(I don’t know much about physics, but...) Raising the boiling point just means raising the maximal temperature of the water. Since during normal (saltless) cooking that maximum is usually reached at some time x before the pasta is done, raising the boiling point with salt means the water becomes overall hotter after x, which means you have to cook (a tiny bit) shorter. What makes the pasta done is not the boiling, just the temperature of the water and the time it has some temperature.
Im pretty sure, though I cannot find data on it, that cooking in salt water simply causes salt to interact chemically with the pasta, “tenderizing” it, the same way salt tenderizes meat, vegetables etc.
I assume we could perform an experiment in which we submerge identical amounts of pasta in cold tap water, and in an equal volume of salt water, and wait until it becomes soft enough to eat. My assumption is that waterlogging pasta in salt water would soften it much faster.
Right, but if you wait for the water to boil before you put the pasta in, then you are waiting a little longer before adding the pasta. Then cooking the pasta slightly shorter after you put it in.
Yeah. And many people do indeed recommend one should add pasta only after the water is boiling. For example:
Don’t add the noodles until the water has come to a rolling boil, or they’ll end up getting soggy and mushy.
Except … they don’t get soggy.
I would know, I made a lot of pasta in spring of 2020!
While we’re at it, they also say
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
which other sources also tend to recommend. This is usually justified by saying that by using a lot of water the pasta will thereby stick together less. But as I said, I consider myself a noodle expert now, I optimized the process, and using a larger pot just increases the cooking time (since more water takes longer to get hot), but has no measurable influence on stickiness.
(I don’t know much about physics, but...) Raising the boiling point just means raising the maximal temperature of the water. Since during normal (saltless) cooking that maximum is usually reached at some time x before the pasta is done, raising the boiling point with salt means the water becomes overall hotter after x, which means you have to cook (a tiny bit) shorter. What makes the pasta done is not the boiling, just the temperature of the water and the time it has some temperature.
Im pretty sure, though I cannot find data on it, that cooking in salt water simply causes salt to interact chemically with the pasta, “tenderizing” it, the same way salt tenderizes meat, vegetables etc.
I assume we could perform an experiment in which we submerge identical amounts of pasta in cold tap water, and in an equal volume of salt water, and wait until it becomes soft enough to eat. My assumption is that waterlogging pasta in salt water would soften it much faster.
Right, but if you wait for the water to boil before you put the pasta in, then you are waiting a little longer before adding the pasta. Then cooking the pasta slightly shorter after you put it in.
Yeah. And many people do indeed recommend one should add pasta only after the water is boiling. For example:
Except … they don’t get soggy.
I would know, I made a lot of pasta in spring of 2020!
While we’re at it, they also say
which other sources also tend to recommend. This is usually justified by saying that by using a lot of water the pasta will thereby stick together less. But as I said, I consider myself a noodle expert now, I optimized the process, and using a larger pot just increases the cooking time (since more water takes longer to get hot), but has no measurable influence on stickiness.