I consider myself to be quite competent when it comes to navigating my kitchen. But that doesn’t mean I can’t gain knowledge in other areas. It’s true that most of us have no trouble with the fundamentals, but we might be completely lost when it comes to more complex issues.
Pasta is a favorite of mine to prepare. It is so simple, yet so delicious! We all have a certain flair when it comes to making pasta but there is something we can probably all agree on, drain the pasta before you eat it.
Any home with a kitchen will have a colander sitting on a shelf. The pasta is drained in a colander and the cooking water is discarded. We’ve all been guilty of this, but it’s time to finally put an end to this terrible practice.
Some people call the murky pasta water that usually goes down the drain “liquid gold.” You can put it to use for something besides cooking pasta. The sauce that goes over the noodles can benefit from it.
When cooking the pasta, the starch from the noodles is released and goes into the water. That’s one of the causes of its hazy look. You might think it can’t be put to any other good use, but you’d be wrong.
What is it that makes pasta absolutely fantastic when it is on the table? This dish is a crowd pleaser because of the sauce, which should be silky smooth and of the ideal consistency. The pasta cooking liquid can be used as an emulsifier. Here are some of the reasons why:
The sauce’s flavor and reaction to other ingredients are both affected by the emulsification process. This method is useful for preventing the oil and water from separating and creating a pool beneath the sauce. In other words, the pasta acts as a vehicle for the delicious filling and complements it perfectly.
If you add a ladle full of water to the sauce, it will do more than combining the water and oil. No additional cornstarch, flour, or cream is required because the sauce will thicken as it cooks. It improves the flavor of your sauce without masking it.
For the vast majority of pasta cooks, this is an entirely novel idea. Unless, of course, you count professional cooks among the group. They’ve been using this technique to make tasty pasta dishes for years.
What’s the point, if it doesn’t matter anyway? An experiment published on Serious Eats suggests that this is the case. They planned to find out if individuals could distinguish between a sauce prepared traditionally and one prepared with pasta water. The winner was clearly the one made with pasta water.
Keep the following in mind before you go whipping up a batch of pasta with your newfound expertise:
First, you shouldn’t put oil in the water for the pasta because doing so makes the water greasy and the noodles more likely to stick together. It’s a common misconception that this will prevent the pasta from sticking together, but it doesn’t.
If you’re going to boil the pasta, use a pot large enough to hold all of the water. Use 3 liters of water for every 250 grams of pasta.
Cease Draining — There is no need to rinse the pasta in the sink. After they’re done cooking, fish them out of the water with a pasta fork or tongs. The sauce can be transformed into something truly delicious by adding some of the water.
Fourth, if your pot has a strainer, use it; otherwise, when the noodles are done cooking, simply lift the lid. Conveniently, the liquid gold will be abandoned.
These guidelines are not only useful when preparing pasta, but also brown rice, lentils, and beans, all of which are starchy foods. Now is the time to perfect your recipes.
