Why do you put salt in water while cooking pasta?

Answer 1

Salt is a solute in water that will raise its boiling point and lower its freezing temperature. (this is why you put salt on ice to melt it, and why the ocean doesn't freeze solid when lakes will) Conversely, if you put it in a pot of water, it will allow the water to get hotter before it begins to boil. Without salt, it will be at 210 degrees Fahrenheit. Depending on how much salt you add, this number can go up and up. So, the spaghetti cooks at a hotter temperature with salt added than without.

Answer 2

the pasta absorbs the water and swells slightly

it lightens in colour and becomes soft

some starch from the pasta leaks into the cooking water (this is why the water may discolour or become slightly frothy!) :)

Answer 3

You add salt to the water so that when the spaghetti cooks, it absorbs the salt and seasons the pasta. If you watch professional chefs cook, they taste and season food at each level of food preparation -- this is how the entire dish is well seasoned and balanced. If you were to add salt to the pasta later, after it has absorbed the cooking water, it wouldn't work as well, the salt would stay on the outside of the pasta and not get absorbed into it.

Answer 4

Uncooked spaghetti purchased at a store has been dried, meaning all the liquid has been removed. When you place it in boiling water to cook, the spaghetti absorbs liquid until it is fully rehydrated and cooked. It is then ready to eat.

Answer 5

there is less need to add salt when served. Of course, the noodles absorb water then soften.

Answer 6

Some people think it stops the spaghetti from sticking, or raises the boiling point of the water, but really it's just about adding flavor to the spaghetti.

Answer 7

Salting the water before adding pasta helps add flavor to which ever pasta you're cooking

Answer 8

The motivation is to reduce solubility of starch and sticking.