Poll of the Day > Do you save your pasta water or let it go down the drain?

(+) Yeah! (+)

What do you do with it if you save it?

I save it and use it for my cereal in the morning

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Alton Brown had a good recipe where he used the starchy water to make a sauce. I forget what it was called, some Italian word

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I save mine for the next batch of pasta. Been using the same water since '89. Seems a shame to let it go down the drain when there are children in Zimbabwe or some shit who don't have water.

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It goes down the drain, but it's not a waste - mixed with some peroxide to activate the starch it becomes a violent pipe cleaner.

:/

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Either one but usually trash it. It can be used in recipes.
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save a little for the sauce

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My pasta water goes into the pasta. I dont use more than that.

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This just reminded me of all the weird ass stories dt used to tell on Paradiso.

He was neurotic with that sort of stuff.

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People drain their pasta?

It depends. I'll save it if the recipe calls for it, or if I'm making more pasta. Or possibly some other food. Other than that, it goes down the drain while I'm draining it. That being said, I do save grease...
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It makes a great enema.


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Mead posted...

My pasta water goes into the pasta. I dont use more than that.

How the...what, that's...but...how?

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DrYuya posted...

How the...what, that's...but...how?

Hamburger Helper

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If I have an immediate use for it, I'll save it, which rarely happens for me. So it generally goes down the drain.

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DrYuya posted...

How the...what, that's...but...how?

you can just use a little bit more water than you need to cover the pasta

itll all get absorbed or quickly evaporate once the pasta is fully cooked

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Pasta water is just salt water and I see no reason to keep that.

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If I'm doing a carbonara or something I'll save it.

IronBornCorps posted...

If I'm doing a carbonara or something I'll save it.

Is that actually pasta water though? Seems more like a sauce. Same with any flavoured pasta.

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People save it???

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wwinterj25 posted...

Is that actually pasta water though? Seems more like a sauce. Same with any flavoured pasta.

jramirez23 posted...

People save it???

Pasta water contains starches that can be mixed with fats to create a creamy sauce when emulsified.

IronBornCorps posted...

Pasta water contains starches that can be mixed with fats to create a creamy sauce when emulsified.

I learned something. Although I doubt I'll bother trying this.

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Gross. No. I don't even eat the crust on a loaf of bread. It's there to preserve the soft insides, not be food. Just like the pasta water's purpose was to cook the pasta.

IronBornCorps posted...

Pasta water contains starches that can be mixed with fats to create a creamy sauce when emulsified.

Cacio e pepe was the name. I had to google it

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Raddest_Chad posted...

I don't even eat the crust on a loaf of bread. It's there to preserve the soft insides, not be food.

Whoa.

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I pour it down the drain.

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Metalsonic66 posted...

Cacio e pepe was the name. I had to google it

This is another one I will save it for. I've been experimenting with Mac and Cheese also.

For Mac and cheese I wait until theres just a little bit of water at the bottom of the pan and then mix in equal parts evaporated milk and cheese. Last time I used half sharp cheddar and half Gouda and it was soooo creamy and good

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Mead posted...

you can just use a little bit more water than you need to cover the pasta

itll all get absorbed or quickly evaporate once the pasta is fully cooked

I maybe overthink it because I like to cook...but how much trial and error would you need to go through to nail the exact right amount of water for the exact desired amount of hardness for all different kinds of pasta? I could see being that good at not wasting even a single drop of water no matter the pasta or hardness after several failed attempts...but only after...and pasta would get wasted until then.

If you really do manage this now though and the pasta is exactly like you like it...then hats off.

Unless it's just hamburger helper...in which case I will leave the hat on.

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DrYuya posted...

I maybe overthink it because I like to cook...but how much trial and error would you need to go through to nail the exact right amount of water for the exact desired amount of hardness for all different kinds of pasta?

as long as the pasta is all submerged and you give yourself a half an inch or so above it, then it should pretty much always be the right amount

even if you cooked all your water down and your pasta wasnt quite al dente, you could always add more and keep it cooking

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I'll save a bit of pasta water for when I'm finishing up the sauce. Even if it's an old wives tale of helping emulsify the sauce, it does help make it a bit nicer from what I've seen, so it's not a biggie.
Plus the water boils out anyway, so whatevs.

Mead posted...

For Mac and cheese I wait until theres just a little bit of water at the bottom of the pan and then mix in equal parts evaporated milk and cheese. Last time I used half sharp cheddar and half Gouda and it was soooo creamy and good

Wouldn't the macaroni get overcooked by that point?

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wwinterj25 posted...

Pasta water is just salt water and I see no reason to keep that.

From what I've read you don't need to put a lot of salt in for boiling water. Having some in for surface area or something helps (I forget what I read but eh a little won't hurt regardless), but a ton most likely (unless you're crazy) be enough to raise the boiling point.

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DrYuya posted...

If you really do manage this now though and the pasta is exactly like you like it...then hats off.

You mean how do you test al dente before the pasta is drained?

I just lift some out of the water and pinch it with my fingers >.> A little hot but eh

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grimhilde00 posted...

You mean how do you test al dente before the pasta is drained?

I just lift some out of the water and pinch it with my fingers >.> A little hot but eh

I usually just eat one, unless it's clearly not done yet. Also a little hot, but individual noodles cool down pretty quickly once they're out of the water.

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It normally goes down the drain.


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grimhilde00 posted...

From what I've read you don't need to put a lot of salt in for boiling water. Having some in for surface area or something helps (I forget what I read but eh a little won't hurt regardless), but a ton most likely (unless you're crazy) be enough to raise the boiling point.

It helps out temporarily with the extra surface area for more bubbles to form, you can do a similar thing with beer/pop, apparently.

But you're more looking to add salt to the pasta itself, so I add a decent amount of salt once it's going.

Depends on what I'm making. You don't need to do that for a bolognese but you should for something like a carbonara.

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I actually thought this was a meme topic, had no idea this was a real thing

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grimhilde00 posted...

From what I've read you don't need to put a lot of salt in for boiling water. Having some in for surface area or something helps (I forget what I read but eh a little won't hurt regardless), but a ton most likely (unless you're crazy) be enough to raise the boiling point.

Salting pasta water is pretty much exclusively for flavour. You aren't going to elevate the boiling point by even a whole degree C without making the water pretty unpleasantly salty.

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Greenfox111 posted...

I actually thought this was a meme topic, had no idea this was a real thing

My Cinnamon Toast Crunch tasted awful today thanks to you!

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Metalsonic66 posted...

Wouldn't the macaroni get overcooked by that point?

Nope. Pasta only really overcooks usually when it absorbs too much water and gets too soft. And all you have to do after the macaroni is cooked is mix in the other ingredients and let the cheese melt. You can remove it from heat even.

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grimhilde00 posted...

From what I've read you don't need to put a lot of salt in for boiling water. Having some in for surface area or something helps (I forget what I read but eh a little won't hurt regardless), but a ton most likely (unless you're crazy) be enough to raise the boiling point.

Yeah I don't put much in.

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Mead posted...

Pasta only really overcooks usually when it absorbs too much water and gets too soft.

Unless you bake or otherwise cook it dry for too long and it dries out/burns, but that's also pretty unlikely if you're just stirring cheese into a pot.

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JigsawTDC posted...

*facepalms*

There's still the starch in that water too. The starch attracts bacteria. Plus the water to salt ratio is probably different from saline as well. I just... Why do I bother trying to be sane, sometimes?

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I mean if you're salting the water already then it's not a waste of money just to do it without the pasta.
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Entity13 posted...

Why do I bother trying to be sane, sometimes?

I ask that myself on a daily bases.


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adjl posted...

Salting pasta water is pretty much exclusively for flavour. You aren't going to elevate the boiling point by even a whole degree C without making the water pretty unpleasantly salty.

yes that's why I said "unless you're crazy" regarding boiling point lol

the other bit was something not related to raising boiling point but I don't remember what it was and it could have been bullshit

tl;dr add some salt cause why not but yeah it doesn't really make a difference so don't go crazy with it

shadowsword87 posted...

It helps out temporarily with the extra surface area for more bubbles to form, you can do a similar thing with beer/pop, apparently.

ah this yeah that that is the thing I had heard I think

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JigsawTDC posted...

I call bullshit. Too poor to afford salt?

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