But there's more to the answer, Giddings noted. She explained that the heat capacity — the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of a substance by 1 degree C — is lower for saltwater than it is for freshwater. This means that saltwater isn't as resistant to changing temperature as freshwater is; put another way, less heat is required to increase saltwater's temperature by 1 degree C than to do the same to freshwater, she said.
But the story changes if you don't have the same volume of water — that is, if you fill a pot with less water and more salt. Let's imagine two pots, pot A and pot B. Pot A is filled with g 3. Related: Why is the ocean salty? The g of water in Pot A has a high heat capacity, meaning that it requires a substantial amount of energy to bring this water to a boil.
In contrast, the salt in Pot B has now dissolved, and dissolved salt has a lower heat capacity than pure water does, according to an article by Mike Dammann , the manager of the Inorganics Section at The Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. Moreover, pot B has only 80 g of water, meaning it has less water to heat up than pot A does. But a water solution with 20 percent salt is quite salty.
Not learning from them. Welcome to Effed It Up, a semi-regular column where you, the Basically reader, write us with stories of your Got a burning question or a shameful story to share?
Hit us up at eatbasically gmail. Up this week: How much salt should you actually be putting in your pasta water? When non-professional cooks i. Usually that happens when I'm using salt—I, like most people who cook for a living, do not hold back when it comes to seasoning. The answer is yes—and you should too. Seasoning food properly is the thing that separates good food from great food.
The point is not to make something salty, but to add enough salt to make an ingredient shine. And dried pasta is no exception.
That's because no matter how perfect that Bolognese or Alfredo sauce tastes off the spoon, you're in for a pretty bland forkful of pasta if you're strands aren't cooked in salted water.
Old wives' tales say it must be so, but what does the research say? Scientifically speaking, there's only one valid reason to salt your pasta water: it evenly seasons each noodle from the inside out. In culinary school, chefs-in-training are taught to season their dish a little bit at a time from the first step on; this enhances each ingredient and builds gradual, more complex flavors. This same philosophy applies when cooking pasta, where salting the water is like laying the foundation down to a great meal.
For amounts, let's go beyond Nonna's Mediterranean Sea analogy: Most experts recommend a heaping tablespoon of salt per gallon of water or per pound of dry pasta. Give the water a taste once the salt has dissolved; it should taste briny, but not knock-you-over salty. For the sodium patrollers, at ease: Your pasta will not absorb the full tablespoon of salt.
In fact, a pound of pasta is estimated to absorb only about a quarter of that amount.
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