Why I stopped boiling my pasta water.
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- Опубликовано: 20 май 2024
- Let's try this again :) I've recently changed the method of how I cook my dried pasta, basically, I stopped boiling my pasta water before cooking.
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MISC. DETAILS
Music: Provided by Epidemic Sound
Filmed on: Sony a6600 & Sony A6400 w/ Sigma 16mm F1.4
Voice recorded on Zoom H4n with Behringer Mic
Edited in: Premiere Pro #Pasta
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Ethan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Why I reuploaded this video: (0:00)
Episode Premise: (0:38)
I've been testing different pasta techniques: (0:52)
No Boil Pasta Method: (1:27)
Why does this method work?: (2:27)
What are the minimum elements needed to cook pasta?: (3:10)
Another benefit: (5:03)
A couple caveats to this method: (5:20)
15 minute Alfredo step by step recipe: (6:17)
Closing thoughts on this method: (7:49)
Secret Section: (8:41) 
Развлечения
For those interested in the use of hot tap water, here are a couple links from the EPA & CDC:
- www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/prevention/sources/water.htm
- www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-09/documents/2002_5_17_lcrmr_guidance_lcmr_lead_public_education_poster_v1.pdf
In order to reduce potential exposure to lead (which can be toxic) and could be in the piping / water system, it's recommended to use cold water from the tap. Depending on where you are and what your water systems are like it could be fine to use hot tap water, but I'll let you decide. I didn't feel comfortable leaving the video up if it could potentially cause harm.
It's not just the lead. Ask anyone who has ever removed and replaced a hot water heater. If you saw what was nestling in the bottom after a few years you would know you didn't want your cooking or drinking water to filter through it.
I use a filtered water for all my cooking anyway, and faucet attachment water filters require you to run cold water through them. Using hot water for cooking is not something I can do while also using filtered water.
@@jaredwood Guess what, it's the same for the water tower that your cold water comes from.
So that's why my mom told me why hot tap water shouldn't be used
That's concerning. I tend to use scorching hot water to rinse off the dishes I'm about to use then immediately fill any pot/kettle. I also go through periods of time where I strictly drink cold tap water due to financial reasons. I have realized in the past that my health tends to get worse when I drink exccesive tap water, but I try to convince myself otherwise.
"LMAO y'all boiling the water everytime??? Just boil once and freeze it. Easy as that."
XD
“Why I freeze my boiling water instead of just boiling water every time”
that made me laugh thanks
Haven’t found Dad yet Ragusea vibes
Bro then you need to try this. Once its boiled leave it out to dry and then you can just put it back in your pantry. No fridge required
This is why I eat raw pasta,then drink boiled water to get the fastest way to cook pasta.
You made me spit out my soda! Well done.
😂😂😂💖💖💖✌️✌️
Dont tell him dawg they bouta find out our secret man
Absolute Savage.
🤣🤣🤣
I really thought you were gonna say to soak them overnight like dried beans or something 😭
I've tried that, cooks pasta in a minute but its soooo soggy lmao
you wont believe it...i've seen ITALIAN high cuisine chefs doing that on youtube! the series is "Italia Squisita" (but icouldnt manage to find the clip anymore :(....)
Yes. He is still boiling the water. Så clickbatey
@@mojann1 Words have meaning. And the primary meaning of "boiling water" is to bring it to the temperature where it begins to turn into steam. That's 100 degrees Celsius (apparently 212 of the weird degrees Americans still use). Getting the water to this temperature, which conventional advice says you _must_ do, takes quite a bit longer than the 80 degrees Celsius (180 degrees Fahrenheit) advised here. Using a smaller pot and less water saves even more time.
Moreover, conventional advice says you must keep it (close to) boiling. In my experience that leads to a mess due to starchy water boiling over unless you stay near the pot all the time. If you can instead set a thermostat to 80 degrees, you are rid of this problem as well.
Some people actually advocate soaking the pasta for 2 hours in cold water, then cooking them in the sauce for 1-2 minutes until al dente. I guess the main problem with this method is its limited applicability. In the example I have seen (can't find it any more), they used spaghetti and a tomato-based sauce. I imagine that with thicker pasta there would be a problem, and an even greater one with a sauce containing cheese. That's because the sauce probably needs to be heated to at least 80 degrees Celsius (180 degrees Fahrenheit) to properly cook the pasta in it, which is too hot for sauces containing cheese because then the cheese becomes stringy. (I think Ethan got this wrong at the end of the recipe. Making stringy cheese sauce hotter may be a way to partially fix the problem. But the generally recommended way to avoid the problem is to stay below 80 degrees Celsius so the cheese doesn't get stringy in the first place.)
My favorite way to decrease the time it needs for my pasta water to boil is to use a electric kettle normaly used for tea. Gets the water hot faster than anything but a induction stove.
i do this for ramen..
Literally the major reason why I want a kettle. They boil water super fast and I hate waiting for water to boil for noodles!
I have always done it this way
In the UK this is the standard way to boil anything on the hob (stove), you start the boiling process in the kettle
I'd been doing the same forever, but I now realize I can use half the water amout and waste no energy!
I stopped putting pasta in the water. I just drink water. It has changed my life.
Shut up, we all know the only things you consume are cheeseburgers and liquor Randy
👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏👏👏👏
omg stoppppp this is too good
@@Dehangus a man needs to eat. I would nibble an old blue jay at this point.
@@greasymuchacho Yeaaaa thanks mane
"Why i boil my cutting board, not my pasta"
Wrong channel.
This sounds like a real Adam Ragusea
title.
WHITE WINE ARMY.
@@angeloucol8463 lol. I think he knows
Lol, good one.
This method doesn't just save time, but water and energy. Thanks for sharing.
No, it saves time, energy, and water. It does not save pasta.
This is great for situations where you have very limited water and fuel and need to conserve it as much as possible, like for example when camping.
I'm currently getting into vanlife and my planned van has a pretty small water tank and battery bank, so any waste water and cooking time I can save on a dinner is helpful.
Why i boil my pasta not the water
This isn’t Adam
it's babish
Justin TT “nO tHis iS pATrICk”
Haven’t found Dad yet he is saying something someone would comment on a Adam Ragusa video
@@stx6909dkjdnde no this is Patrick
This method is used Italy to make a saucy pasta, is called Pasta Risottata. I use it a lot.
But you're so wrong when you same you get same product, you get a totally different product since pasta will be covered in shiny saucy starchy water. That's why traditional method needs a lot of water: to dissolve the starches in a lot of water, no sticking no saucy pasta.
Those are two different techniques for two different results for different recipes
This is exactly correct.
You spared me a lot of words. Any Italian (as myself) would say that with this method the pasta is going to retain or re-absorb a heck of a lot of starch. Still, I'll give it a try.
He kind of mentions this, as a positive (more starch = good for sauces) but doesn't mention this negative. Thanks
@@mat5473 yes, he KIND OF mentions this but at the beginning he DEFINITELY mentions it's a different (better) method for the same result.
This!
Also, try doing the same when cooking enough pasta to feed a family of four (and not tiny macaroni). Ok for a single portion, but any time saving would rapidly reduce with a large amount of pasta.
For Alfredo or Macaroni and Cheese...you can use this method with milk as well. The difference in richness is literally incredible.
Do you have issues with the milk burning to the bottom? Or do you have methods that avoid that? I'm so excited to try it!
@@kittymachine3798just not too high heat. Chef John easy Mac n cheese recipe
@@kittymachine3798 Yea there are tricks! I also had this issue when trying to make a rose ramyeon by using milk instead of water.
I think never cooking a food on high heat is a good place to start. High heat is mostly just useful for preheating a stainless steel pan or bring water to a boil quickly. Once up to temperature dial back to medium-high.
The main trick I used was boiling a small layer of water first before adding the milk and noodles. I used about a pinkynails worth. (I like to cook some small hotdog pieces in this water) Then you add your milk and noodles when its at a full boil.
There are many reasons that might contribute to why this method works. For one, the colder milk lowers the temp enough to go from a full boil to more of a simmer, and since noodles cook at 180degrees F. A simmer is the perfect temperature since it is 185-205F. When simmering you don’t lose as much water from evaporation/steam, and also the little extra water added to the milk probably helps replace the water that would be lost in the cooking process preventing the fat and sugar from clumping up and burning.
Another possible reason is that the pores on a pan closes when it heats up. Most of the time when food sticks it is because the food got stuck in the pores of the pan. This is why you need to preheat a stainless steel pan and used the water trick to make sure food won’t stick to the pan.
Using this method it didn’t even stick when I forgot to stir it frequently, however I still recommend stirring because the milk can form a skin on top and that skin can trap steam underneath it increasing the liquid’s temperature which result in it boiling over.
This method of cooking noodles makes the final dish taste like you added cream to it even though you only added milk.
For me, the big benefit of the extra water is that if it's at a rolling boil, it stirs the pasta itself, meaning I just have to watch the timer and make sure it doesn't boil over. This could be good if you're short on time, but a lot of the pasta dishes I make are not on a hard clock like that so I don't need to rush.
Agreed. I tried the method where you just cover the pasta with water and, as they absorb water and some boils away, more and more of them are above the water line a little bit so I have to stir much more often. Using the electric kettle to heat the water while I gather ingredients and preheat the burner and pot is a game changer. I cover the pasta with an extra couple of inches of water and then I don't have to stir so often. Here's another tip, rub the upper inch of your pot with oil to prevent boiling over. This is like a compromise between the traditional method and the Kenji method that works best for me. Saves time and gives me the nice starchy water for my sauce.
"Why I stopped boiling my pasta water"
*proceeds to boil pasta water*
Ikr the title is misleading 😂
No the title is not misleading. 180°F or 82°C is well below the boiling point of water so the title is very literal
shepardice p At 2:08, that water is evaporating a bit too fast for me to believe that. Everything would be solved if he simply put the title as ”Why I stopped pre-boiling my pasta”
Yah.
@@shepardice3775 yet the water is clearly boiling, thus the title is incorrect.
Chef vloggers:
- why I season my steak in the chopping board
- why I don't boil my pasta water
- why I put chili jam in my egg fried rice
The last one is a different crime. Don't do it children
haiya!
i love that i understood all three of these references
- why i season my pan and not the meat
- why I cut pizzas into spirals instead of squares.
Here in the UK you can use a simple tea kettle to boil the water. A good kettle can boil around 2 lts of water in about 2 mins. Very energy efficient, very fast! Moreover using around 2-2.5 times the amount of pasta as water will let you cook your pasta without having to continuosly stir it to prevent sticking.
We use eclectric kettles in the US that will do likewise. His method saves no time since the 6 minutes is spent stirring instead of having ~11 minutes to do other prep wok.
since the recent overturning of roe v. wade, you can actually do this in other countries too now :)
Please notice that in the US they use 110v, so the time it takes with a kettle is (a little more than) doubled
Wtf what kind of rocket kettle do you have over there, here for 2 litters takes like 8 minutes
*noice*
I just realised I've been doing this for years without thinking about it. I'll cook my proteins & veg in a sauce and then add the dried pasta directly to it, stirring occasionally until cooked. I never really noticed it was saving water and time, I just did it to avoid dirtying another pot!
A genius has been discovered itself. 🤯
@giveme5mins Same here. Ever since I was a kid making boxed mac and cheese in my parents’ kitchen, I’ve used a small pan, added the noodles, covered with enough water to cook the pasta, set a timer, and watched it pretty closely until cooked. I just wasn’t strong enough when I was in third or fourth grade to drain a pot with 5 or 6 cups of water it, and this method is fast and works so I never changed it up.
Lol, exactly! I don't know how much water my pots hold or how much the pasta directions call for. Efficiency!
Is boiling a sauce a good thing though? Probably not with my chunks of tomatoes
@@deViant14 All you have to do is simmer with the lid on for a while. The pasta will still cook.
I find that using powdered water to be the most cost effective & time-saving method 😉
you mean, that famous powdered water where they say, "Just add water?" I LOVE that stuff!
dehydrated water
Just add purple drank. It's got electrolytes !!
I dont understand the fuss about plain powdered water, shits got no taste. I prefer using the salted version for pasta 💫
For the few minutes it takes to prepare homemade water, the flavour difference is worth it.
Thank you! As a survivor of 4 strokes, this method is brilliant. My left hand is considerably weakened. Trying to move a big pot of water to the sink to drain it is if-y at best. Especially when my 2 y/o grandson comes in to see what I'm doing! Now I can use less effort, coordination & risk to drain my pasta while still maintaining quality.
This has to be the only real use case, good to know this I working for you
congrats on finding something that makes your life easier! 💐
@@acidset why is this the only real use case? Everyone has a different situation they are living in.
I also think this is brilliant. I am a wheelchair user and can now possibly make pasta for myself and not end up in a burn unit. Fabulous. 👍🏽👍🏽
Possibly even more easy while also giving you significantly more leeway with timings: use a spider sieve and don't drain anything. Just move the pasta straight to the pan with your sauce in it.
This is basically the method for risotto applied to pasta! Great! Also, for people who have a water well and a big family, this is a fantastic water-saver!
The highly concentrated reserves starch water is absolutely essential to making Alfredo. If you do the normal method, you’d have to use some flour water. The starch in the water helps bind the butter to the cheese so that it doesn’t clump
I've noticed in other similar dishes, the cheese would melt and coagulate on my (relatively) colder spatula. So I end up with a giant clump of cheese on my spatula and little to none in the pasta :(
I haven't heard of using flour water, the normal method is to reserve the pasta water on the side and then add as needed until you reach the right consistency. He just dumps it all down the drain which is fine if you're trying not to get a bowl dirty but you can easily make the sauce too thick
@@danb9447 your reserved pasta water needs to be highly concentrated to work effectively
Been doing this for years out of laziness. Who knew I was a revolutionary.
Totally. I used to do this as a kid because I was too dumb/lazy to measure out the water amount indicated on the box. 😂
And microwave instead of stove
@@michaelsoltesz3779 why would you measure put pasta water lol. Completely unnecessary
Your video is such a poor mish mash of techniques you recommend now versus those you used before, that I don't believe any of it.
Maybe you're a chef after all
"Why I stopped boiling my pasta water or how I stop worrying and learned to love the crunch of raw pasta"
Dr. Strangelove is such a great movie.
@@frankyu553 fantastic movie. Kubrick's finest comedy.
Savage.
This made me giggle
Use only pure water or else your precious bodily fluids will be defiled by communists!
I first heard of this method by Alton Brown about 10 years ago. I've been using it ever since then and it works great. Significantly cuts down the time to make paster by about 1/2, and the remaining water is very dense with starch which helps make better sauces.
Ethan, this video is a life saver for van cooking! I only have so much water at any given time!
Not sure if this has been said, but your pasta boiling strategy is also about starch (and seasoning) control. If you need or want a lot of sticky starch *on the pasta* then this method is great. More often than not I use the starchy water in my sauces to thicken and add that sticky tongue texture, so I use about twice the water you do. Heavy starch can also act like a protective coating on the pasta and prevent sauce penetrating relatively quickly. I prefer my pasta to come out "clean" and have the sauce be sticky. But, whatever. It's food. It doesn't matter as long as it tastes good and you like it.
well said.
The "sticky tongue texture"
From what I’ve read, traditional Italian pasta sauces avoid using thickeners such as flower which you would more commonly find in French cooking. For example, a Mornay is a French cheese sauce that’s often used in Americanized versions of Italian classics such as Alfredo Sauce which uses a Béchamel (White Roux + Cream/Milk) as it’s base. In order to properly thicken sauces using the Italian techniques, starchy pasta water is used as the thickening agent instead.
The first thought that came to mind is there's no pasta water to use for the sauce.
a guy saying you can cook however you like on RUclips? WHAT IS THIS??? ACTUAL SANITY???
I would just like to point out that you're still boiling your pasta water.
Lol
was thinking this; the steps are literally 1: put in pasta 2: put in water 3: boil the water
ok
It's not boiling is the water doesn't not reach 100°c and boil
@@GameControlYT You can clearly see it boiling at the sides of the pot. Come on man.
I tried this and it didn't work. In fact, it made me a fine doorstop. However, tweaking it a bit did work:
The differences of me vs Ethan:
- All of my cookware is stainless steel
- My local dried pasta might have a higher starch content
- My range might be more powerful, not sure here, but I'll explain why
When I attempted to do this the first time, I stirred frequently for the first several minutes and then less frequently for the last half like in the video. I got a mushy doorstop. Not only was the pasta completely stuck together and to the pan, the noodles were obliterated. My pasta's cook time was normally 11 minutes. I planned out 6.5 (again, like in the video), and that was far too much. My pasta was al dente in 3.
Second, the wider the pan I used, the more I needed to "submerge" the pasta and for less time. Narrow pans had longer cook times and less water depth, wider pans needed less cook times and higher water depth. This might also be because my range may be more powerful and can pump a lot more energy into the pan and my pans might be more inductive of and to heat.
Lastly, I think my local dried pasta has a much higher starch content. Midway through cooking, mine looked like I was boiling elmer's glue. I had to add more water as the starch itself was turning into a paste extremely fast.
I would say the stove is too powerful. I have been cooking pasta in a small amount of water for a long time. Spaghetti for one person needs 1.5-2 cups of water depending on the portion and pot. My cups are 375ml, so about half a litre of water.
1) When water starts boiling I add pasta and keep it on the heat for short time and then remove it from the heat.
2) Then I usually put a frying pan instead and do the rest of the dish.
3) Pasta needs 10-12 minutes, enough time to prep veggies or sauces for most of the Asian or Italian finished in the pan.
4) When the veggies are ready and flavour is built in the pan, pasta is also ready to get mixed with veggies and sauce.
I think you're on to something here. From my understanding, the large quantities of boiling water for pasta means that you can cook consistently every time and every where. Variations such as how much energy you're pumping in to the water doesn't matter as much after it reaches boiling (it'll stay at 100 celsius but will evaporate quicker which isn't as important). The large amount of water will also help because the temp won't go down as much when you put the pasta in it, less likely for pasta to stick and, for me at least, I don't like that gelatinous starchy layer covering the pasta when it's cooked like rice where it absorbs all of the liquid.
I tend to use less amount of water than traditionally but not as little as he does. I also tend to use bronze extruded pasta which I feel gives out more starch, although this may be my imagination
The surface area of the pan will determine how much water evaporates.
Too much stirring will break the pasta and release more starch into the water.
Did you measure your water and temperature?
I ask because I haven't tried yet, and he didn't mention spaghetti in the vid, so I'm curious as well.
I tried this technique last night and it worked great! Thank you! I didn't bother measuring the water temp because I started with water I boiled in my electric kettle. Worked like a charm. So quick. And with all that starchy water, it took on the saice flavor perfectly. Bravo!
This is fine, especially when making a sticky emulsion sauce type of pasta, and can be a technique in itself, but this is not the same as the normal method. You mention yourself, you get quite cloudy water with a lot of starch when you do this. The less water you use, the less easily the starches will also be able to dissolve into the water, as the water will quickly become saturated with starch. What this results in, is pasta that comes out covered in a thick starchy sauce and is quite sticky in itself, which can even be seen in the video. This is indeed desirable for some recipes, it's like a pasta risotto, but it is not the same and can't always replace normal pasta cooking technique. You also say that fresh pasta absorbs more water, but this actually isn't true, since fresh pasta already contains the water content it will absorb much less water, while dry pasta is.. dry so it absorbs water as it needs to be rehydrated
I love how you wrote all this, have you considered doing a video? It would be very helpful to visual learners here on YT. Thanks!
I agree, both with what you wrote but with the first comment - your opinion was so well written
Hmm, is it possible to wash the pasta first to reduce starch content?
@@mike7546 I imagine not though it might help a bit, since more starch will be released as the pasta is boiled rather than just what's on the surface
@@kolega281 ahh, tnhen will washing it after cooking help or will that cause more problems?
“no waiting 8.5 minutes for a large pot of water to boil”
Brits with electric kettles: 👀
cooks with induction stoves 👀
Asian households with hot water dispenser 👀
@@manddyliu Which is really just an electric kettle that can keep water hot, if you think about it.
I LOVE boiling my water with the electric kettle, first, and then I pour it over my pasta, just to cover, and finish it the way he does here. So fast! 💚
IKR? It's insane to me that you would do anything other than boil the water in a kettle in two minutes, then pour over enough to cover your pasta and cook it for the stated time
This is what I've been doing for the last few years. I always cooked my pasta in drinking water, not tap water and I did not like wasting. Reserving the drained water for the sauce or for other foods is something that I tried to do, but there was always more water than I needed. So, I decided to cut back on the amount of water. This way, I don't have to drain any water. The only thing to be careful about, is to mix the pasta frequently. You can use a lid to control evaporation if you find that your pasta water runs out quickly. Also, adding olive oil and spices directly to the water, alongside the salt, gives you much better flavor.
Brilliantly presented & executed. Attention to detail is one of the best on U-Tube, recipe & technique brilliant & the simple pasta dish - Beautiful ! - Exceptionally well done !
Just a heads up about if the cheese is stringy when emulsifying.
If that happens it's most likely NOT because the temperature is not high enough, but instead it's the temperature is TOO HIGH. Cheese melts with low temperatures but starts to cook and have that stringy-like form when it's cooked.
The same applies for the egg mixture when making carbonara: if it starts to become frittata-like, it's because the temperature is too high
SOLUTION: just remove from heat for one/two minutes before adding fats, you can also freeze the butter for a higher thermal shock, and if you're using spaghetti, you can also jumpy them which lowers temperature and incorporates air as well making it even more creamy!
Thanks for the tips! :)
This and this again!
Watched that bit and immediately scrolled to the comment section to see if someone has corrected him :)
Hot temperature is exactly what to avoid when cooking creamy pasta like cacio e pepe or alfredo, exactly because it would make it stringy.
for the carbonara, try the real italian way, which is to put the egg yolk only at serving time on top of the pasta, so your guest is mixing it into the pasta by themselves..
@@22spics Never heard that before. Dunno if it’s the real Italian way, but Luciano “the King of Carbonara” Monosilio always recommends using bain marie to emulsify the yolk and cheese with the guancale fat.
4 years ago I started cooking all my pasta dishes in a pan like this. That starchy water makes sauces come out incredible. One of the best kitchen gamechangers for sure.
Ok, i try it... ;D
Love it! I have been doing the same thing in the microwave for years now. Water to cover the pasta, I put a plate on top. 6-10 min later (depends on the pasta) it's done. No temp taking, no need even to stir. It does work best with macaroni shape, rather than spaghetti/vermicelli.
Great video. I've always sorta done similar for macaroni but never thought to do similar for other noodle styles. Box macaroni claims it needs 6 quarts of water but as long as you put the powder, butter, and milk in the bowl you're going to eat out of anyway, it only really needs about 2-3 cups of water in a 1qt sauce pan.
I also don’t boil my water, but that’s just because I eat raw pasta
If you boil your pasta youre just too lazy to chew.
Dry or fresh pasta? I like to make my pwn pasta and eat it raw
its your choice
@@calgy84 *cronch
yum crunchy!
"why I stopped boiling my pasta water"
*boils water*
I'm not a fan of this but he obviously meant boiling the pasta, but not boiling a pot of water beforehand
@@acidset he obviously meant boiling the pasta with the title 'why I stopped boiling my pasta water'. Yes very obviously how couldnt I tell.
@@tobiramasenju6290 you obviously need to boil dry pasta in water or a sauce, don't be an idiot
@@acidset no you dont, thats the point of the video
@@jocaingles8464 I meant to cook it you need SOME moisture and heat, I think that's out of the question despite the stupid method and title
This depends on the type of preparation you are going to make because the reason for the traditional method is to be able to let the water heat up and then cook the pasta while the sauce is being prepared (It also depends on the sauce, such as tomato that the minimum cooking time is one hour), so that waiting time is compensated in a certain way. In addition to remembering (It's not the case of the preparation of this video but it is always good to keep it in mind) that pasta NEVER WAITS for the sauce, but vice versa. The pasta is cooked, the excess water is removed, let it dry a little bit and then mix it with the sauce (either before or after plating).
This exactly.
This is genius! Worked for me. I just add enough water to submerge the pasta and bring it to a boil, then start the timer. I don't even measure the temperature. Thanks for this awesome time saver!
“Why I boil myself and not my pasta”
Oh! Noice👌😆
That would be adam ragusea
@@arghyadeepjana what? 😅
@@danmcalester1716 search adam ragusea, he has videos which go " why i don't season my pasta, i season my chopping board"
"why I pasta my boil and not myself"
Love the video with scientific background. It is a huge game changer when you cook past on a camping/yacht - where you use propane cooker. If you reduce half time cooking it gives you same saving on a fuel. LOVE IT.
You've glossed over a couple of complications. First, even though it takes less less time, it's actually more effort because you need to keep stirring in order to keep the pasta from sticking to itself & to the pot.
Next, the temperature of the water depends on where you measure it. There is going to be a temperature gradient because the pot is being heated continuously from the bottom, and the water at the surface is losing its heat fairly rapidly to the air above it. When water is simmering, what that really means is that the water at the very bottom of the pot is boiling (that's what causes the bubbles to form), but the water at the top of the pot is not boiling. So unless you stir it perfectly, some of the pasta will be more cooked than others. Uniformity is one of the advantages of using more water & a larger pot.
Another thing that I just saw from another commenter: the pasta will be too starchy, causing it to be sticky. That makes sense because there isn't enough excess water to dissolve the extra starch, so it has nowhere to go except to stick to the surface of the pasta.
You are right, but usually most kind of pasta can "hold" that kind of starch, but yeah you have to be careful about that especially with long pasta like spaghetti. The one he made was sticky because the water where he put pasta was not hot enough so in that time pasta was soaking not cooking
1) You're watching the wrong channel for food that's less complicated to cook. That's Ragusea you're looking for.
2) The water's going to be close enough if you just stir the water and then measure. Unless you're overshooting the timer by a full minute your extra seconds isn't going to affect it enough.
3) Unless you're doing the americanized thing of having pasta without sauce, you want the pasta to be that sticky, which you then immediately mix into the pasta sauce and have that be lovely. Pasta not mixed with a sauce? Rinse the cooked pasta after you drain it. Wanting to leave the pasta to the side while you finish the rest? You're doing it wrong.
@@TheVercci 1. I don't want it to be less complicated, I want it to be more complicated. That's why I mentioned that he glossed over the complications.
2. Alright, fair enough.
3. If you look at an authentic Italian cookbook, you'll see that they use 4-6 quarts of water per pound of pasta. I think they know what they're doing.
Reserving some of the starchy pasta water is great for cheesy sauces, but for a red sauce there is really no need for the extra starch.
@@deepfryer3966 Those authentic measurements were for authentic times. Science has gotten better since then. If you want to stick to tradition go ahead but they've proven via experimentation what works and what doesn't and why.
But yeah there are a bunch of sauces where it emulsifying isn't as important. But starch is the magic when it does.
@@TheVercci Science has not proven that any other cooking method is better than using 4-6 quarts. This is just a silly RUclips video, I hope you weren't considering this to be scientific evidence.
I am almost 29, diagnosed with ADHD this year and it makes total sense.
Things like this are things I somehow found out and have always used for my "optimal laziness" as I call it. I am AWFUL if I have 10 mins of doing nothing, I basically am on pause mode. I cant relax or do anything else, I ignore timers when I am hyperfocused on something I got distracted by.
Tldr I appreciate the breakdown and now I can do it even more optimally 😁 will know what temps to aim for. Its good to be able to have something more substantial than piece of bread or cereal...
this is the most Adam Ragusea title I've seen lmao
Translation: Sometimes I cook pasta like I do rice.
That's exactly it, in Italy a similar method is called "pasta risottata".
Or ramen!
Exactly...i guess maybe it was me, couldn't figure out what the heck he meant....how do you not cook pasta without boiling water.
*Uncle Roger would like to know your location*
Oof
Thank you, Ethan! You really helped me! God bless you!
This is very helpful as I like to do other things. I just dumped everything in and came back to see when it was done. Worked out perfectly. I'd be wary of salting so early because of possible pitting over time.
I came to tell you that your Italian Visa has been cancelled :'(
He likes Greece better anyways!
I hate strong 'traditional' recipes that sometimes follow no logic. The Italian moka pot recipe is nasty.
@@handofgod9386 r u prospero?
@@sebaba001 actually? The traditional recipes make Sense in the traditional setting. As he said: fresh pasta still needs the traditional method. The problem just seems to be that People don't rethink methods when certain aspects change (like having Dried pasta). I think we all know weird things (not necessarily cooking) that our (grand)parents still do that makes no Sense anymore.
@@chrisb.7787 Who wouldn't? 😂
I put a small amount of water in a pot, then boil the rest in a kettle, so that when the kettle water is boiling the pot will already be hot, then add the kettle water, pasta and salt - stirring about every 4 minutes and checking after around 8. It's very quick and requires no extra fussing. I think measuring and using a thermometer and timer is unnecessary. After you've done it yourself a few times you'll learn the proper amounts and timing subconsciously.
I was typing this exact method. The kettle boils at least twice as fast so you don't have to wait as long!
.. I put 1 inch of water in the saucepan on high heat while i boil a full kettle, after a few minutes or once the kettle boils I then tip that in.
Americans don't have ketttles they use microwaves
@@temptemp4174 Sad times for them :(
Exactly. This dudes method just seems to make a simple thing complicated.
If you are in a big hurry, just add the pasta to the kettle.
Thank you for this, Ethan.
Was just looking for lunch ideas i'm going to try this out now!
Judging by the title I believe we found Adam Ragusea No.2 lol.
I'm waiting for them to do a collab.
Rather have a Kenji collab, don’t want to have to sit through a 5 minute ad
it's simple clickbait marketing of high-quality videos. these videos much higher quality than adam's, but *I guess* that's subjective.
Ragusea could never
Ew gross Ethan is so much better
I mean, I could stand over the pot stirring it for 6 minutes, or I could do other things (like prep and cleanup) while I boil the water and cook the pasta normally. The less attentive I need to be, the better lmao
a watched pot will not boil...even after 3 days, but the minute i blinked the water was gone
@@jonny-on-the-spot IKR
it's almost like not every technique is applicable in every situation
Why are laughing your ass off after writing an otherwise reasonable message?
who on earth will go measure the temperature before timing the pasta till it is cooked.. Gosh.. the best take away of this video is probably using lesser water for your pasta to get a richer starchy water to emulsify your sauce for your pasta dish
note: pasta came out all sticky (starch)....u need a large amount of water to avoid this
You could just quickly rinse it?
Add some oil or butter just when finished (after draining water) and the pasta don't stick together.
@@henrik.norberg If you coat the pasta in oil, the sauce will not stick.
Starchy pasta water is the perfect base for sauces. This method works great if you want to make a sauce, but not as much if you already have a sauce or eat it with ketchup like a degenerate. However, if you already have sauce, you should try boiling your pasta less than you actually want it done and cook it for the reast of the time in the sauce.
I don't find it sticky at all and I reduce the possibility of dropping a large pot full of water and scalding myself as my strokes have left me with limited use of my left hand. I love this technique!
I have been using this methods since forever. Saves water, time. I also cover the pasta pot with a lid sometime only for a bit like less than 5 mins in the beginning, that also saves time.
this channel rocks,quickly becoming one of my favorites.thanks for the great recipes and techniques.keep up the great work Ethan!cheers from baltimore
I figured this out on my own many years ago. The less water thing and smaller pot I knew, but I used your video to tell my partner about it since she is always about saving water. Since I never timed my pasta-I just check it to see when it is ready-I paid no attention to boing point, etc. But when you do it this way, as you note, you need to stir it a lot more. Good video.
I wonder if this would work on red lentil pasta, quinoa and/or brown rice pasta, or only for wheat.
Inadvertently, also happens to be a greener way to make pasta. I like it.
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 thanks for being a responsible RUclipsr, you're a breath of fresh air!
Always!
The thing that suprises me about a fraction of this community is all the hate on different YT chefs. With all the love and wholesomeness of Ethans videos is really caught me by surprise
Thanks for all your research. Super interesting.
Love the way you cook. Simple no fuss.
I'm living in Japan, and the 100 yen shops have these microwave pasta cookers that only use twice as much water as pasta. They do require you to add five or so minutes to whatever time is on the box but it works.
**cries in italian**
Haha, my thoughts exactly. Italians will have a fucking embolism watching this.
Its not amore
Ive been doing this for a while, such quality of life
I recently started traveling in an RV fulltime and when out boondocking (dry camping) this method is going to come in handy! Thanks!
Try soaking your pasta in room temp water for 2 hours, followed by a 1 minute boil or cooking in the sauce to conserve fuel
I really like to boilt the salt, then add the pasta and finally grate some water, love that maximum flavor.
I just eat the pan
That is so funny!
No! It's not the same exact product. This makes the pasta feel weird. The outer part gets a bit too mushy, especially for shapes likes farfalle and fusilli.
I think a good in-between for this method would be using *less* water in general, but heating it up at least a bit first before adding the pasta
edit: ... keeping in mind of course that the pasta will lower the water's temperature a bit
I've done this and it really doesn't. The outer layer of starch is pretty much unaffected in the few short minutes in room temp to warm water. If you were soaking it for 30 mins to an hour, yeah you might get some water causing this starch to expand before cooking, leading to mushy pasta, but it's literally sitting in warm water for a couple of minutes before it reaches the temperature where the starches begin to polymerize.
If you drop a piece of dry pasta into water and pull it out after two mins or so, yeah the very outer layer or starch may be slippery, but this layer of loose starch anyways. When cooking this pasta, that layer of starch gets knocked off as the water boils and your stir the pasta regardless of the method used
If the outer parts are mushy that's due to overcooking the pasta or you might not be stirring the pasta so there's just a film of loose starch on the noodles. When the water comes to temp, you really got to make sure you stir it
@@brendanbush2174 But yes! I will try extra stirring to see if it magically "knocks" the loose starch off. I haven't boiled pasta in a while now, but whether it's with this method or just starting with a pot of a bit more cold water it always turned out just a bit off. not due to over-boiling. I will retry with determined stirring and a notebook.
I guess that it depends also on the type of stove you have. On a gas stove the water will heat up much quicker than on a regular electric one. So it might work nicely on gas or induction but not on others.
@@realchiknuggets I think one of the points of this method is that water heats up faster than if you use a large pot full of water. Added salt also raises the boiling point, so it takes extra time. This method skips that whole wait by heating up water with pasta already in it without bringing the water to the boil.
I've been cold starting pasta my whole life. Always had people look at me funny for doing it. Thanks for the validation.
Italians also know this technique to cook pasta: it's called risottare la pasta/pasta risottata like in risotto, cooking pasta like you would cook risotto.
@Dan Won well actually risottare is totally different. putting raw pasta in cold water its just disgusting. risottare is made by traditionally cooking pasta until 2 minutes before "al dente" and THEN it goes in the pan with a lil bit of cooking HOT water. That is the traditional method for cacio e pepe where you risottare the pasta in the toasted pepper water to make a cream of pepper and water thanks to the starch in the boiling pasta water
Jesus Chr... NO.
"Pasta risottata" is a completely different thing. That's true, you have to put raw pasta in a pan, but to cook it you must gradually add HOT BROTH or HOT water until it's cooked. You will never see an Italian person putting raw pasta and cold water together: the liquid, whatever it is, MUST BE HOT.
@Edoardo De Russis, described another correct technique called "risottare", used to better blend pasta and sauce.
So, no. In Italy we don't do such a disgusting thing. And if you tasted it and you think it has the same flavour and texture as the classic method, this means you've never tasted good pasta in your life.
Well, usually when the pasta water is boiling you have time to prepare the sauce/other ingredients.
I don't think "well I usually don't want to do it faster" is ever a good response to someone giving you information on how to do something faster.
Many sauces use the thick pasta water, so you'd be waiting for more time for thinner sauce.
You know you can just start the sauce first and put the pasta on to cook later, right? lol
@@slattduke you're not doing it faster because the time that it takes for the water to boil and the pasta to cook is not lost. You would be preparing the sauce, setting the table etc, while with this method you have to do it before since it takes so little time for the water to boil and you have to stay at the burner stirring the pasta after you put it in. It might be useful for certain dishes where you benefit from having A LOT of starch in the sauce and you don't have to sautee veggies, but otherwise it's just useless and more complicated.
@ragnarokin yeah but that's not saving time
Leak Plug faster doesn’t mean it’s better, if you need some cooking water in your sauce just add it, like this you have too much starch in the water for most sauces... and it takes 10/15 mins to do a fresh sauce with some tomatoes, I usually just put the water on the fire when I start cooking the sauce and once it boils put the pasta in... when the pasta is done so is the sauce
I'd still take the 10-15 minutes of 95% unattended cooking time over this.
Yup
This guys a tool
@@catsarelame4508 TRUE
@@catsarelame4508 well said
I use the time to prep other ingredients
This was very educational and I can't wait to try. Oh and by the way, when you said you has Harold McGee to help explain...I thought you were going to switch to a live feed to him, and my heart skipped a beat. On Food is the best culinary book ever.
You are spot on. I use just enough water to cover the pasta bring the water to near boil in an electric tea boiler. Add it to the dry pasta in a pan set to medium high heat and stir the pasta continuously until it comes up to a boil then cook for an average of 6-7 minutes on medium heat. As you found out, I also need much less salt to water AND! You don't lose so much of the all important pasta starches in the way too much water.
Use a pinch of melting salt (sodium citrate is the easiest to get and cheapest, but sodium hexametaphosphate works better for a harder cheese like parm, or use a 2:1 citrate:hms mix. You don't need much either way) to help smooth out the sauce and keep it creamy.
And if you can't find sodium citrate, a bit of citric acid and baking soda will do. Although, you probably don't want to salt your water. The product of the reaction and the salt in the cheese should be enough. But yeah... the acidic tang of sodium citrate also amps up the flavor of a good cheese. Easier and tastier than the blue box.
Am I the only one asking if this is a joke?
@@wesleydarling968 it’s not a joke. Melting salts are well established food science
so you save 6 minutes, but you have to spend stirring and controlling the temperature.
I cook my pasta the normal way and spend the time the water takes to boil and the pasta takes to cook to cut my vegetables etc., so the time saved is really a lot less than 6 minutes no?
This is good information in a professional setting.
i think this would be a good point if he wasn't just in his home kitchen, like if it was more of a professional, large-scale environment.
You dont really need to any "temperature control" and your really only need to stir it 2~4 times. I just made some pasta with this method and instead of checking the temerature of the water then setting a timer I just cranked it up to high and tasted the pasta whenever I thought it was done
But you clicked on the video and even commented. That was the real game to win.
yeah this is the problem that I have with Ethan. He emphasizes saving time over all other aspects of convenience, and it just feels nonsensical. I don't understand where his head's at sometimes. hands off time doesn't even count as time to me, because I can just set a timer and read a book if I really have nothing else to cook. by Ethan's logic, using a slow cooker must be a huge time waster
Mmmm looks yummy!!! I'm going to try this method.
in the UK, I think it's fairly standard that we use a kettle to heat the water and pour it into the pan with pasta in 1st, start to boil it as the 2nd kettle is boiling and top it up a little bit
I, too, like to spill a bit on the counter every now and then.
He always does that. It... bothers me. :)
@@rauminen4167 I would too, if I tried to stuff that much pasta into a tiny bowl. Why not use a regular dish?
“Why I just eat flower with raw eggs and wash it down with water”
I find when I have too little water the pasta is starchy/sticky. That's why I prefer a little more, It also helps especially with Asian pastas to prevent sticking.
I love the food science videos bro, I take methodology from it I’ll have available for the rest of my life. Beats the living hell out of a recipe video
i heard “let’s talk about that” and had the good mythical morning jingle immediately play in my head
You're not alone in that lol
When he says “hey everyone” I think of Daily Dose of Internet. This guy is just a combination of all youtubers!
I was thinking why that sounded familiar
When he says "I'm Ethan" or whatever, I think of Ethan Bradberry
here here
This is a good thing to think about when water is limited.
keep the pasta water
Great Technique, thanks I will use it for dried pasta. I don't think this would work for fresh pasta made same day though. Might have to try it.
Just the energy you're saving is brilliant! (Time saved is awesome too :-)
I like it. I have always used less water than the swimming pool amount suggested on boxed pasta. Making a sauce out of the pasta water works really well. If more creaminess is needed, add a little condensed canned milk or splash of half and half cream. Good show!
I had watched the earlier version, so putting my view back in for the recount by watching you cook very quickly at 2x speed. Keep up the good work... this is the way.
I think you can scrub all the way to end and get the same effect no?
@@fiveminutezen You can, but then he loses "view duration" points. possibly. probably. honestly not sure. does google account for increased playback speed? a view is a view, I suppose - only google's algorithm truly knows...
@@steve79 Talk about a secret sauce.
I was at a loss for what to make for dinner and i had this printed out sitting on the counter. I only had elbow mac and pasta shells. Well they turned out amazing anyway! So delicious
Thrilled that I bumped into your video. I'm tickled that I can make my boxed pasta, el quicko! Thank you. FUN
As a person advocating the low-water method for years, *THANK YOU.* Seriously it saves so much time, hassle, weight, and is genuinely better for the environment if you get lots of people switching over to that method.
Every time you do that an Italian die
@@emanuelederiu5154 A worthy sacrifice.
Thank you, usually for me the traditional method is more convenient, why? because by the time it gets cooked (the strenuous 12-14 minutes) I am working on something else like searing the meet and whatnot.
Ethan, with all due respect, your videos are too damn informative and I end up burning hours binge watching it. LOL
This is how I've always done it. I didn't know I was doing anything outside of the norm. I definitely didn't know people were boiling the water first and then putting the pasta in.
Yeah I think i'll just wait like 5 extra minutes instead of having to stand at the stove to stir and measure the water temperature.
when you spend 80 dollars on your thermometer, you want to use it as much and as pointlessly as you can
@@danb9447 COVID was a blessing for home cooks everywhere. "Ok, everybody! It's family temperature drill #4!"
You don't actually have to check the water temperature. That's just so you know when to set the timer. Personally I never set a timer anyways, I just check if it's done. So all you really have to do is stir it a couple extra times, and it's done 50% faster, with thicker pasta water which will improve my dishes. Seems like a win to me, maybe not for you, do what's right for you. As a busy homecook, saving a few minutes can make me much more willing to follow a recipe
Don't the starches break down at lower temperatures than the proteins, though? That's why people don't do this; the pasta gets soggy if it's in the water as you heat it, especially for subtler sauces like aglio e olio.
It doesn’t get soggy. America’s Test Kitchen (and of course Ethan) both tested it. As well as Kenji. That’s a lot of science, experts and actual testing telling you it works fine.
Very interesting, only I can't bring myself to purchase a temperature gauge for pasta. Great channel Ethan, thanks for posting.
I heard you say “Alfredo” at the beginning and I was about to leave but then I saw that you made ACTUAL “Alfredo” and I subscribed. 😂