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Barilla passive cooker

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Re: Barilla passive cooker

#31

Post by kibibyte »

bravura wrote: post #20

According to Kenji, you don't even need boiling water to cook pasta: https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-cook-pasta-salt-water-boi... https://www.seriouseats.com/tips-for-better-easier-pasta "Want to get even more crazy efficient? Try soaking pasta in water as your prep your other ingredients. By the time your sauce is ready, you can just add the pasta (along with some of its soaking liquid) to the pan and, with a min…

I was gonna say, Serious Eats talked about this method (starting with a boil and then cutting the heat, mentioned in the article but not in the comment) so many years ago; only that they didn't call it "passive cooking". It comes with the nice benefit that you'll never have to worry about the pot boiling over except during the first minute, and, from what I've noticed, it seems to better align with the suggested cooking times on retail packaging.

I've argued with people about this and could never convince them to try it, mostly because of the "grandma did it this way" reason.

Re: Barilla passive cooker

#32

Post by peppertree »

bravura wrote: post #20

According to Kenji, you don't even need boiling water to cook pasta: https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-cook-pasta-salt-water-boi... https://www.seriouseats.com/tips-for-better-easier-pasta "Want to get even more crazy efficient? Try soaking pasta in water as your prep your other ingredients. By the time your sauce is ready, you can just add the pasta (along with some of its soaking liquid) to the pan and, with a min…

It's a pretty common technique for cooking rice noodles but it never occurred to me to try it with pasta. Thanks for posting this!

Re: Barilla passive cooker

#33

Post by qbasic_forever »

ricardobeat wrote: post #21
Exmoor wrote: post #4

Not really "passive" cooking as you're just not actively pumping heat into already boiling water and just cooking pasta in steadily cooling water. You can actually soften pasta and many other similar foods by just leaving them in room temperature water for a much longer period. Some backpackers do this to reduce weight and it's been the only way I've ever prepared food while backpacking. Admittedly, cold noodles, oat…

Wait, how long would you soak rice to make it edible? I’d imagine it’s longer than 24 hours.

Backpackers typically use parcooked instant rice. Anywhere from like 30 minutes to all day will make it soft. A lot of folks put their cold soaking food in water at the start of the day so it gets jostled around and softened all day as they hike.

Re: Barilla passive cooker

#35

Post by jay_kyburz »

mertd wrote: post #24

You can reduce the energy consumption drastically by boiling way less water than "a large pot" as every packet recommends. Just enough to cover the pasta + some evaporation margin is good enough.

That's why I tend to avoid spaghetti these days. A smaller pasta fits in the small pot better.

Re: Barilla passive cooker

#36

Post by dluan »

_whiteCaps_ wrote: post #2

Backpackers have been using this technique to save fuel - I've got a cozy for my cookpot. I also remember seeing this on one of the Victorian Farm shows - it was something like a pot roast brought to a boil in the morning, then put in a well insulated container to sit for the day. Edit: Whoa, I just clicked through to "The Product" section, and it's an open source design using an Arduino. Super cool!

I have a thermos vacuum pot, and do stews and soups with it once a week where I just bring things to a boil and leave it in the insulated thing overnight.

Oxtail soup, pork spareribs, chili, biryani, hunter's stew, etc. Helps it with getting everything really nice and tender, and easier than a slowcooker.

Re: Barilla passive cooker

#37

Post by unpythonic »

The claim: reduces CO₂e emissions by up to 80%*

The asterisk: water boiling phase excluded

When I boil pasta, I use full heat to get the water boiling, drop in the pasta, then let it come back up to a boil, then drop the temperature as low as possible to keep a slow boil going--about medium-low.

Guesstimating that the boil takes about as long as the time to cook the pasta, I'd say that the pasta cooking portion only takes up about 1/3 of the energy of the total (cold pot to cooked pasta).

The 80% savings only covers the pasta cooking phase, so overall, it's only saving 4/15 or 27% (roughly). If you use a lot more water, then that initial boil time further reduces your savings.

Re: Barilla passive cooker

#38

Post by Exmoor »

ricardobeat wrote: post #21
Exmoor wrote: post #4

Not really "passive" cooking as you're just not actively pumping heat into already boiling water and just cooking pasta in steadily cooling water. You can actually soften pasta and many other similar foods by just leaving them in room temperature water for a much longer period. Some backpackers do this to reduce weight and it's been the only way I've ever prepared food while backpacking. Admittedly, cold noodles, oat…

Wait, how long would you soak rice to make it edible? I’d imagine it’s longer than 24 hours.

I've never done it by timer, but a quick search indicates about 90 minutes should be good. I'm always pressed for time and just let it soak while I set up camp, so its usually a little crunchy still when I'm done.

Re: Barilla passive cooker

#39

Post by s0rce »

ricardobeat wrote: post #21
Exmoor wrote: post #4

Not really "passive" cooking as you're just not actively pumping heat into already boiling water and just cooking pasta in steadily cooling water. You can actually soften pasta and many other similar foods by just leaving them in room temperature water for a much longer period. Some backpackers do this to reduce weight and it's been the only way I've ever prepared food while backpacking. Admittedly, cold noodles, oat…

Wait, how long would you soak rice to make it edible? I’d imagine it’s longer than 24 hours.

I don't think you'll ever get the same texture without heat due to lack of starch gelatinization.

Re: Barilla passive cooker

#40

Post by Scoundreller »

filleokus wrote: post #26

My dirty little secret I've only dared to shared with my closest friends (fearing social ostracism) is that I cook by pasta by putting it in cold water and then turn the heat on. Roughly when the water starts to boil I start periodically checking the doneness of the pasta. Works just fine for me. Would never dare to it when cooking with friends however (only slightly /s). However, it would be neat with a device simil…

I see this in lots of 'how to boil an egg' guides, where cooking time matters.

When explaining it on the internet, the best way is to dump the egg into boiling water, and drain and cool with cold tap water after X minutes, because it removes other variables.

Buuuuut, if you learn your pot and water volumes and starting water temperatures and heating rate, you can cook your egg faster by starting with cold water, and maybe even knowing when to turn off the heat once the water is hot.

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