this post was submitted on 22 Nov 2024
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Salt often tastes different when added during cooking vs after
Yes, but if you stir it into a warm sauce it will mostly dissolve and it will still substantially improve it compared to no salt at all.
If you forget to salt the pasta water, there's no way of making it taste as if you had. And even if the salt dissolves well in the sauce, it won't permeate whatever chunky things there might be in the sauce as if you'd salted a lit bit every step of the way. But yeah, it'll be ok, even if it won't be as good as it would have been. (I know you didn't say it would be the same, just wanted to add).
I never salt my pasta water, and don't miss it. It's uncessary salt when the pasta and sauce have plenty anyway
Salt in pasta water does not affect taste
It absolutely does. It will salt the noodles themselves, but you need a very healthy amount, not just a few pinches.
You can use less salt if you use less water. I only add enough salt so that the water tastes as salty as broth.
Also pasta cooks just fine in a shallow pan of boiling water, you only need enough water to cover the top of the amount of pasta your cooking. Remember to stir it a few times though, or it clumps up.
(This is the best way to cook pasta if you are poor and live in a damp/poorly ventelated building. Boiling litres of water per serving is inefficient and expensive, and it makes your kitchen mouldy.)
This is the best way of getting sauces to stick as well. The concentrated pasta water left over at the end is great for making mac and cheese for example. Much better than a few teaspoons of pasta water from a large pot as is usually recommended.
Well well, I am about to make mac and cheese for Thanksgiving.
That still sounds like a healthy serving of salt, definitely more than a few pinches.
Nah, only one usually. And not a big one at that.
Yup. I grab my salt can and do about two sprinkle passes and it seems to turn out pretty good. It's probably around a teaspoon (maybe more) per bag of pasta.
Oh, and use a bit of that pasta water in the sauce, that helps.
You just aren't putting enough salt in? Literally made pasta two days ago and upon eating my first thought was "damn I almost oversalted the pasta water" because the noodles were in fact, salty
Source? This seems almost impossible
If you put a tiny sprinkling of salt in it instead of making it "salty like the sea," you won't notice.
Breaking news! If you under-season your food, you won't taste the seasoning!
Don't tell my Italian gf that, she'd hold it against you for eternity.
And she'd be right.
Yeah you put salt in pasta water to change the properties of the water so it boils differently, not to flavor the pasta lmao
You don’t want to change the flavor of your pasta by over salting the water, that’s just gross.
Not really. Salt in the water is mostly for flavor, the raise in boiling point is so miniscule by the amount added it's practically ignorable.
Adding oil breaks surface tension so that it's less likely to foam over.
Yup. Don't oversalt, but certainly add a healthy amount to the water. Some of that salt gets absorbed into the pasta, which gives it a richer flavor.
I personally bring the water to a boil, add pasta, and then add salt (to keep temps as high as possible), but I highly doubt the order here matters at all.
Yeah the only rule I know is don't add the salt to a cold pan with cold water as heating it up may cause it to damage the bottom of your pan. But adding salt at any point while the water is hot and you aren't done cooking the pasta is pretty safe.
Sauce is a different matter.
But yeah, if you didn't salt that yeast dough, you aren't going to be making it better right before it goes into the oven.
Not all foods get the you can salt me whenever pass.
Once i completely forgot the salt in my bread. It was disgustingly bland; like, I couldn't believe a teaspoon of salt would have such a massive effect.
But I actually salvaged it by putting salt on every slice of toast I made with that loaf.
It worked out okay!
Yup. Or just extra salted butter.
Or toast it on cast iron in bacon grease.
Btw, carbonara tastes better if you add the bacon and garlic to the pasta and water instead of the sauce after.
What the fuck? Boiled garlic and bacon?
Get the pancetta nice and crispy in the pan, add the garlic in the final minute before finishing. Add your pasta (2 minutes under al dente) fresh out of the water into the hot pan with as much carry over liquid as you can to deglaze, toss like your life depends on it (it does.), cut the heat, then add your mixed yolks, parm and fresh black pepper. Allow the carryover heat to thicken the sauce along with vigourous stirring to get the starches emulsified with the egg and cheese. Add more cracked pepper to your taste. Maybe a pinch of crushed chilis. Add pasta water and stir to reach your desired texture.
Don't fucking boil your bacon and garlic.
Pancetta?! Guanciale. But pancetta's OK too if it's all you've can get.
I figured Pancetta was the more readily available ingredient. Nonna always used Pancetta anyway.
Def. Just don't boil it. Hahah
What i meant; fry them first a bit, then cook the spaghetti with so it takes the taste on.
You explained this so much better than my attempt, and with a well balanced amount rage 🤌
No
I think (hope) they are just describing this wrong, rather than adding bacon to boiling water at the beginning.
The sauce for carbonara is just some of the (salty) pasta water and egg yolk.
Cook the pasta until just before al dente, then mix the yolks and (fried) lardons in the pasta for the final minute or two of cooking. Add parmesan as you like.