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Pasta Cooking Time

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Re: Pasta Cooking Time

#21

Post by oulipo2 »

travisjungroth wrote: post #13
kshahkshah wrote: post #10

The cooking time is proportional to the thickness. General advice on pasta: * a quality dry pasta (dececco e.g) will have ~14 grams of protein per 100 grams dry weight, this is really essential * bronze die cut will help soak up more sauces * you do not need the full volume of water the box says, but start your timer once the water has returned to a boil * once it has gotten to a boil, keep it boiling, but it doesn't…

Based on the article, this seems like a recipe for overcooking pasta.

why would it be a recipe for overcooking pasta when it doesn't even mention cooking time but "check regularly and taste" ?

that's basically what I do

with French quality brands, it's between 9-11 min for dry pasta, when I make my own ravioli, it's more 2-3min

Re: Pasta Cooking Time

#22

Post by oulipo2 »

travisjungroth wrote: post #12

There’s an American fear of “not enough”. I think the overboiled pasta is informed by a fear of undercooked food, but also just this general not-enoughness. It’s the same fear that makes someone buy a truck that can hold the biggest load they can imagine needing, rather than accepting they might need to make two trips or rent a bigger truck every few years (or never) and get a truck half the size.

It's also because Americans love "mac n cheese" and food like that, so basically that have a taste for overcooked, mushy stuff, where basically 99% of the taste is in the (overflavored) sauce they'll pour on top

Re: Pasta Cooking Time

#23

Post by [deleted] »

cogman10 wrote: post #18
croisillon wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

maybe because the US water is not hot enough at 100 degrees

Nearly all the population in the UK lives below 500m. In the US, there are major cities that are at 1500m elevation (like Denver CO). Water in Denver boils at ~94C. For most of the UK it's more like 98->100C

[deleted]

Re: Pasta Cooking Time

#24

Post by krembo »

kshahkshah wrote: post #10

The cooking time is proportional to the thickness. General advice on pasta: * a quality dry pasta (dececco e.g) will have ~14 grams of protein per 100 grams dry weight, this is really essential * bronze die cut will help soak up more sauces * you do not need the full volume of water the box says, but start your timer once the water has returned to a boil * once it has gotten to a boil, keep it boiling, but it doesn't…

Pasta water being strachy is a good myth. It only happens in restaurants where they reuse the water all day long for many servings of pasta.

Re: Pasta Cooking Time

#25

Post by andrewbarba »

tirant wrote: post #20

Another advice for cooking pasta: The water does not need to be boiling the whole time. You can boil the pasta just 2 minutes, turn off the stove, close the lid and leave the pasta in the water for the rest of the time until reaching the desired cooking time, plus around one more minute. The result will be the same and you would have saved round 80% of the energy.

This math doesn't account for the time it takes to get the water to a boil. Probably closer to 40% savings. Still, quite good!

Re: Pasta Cooking Time

#26

Post by octo888 »

notindexed wrote: post #6

You do not cook pasta by cooking time. “La pasta vuole compagnia” Pasta needs company! Never leave it alone, keep stiring once in a while and keep testing them. Best to drain it before you think it's "good" or al dente cause paste keeps cooking after beeing drained due to the heat and moisture/vapor. Also, most good pasta dishes get their final cooking in a large pan in the sauce with some cooking water. So usually y…

Eye-talians probably downvoting this LOL. Confused by a bit of basic Italian

it's nonna* though ;)

Re: Pasta Cooking Time

#27

Post by oulipo2 »

Also something I discovered recently: making home-made pasta is REALLY EASY, and quite delicious. For basic ravioli you need about 30min from going from raw ingredients (a bit of flour, one or two eggs, some salt) to a ravioli

Re: Pasta Cooking Time

#28

Post by master-lincoln »

UomoNeroNero wrote: post #19
kshahkshah wrote: post #10

The cooking time is proportional to the thickness. General advice on pasta: * a quality dry pasta (dececco e.g) will have ~14 grams of protein per 100 grams dry weight, this is really essential * bronze die cut will help soak up more sauces * you do not need the full volume of water the box says, but start your timer once the water has returned to a boil * once it has gotten to a boil, keep it boiling, but it doesn't…

Bravo. * set your timer for a minute less than the cooking time on the box, check for doneness, then give it another minute if needed Please eat the pasta al dente. Overcooked pasta is really awful, trust me

No need to trust you. I tried it myself. Food preferences are subjective and I prefer overcooked pasta to al dente...

Re: Pasta Cooking Time

#29

Post by Hikikomori »

kshahkshah wrote: post #10

The cooking time is proportional to the thickness. General advice on pasta: * a quality dry pasta (dececco e.g) will have ~14 grams of protein per 100 grams dry weight, this is really essential * bronze die cut will help soak up more sauces * you do not need the full volume of water the box says, but start your timer once the water has returned to a boil * once it has gotten to a boil, keep it boiling, but it doesn't…

How much salt also depends on how much pasta water you want to use for your sauce and how much cheese you intend to put in. With more cheese you'll need more starch and then you need to avoid over salting the water.

For the type of rigatoni (smaller) in the article and my local brands it varies between 11 and 15m recommended cooking time depending on brand, and from experience the recommended time is when its ready to be put in a sauce, so not fully cooked. My favorite but more expensive brand says 14m, I usually set a timer to 13 and then try it until its ready to be cooked in the sauce.

Re: Pasta Cooking Time

#30

Post by gwbas1c »

travisjungroth wrote: post #12

There’s an American fear of “not enough”. I think the overboiled pasta is informed by a fear of undercooked food, but also just this general not-enoughness. It’s the same fear that makes someone buy a truck that can hold the biggest load they can imagine needing, rather than accepting they might need to make two trips or rent a bigger truck every few years (or never) and get a truck half the size.

> I think the overboiled pasta is informed by a fear of undercooked food

Never attribute to malice what you can attribute to incompetence.

"Mahkit Baskit" (as we say it) is a discount grocery store. Even though it's clean, there are often lots of mistakes that happen with low-wage, untrained labor. IE, one of the few times I went there, the bosc and d'anjou pears were all mixed together because they are green. (But they are obviously different in taste and shape if you are smarter than ChatGPT, and have stickers on them to make it obvious to whoever's stocking the shelfs.)

So it's no surprise the directions on pasta are wrong!

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