Cookaholics Bulletin Board

I found this article on cooking pasta interesting. I have never tried to cook pasta from cold water nor have I tried to hydrate it first before adding to a sauce. Family is coming tomorrow for pasta. I may have to give it a try. Deb http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/05/ask- ... water.html

Deb,

You can trust Kenji on this one. However, note that to cook pasta in a small/very full pot, you need to stir it frequently.

I know Asian dried noodles (at least rice and cellophane) are hydrated first, so this idea sounds good. But I saw nothing stating how long regular pasta takes to hydrate. Did I miss this?

After reading Kenji's original article on using less water, I started cooking pasta is a small pot and it comes out just right. Now I will have to try it with cold water.....my only thought is that to get all of the pasta (if I use traditional spaghetti or linguini) in the pot with cold water, I will have to break it into two pieces and I really like it long.

Dave,

I don't think he puts a time limit on it. Based on my experience with Asian noodles, I'd say "at least 30 minutes, leaving them in for up to 2 hours".

The original article in Ideas in Food (linked to in the Serious Eats article) puts it at about an hour and half, I believe. It is in their book as well.