What can pasta absorb from the water it's cooked in?
I know you're supposed to put salt in the water when you're cooking pasta, both to aid in anti-starch gelation and to add flavour.
This got me thinking - what ELSE can pasta absorb from the water it is boiled in? I suppose it couldn't be anything, probably depends on the surface of the pasta, its cells, etc.
To test I put a LOT of nutmeg in a bowl of water, boiled it and dropped some couscous in it.
The couscous didn't taste like nutmeg at all. I guess it could be because the nutmeg does not dissolve in water but still - does pasta absorb everything that is dissolved in the water it is cooked in? Does that mean we can create super-pasta if we boil it in sauce or something?
Best Answer
It can absorb spices.
I have a Sicilian couscous recipe which involves boiling large couscous in water with a couple of cinnamon sticks. The couscous tastes mildly of cinnamon when it's done, which is part of the balanced spicing of the recipe. The large couscous in this case is boiled for 7 minutes, and you put the cinnamon sticks in while the water is still cold.
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Does cooked pasta absorb water?
Noodles do absorb water when cooked. It is important to note that though they absorb a certain amount of water while cooking, you will usually need to use more than that to cook the pasta properly.What is used to drain the water out of cooked pasta?
Usually the colander is used to drain spaghetti after it is cooked. The contents of the pot (water and pasta) are poured directly into the colander and shaken for a few seconds to get all the water out.What do you do with water after cooking pasta?
The most obvious answer is to make a sauce for the noodles you just cooked. Using a little bit of pasta water is the key to making smooth, restaurant-level sauces. Some of the most classic Italian pasta dishes, like cacio e pepe and carbonara, depend on the starchy, binding power of pasta water to make the sauce.Does fresh pasta absorb water?
Because cooked fresh pasta doesn't absorb water like dried does, be conservative when adding pasta cooking water to the accompanying pasta sauce, or the sauce might end up being too loose.Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Klaus Nielsen, Ella Olsson, Engin Akyurt, fauxels