratio between salt and water.
Although it’s important to note this before moving on to the recipes, it’s important to note that salt tastes are extremely individual, and what I discovered to be my sweet spot may not necessarily be to everyone’s taste.
Having said that, I was able to come up with a reasonable range that I believe would be acceptable to the majority of folks.

Testing How Much Salt You Should Use for Boiling Pasta

It was simple to set up this experiment: all I had to do was boil pasta in multiple pots of water, each with a different quantity of salt, and then taste them to discover which ones I preferred the most. The only question was which salt concentrations to experiment with. I looked through numerous Italian cookbooks and other sources and came up with a variety of options to choose from. Chef Paul Bertolli recommends 5 tablespoons of salt per gallon of water in his excellent bookCooking by Hand (available on Amazon).

I found this information online.
One of the most challenging aspects of salt is that the density of various varieties (kosher, fine sea, coarse sea, table) varies.
When it comes to salt, even two different manufacturers’ brands of the same type of salt, such as Morton and Diamond Crystal kosher salt, will not be identical.
I chose fine sea salt since it is highly recommended by many Italian specialists, despite the fact that I did not know what sorts of salt Bertolli and everyone else used.
A salt content of 8 percent by weight (or 8 grams per liter) corresponds to the one teaspoon every two quarts recommended by the American Heart Association (AHA).
People were pointing to a salt solution that had around 1.8 percent sodium chloride (18 grams per liter).
That’s one I’ve heard more times than I want to remember.

What is the salinity of the sea? On average, around 3.5 percent of the total weight. In a liter of water, that’s a total of 35 grams of salt. Knowing all of this, I made the decision to boil dry penne pasta in water with the salinity levels shown below:

0.5 percent (approximately 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt per liter)
1 percent (approximately 1 1/2 teaspoons per liter)
2 percent (approximately 1 tablespoon fine sea salt per liter)
3 percent (approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons fine sea salt per liter)
3.5 percent (approximately 2 tablespoons fine sea salt per liter)

A saltiness of around 35 grams per liter, which corresponds to the usual salinity of the sea, is far too salty for making pasta. Allow me to begin by emphasizing one very crucial point: Never, ever make your pasta water as salty as the sea water. That is the worst piece of advise somebody could ever provide. It has a terrible, inedible saltiness to it. To be quite honest, 3 percent salt is likewise far too salty. Below that, I discovered that the other possibilities are viable options, depending on your salt tolerance level.

For me, 1 percent (which is roughly about the quantity Bertolli recommends) was the sweet spot: seasoning without a strong salt flavor, but not overpowering.

After that, I experimented with a few batches below the 0.5 percent mark and discovered that they were all underseasoned.

Conclusion

Depending on your salt tolerance, you may use anywhere from 0.5 percent to 2 percent salt by weight, with 1 percent being my ideal quantity of salt. 2 percent may be plenty for individuals who enjoy salt, but keep in mind that it is perilously near to crossing the line into the too-salty zone when used regularly. Depending on how salty your sauce and cheese are, as well as if you finish the meal with the pasta-cooking water (which will concentrate the salt as the water evaporates), 2 percent might easily put you over the limit, so proceed with caution.

Salt per Liter of Water
	.5% Salinity	1% Salinity	2% Salinity
Fine Sea Salt	3/4 tsp	1 1/2 tsp	1 TB
Table Salt	3/4 tsp	1 1/2 tsp	1 TB
Morton Coarse Kosher	1 tsp	2 tsp	1 TB plus 1 tsp
Diamond Crystal Kosher	1 1/2 tsp	1 TB	2 TB

And keep in mind that you should never use as much salt in your water as the ocean does. That’s really disgusting.

How to Salt Your Pasta Water Perfectly Every Time

We’re not sure when the phrase “as salty as the sea” became a popular pasta cooking directive, but if there’s one thing that all chefs agree on, it’s that pasta cooked in sea water is a formula for catastrophe. So, set aside everything you may have heard and join us as we discuss how much salt you really need in your pasta water. For the answer, we’ve combed through books (ciao, Samin! ), reliable guides, kosher salt face-offs, and even conversations with celebrity chefs to get to the bottom of the matter.

WHAT TYPE OF SALT TO USE

For the most part, you may use any type of salt you choose when making pasta (except for iodized). Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt is the salt of choice at the q.b. cucina Test Kitchen because it has a bigger, more crushable grain and allows us to have greater control over the quantity of salt we use.

Sea salt, which is created from evaporated sea water, has the ability to provide additional depth due to residual minerals that remain after evaporation. Because sea salt is typically more costly than Kosher salt, feel free to select for the more affordable alternative.

HOW MUCH SALT TO USE

And now we get to the core of the issue. When making pasta water, what is the proper quantity of salt to use? In any Italian kitchen, there is almost certainly a lot more food than you would expect to find there. In our investigation, we discovered that experts tend to agree on a salinity of 2 percent, which is a balanced seasoning that adds flavor to your pasta without going overboard on the saltiness. Keep in mind that your pasta will benefit from the additional spice provided by the sauce match.

(Note: this amount is particular to the salt of choice in our Test Kitchen, Diamond Crystal!) Add one cup of flour to each quart of water you use throughout the cooking process; you’ll need at least four cups for a batch of pasta.

HOW TO MEASURE OUT YOUR SALT

Ever wished that you had the courage to sprinkle your salt crystals with the assurance of a trainedcuoco(chef)? As a suggestion from our test kitchen, for the first few occasions, use your measuring spoon to really measure your salt into a small bowl rather than a measuring cup. After then, take the salt and place it in the palm of your hand. Observe it and get a sense of its size – is it around the size of a ping pong ball? Is it a high or low mound, and how big is it? After a few rounds of practice like this, you’ll be able to measure directly into your palm with your eyes closed and just feel.

WHEN TO SALT YOUR PASTA WATER

Does it make a difference when you drop the salt into the pond? The answer is no, not really. If you add the salt before the water comes to a boil, it will shorten the time it takes for the water to boil, so if you have the luxury of time, add it whenever you want to. The pasta will cook faster if you wait until the water is totally boiling and then add it immediately before you put in the pasta. Once the water has returned to boiling, you may add your chosen form. Just be sure to keep your pot covered so that your water doesn’t evaporate too quickly and screw up your meticulous ratio!

Don’t be concerned.

It just takes a few of minutes for the pasta to absorb the taste of the salt and become more tender.

FINE TUNE AS YOU GO

Do not forget to taste your pasta as it is cooking. Using your spoon, gently dip it into the hot water and sip it in your spoon, as if you were seasoning a soup for flavor. A faint and pleasant saltiness indicates that you’re on the correct route. Just make one promise to us: you will never, ever rinse your spaghetti after you have drained it. Along with washing away the gluten that will help your pasta and sauce stick together wonderfully, you’ll also be washing away all of that wonderful flavor that you just mastered.

Please let us know!

Should you salt your pasta water?

Once a week, you’ll receive an email with the latest health and diet news, as well as information on what you can do about it. Subscribe to Dr. Gourmet’s Health and Nutrition Bites via email to receive them directly in your inbox. Sign up right away! Some people believe that adding salt to the pasta water would lower the boiling point of water (which is true, but not by enough to make a noticeable difference), while others believe that adding salt will prevent the water from boiling over completely (not chemically possible).

Common sense suggests that boiling pasta in salted water will result in at least part of the sodium present in the salt being absorbed by the pasta itself.

Even yet, no research has been done to determine if the amount of water in which the pasta has been cooked makes a difference, whether whole grain pasta absorbs more salt than refined grain pasta, or whether various pasta shapes impact sodium absorption.

The authors recognized the following as a reference technique (or control approach) in the kitchen: Cooked for 9 minutes in 6 quarts of water with 2 Tablespoons of iodized table salt (36 grams of sodium) added to the water, a full pound of spaghetti-shaped semolina (white flour) pasta.

Afterwards, the cooked pasta was thoroughly processed and examined using inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy-mass spectrometry to measure the quantity of sodium contained in the pasta: 247 milligrams of sodium per 140-gram serving, according to the findings.

The authors discovered that boiling pasta without salting the water resulted in pasta that had less than 5mg sodium per 140-gram serving, which was surprising (about 2 ounces).

Cooking the same quantity of pasta with twice the amount of salt resulted in pasta containing about 490mg sodium per 140-gram serving when cooked with twice the amount of salt (a little more than twice as much sodium).

When the pasta was rinsed after cooking, it reduced the quantity of salt in the pasta by around 34%, and whole grain pasta reacted to the various cooking techniques in a manner that was similar to that of semolina (white flour). The form of the pasta had no influence on the amount of salt in it.

What this means for you

To enhance the flavor of the pasta, the sole purpose to add salt to pasta water is to enhance the flavor of the pasta. I don’t season my pasta water with salt for the same reason that I don’t use salted butter: I like to keep my sodium consumption under control. This is best accomplished by regulating the quantity of salt in my sauce rather than in my pasta. In a nutshell, season the sauce rather than the pasta. Date of first posting: June 24, 2020