Why You Should Cook Your Pasta In Cold Water
You've probably heard the old adage "a watched pot never boils." But what if you didn’t have to watch…or even wait at all? Our assistant food editor (and pasta queen) Francesca Zani makes a strong case for why you don’t always have to wait for water to boil before cooking your pasta.
Instead of bringing a large pot of water to a boil, Zani suggests using a smaller amount of cold water and adding the noodles directly to the pot before turning on the heat. Less water going down the drain is an obvious plus. But you also achieve the same al dente texture in less time.
Skipping the first step may seem counterintuitive, but the benefits are hard to ignore. Still don’t believe us? Cooking experts Alton Brown and J. Kenji López-Alt both cosign the cold-start method! The team at America’s Test Kitchen even estimates that you can cut down your cook time by as much as 45%.
That being said, there are some drawbacks to starting in a pot of cold water. First: it renders the cook time on the package null and void. The cooking instructions on the back of the box are designed for cooking in a pot of already-boiling water. The cold-start method requires you to stand around in the kitchen to periodically check the doneness. If you'd prefer to add your pasta to the pot and walk away, this might not be the technique for you.
The cold-start method also doesn't work with all types of pasta. Zani suggests steering clear of stuffed pastas like tortellini and ravioli with this method. She also advises against adding fresh pasta to a pot of cold water. "There's too much starch, there would be a lot of gumminess that would come from it," Zani says.
But if you're working with dried pasta and are on a time crunch, it's worth trying the cold-start method (just don't add olive oil to the pot, please).
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