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There are two main methods, either putting the strands into water already at boiling point, or putting them in cold water and then putting on the heat.

Which method is the best to cook pasta?

Does it make a difference if you add pasta to cold or boiling water?

zetaprime
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Laila
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    You should mention the type of noodles you would like to cook. The word "pasta" implies Italian wheat or wheat/egg noodles. – Douglas Held Oct 14 '18 at 14:11
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    Probably even more important is fresh vs dry pasta. My guess is that you're in a part of the world where most is dry so it's the default, but it's hard to be sure. – Cascabel Oct 14 '18 at 14:30
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    I was asking about dried as well as fresh pasta .. – Laila Oct 14 '18 at 16:16
  • Rule of thumb I was taught was that if it grows above ground, heat the water first, if it grows underground, start cold. So start with boiling water for pasta and cold water for potatoes. – Dryden Long Oct 15 '18 at 21:49
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    @DrydenLong ... and as everyone knows, spaghetti grows on trees. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVo_wkxH9dU – Ewan Mellor Oct 15 '18 at 22:18
  • I can't add an answer unfortunately because the question is now protected, so I'll post this as a comment: It *does* matter whether you start with cold or hot water. For a long time I was sure the opposite was true – though for a slightly different reason than the answers given here: I thought that once the water was boiling, I could just turn off the stove to save energy because, you know, the water would stay hot enough. Well, it indeed did but since the water cooled down, my spaghetti took longer to cook. Now if the water cools down too quickly and the pasta thus takes exceptionally long… – balu Oct 16 '18 at 22:17
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    the pasta will end up being rather mushy on the outside from being in the water for too long – even if, on the inside, it is *al dente*. This suggests that the temperature-over-time curve while cooking *does* have an impact on the pasta's texture. In particular, if your stove is exceptionally slow, starting from cold water might not get you as good a result as starting from boiling water does. – balu Oct 16 '18 at 22:18

5 Answers5

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As stated in another answer, Italian tradition is that all pasta is cooked in boiling water. A reasonable explanation for this usage is that it's easier to get the time right this way.

Pasta is very sensitive to cooking time, and will easily turn from 'al dente' to an overcooked mush if left on the fire a couple of minutes too much. By cooking it in boiling water, you ensure that it cooks in uniform conditions, always at the same temperature, regardless of the starting temperature of the water, the temperature of your kitchen, and the power of your burner. So it is a safer bet that cooking it for the same amount of time will work.

In my experience, the time marked on the package is almost always accurate for pasta cooked in boiling water. So it gives you a useful reference point, which you don't have if you cook it starting from cold water.

Federico Poloni
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  • I've never tried cooking from cold, but I *do* pre-soak when I'm making gluten-free pasta .... and it's actually *easier* to get al dente (which is really tough to get with gluten-free pasta) ... but of course, you have to watch it, not leave it alone for the time it says on the package. – Joe Oct 14 '18 at 23:21
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    It's true that the timing is easier, though you still generally have to check toward the end. There are downsides though: you need to boil more water and the pasta isn't getting a head start from the pre-boiling time, so it takes longer and you don't get nice pasta water. It can also be *harder* to prevent sticking, because the starch gels immediately, no chance to rinse any into the water. So overall it definitely works well, but that's not quite the same as saying it *should* be done this way. – Cascabel Oct 15 '18 at 15:29
  • @cascabel what's a "nice pasta water"? The water used to cook the pasta most of the times is thrown away or a bit of it used to prepare the "sugo" for it. – Fez Vrasta Oct 15 '18 at 17:00
  • @FezVrasta See "cloudy with a chance of delicious" in [this article](https://www.seriouseats.com/2010/05/how-to-cook-pasta-salt-water-boiling-tips-the-food-lab.html). It's a good emulsifier that helps all kinds of sauces, and starchier works better. – Cascabel Oct 15 '18 at 17:19
  • No one cares about "Italian Tradition", this question is trying to get past folk lore and nostalgic mumbo jumbo. – Jamie Clinton Oct 15 '18 at 17:49
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    @JamieClinton I agree --- that's why my answer does not stop after the first sentence. – Federico Poloni Oct 15 '18 at 17:57
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    When cooking eggs putting them in boiling water also results in a better timing calibration. – Peter - Reinstate Monica Oct 16 '18 at 09:13
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    Be aware that this is not true for high altitudes where the pressure is lower, and thus the boiling point of water drops below 100°C. – M.Herzkamp Oct 16 '18 at 13:23
  • @Cascabel in my experience, the starch level from a big pot at the end of the hydration time is enough for any _sugo_ that might go with it, since it does not really need great emulsification power unless it's cacio e pepe. – Agos Nov 13 '18 at 16:41
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For dried pasta it doesn’t really matter if you start with cold or hot water, as most of the time pasta spends in water is for hydration. And once the hydrated starches reach a certain temperature they gelatinize, thus cooking the pasta. When you start with cold water, you should use less water, which is actually a plus...

Note: I forgot to mention, you should swirl the pot every couple of minutes to prevent sticking.

However, when you’re cooking fresh pasta, you should directly start with boiling water. As it’s already hydrated, you just need gelatinization.

As for which you should do for dry pasta, there are benefits to both:

  • starting from boiling
    • more consistent timing (and less attention), since you can time from when you add the pasta
    • works with long shapes like spaghetti and fettuccine, since they'll soften quickly to bend submerge
  • starting from cold
    • faster overall - less water to boil, and pasta is already starting to cook by the time it hits a full boil
    • easier to avoid initial sticking
    • starchier pasta water, useful for sauces
Cascabel
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zetaprime
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    Do you have any interest to cite a source? I have never heard of cold water pasta cooking, except for in energy saving situations like mountaineering. – Douglas Held Oct 14 '18 at 14:09
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    A quick Google search yields this, as one of many sources: https://www.seriouseats.com/2013/05/ask-the-food-lab-can-i-start-pasta-in-cold-water.html – zetaprime Oct 14 '18 at 14:38
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    The Food Lab article zetaprime linked links to another with even more explanation: https://www.seriouseats.com/2010/05/how-to-cook-pasta-salt-water-boiling-tips-the-food-lab.html, and from there to Harold McGee's article: https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/dining/25curi.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0. It's not at all a new idea, and plenty of prominent writers (as well as plenty of users here) have had great success with it. – Cascabel Oct 14 '18 at 23:50
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    I'd suggest editing in some of the benefits of this method, because the boiling tradition is *really* hard to shake. The articles we've linked include plenty to start from. – Cascabel Oct 15 '18 at 14:37
  • @Cascabel Agreed. I will add some, and you’re more than welcome to edit. I will cover some of it as I have time during the evenings. – zetaprime Oct 15 '18 at 14:58
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It depends on the pasta shape:

There are times when you do want to start with a large pot of already-boiling water. The first is when cooking fresh pasta. Because fresh pasta is made with eggs, if you don't start it in boiling water, it won't set properly, causing it to turn mushy or worse, disintegrate as it cooks.

The second exception is with long, skinny pasta shapes like spaghetti or fettucini. Because they stack together so easily, it's more likely than with other pasta shapes that they will stick together. As the pasta heats and absorbs moisture, starches on its surface gelatinize, becoming sticky, If the strands are stuck together when this happens, they'll fuse together permanently, especially in a smaller pot where you have less room to maneuver them.

https://www.seriouseats.com/2013/05/ask-the-food-lab-can-i-start-pasta-in-cold-water.html

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TL;DR please be nice with yourself: only drop pasta in a pot of boiling water (approx 1 liter every 100 grams of pasta)

To the eyes of an Italian, the mere allusion to cooking pasta by dropping it into a pot of cold water is unthinkable.

You always need to drop pasta into a pot of boiling water in order to cook it. On the contrary, you'll end up eating a dish of overcooked pasta with an unpleasant gummy consistence.

The rule of thumb is approx 1 liter of water for 100 grams of pasta.

Another rule of thumb is opting for the best brands, the ones whose plants are settled in the southermost regions of Italy (Campania, Basilicata, Calabria, Puglia, Sicilia, Molise etc.).

Cascabel
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user69845
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  • Agreed, 100% on-target conventional wisdom. – Douglas Held Oct 14 '18 at 14:08
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    Are you talking about fresh pasta? The question is most likely about dry. And if you're talking about dry, do you have an explanation for this based on something other than strongly held tradition and conventional wisdom? My experience, and that of some pretty serious experts, is that dry pasta can be cooked just as well if not better starting from cold water, and it definitely does not end up overcooked or gummy. Finally, please do not be rude to anyone here, even if you think they're wrong. – Cascabel Oct 14 '18 at 14:29
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    Why don’t you just try, cooking pasta starting in cold water? I mean dry pasta – zetaprime Oct 14 '18 at 14:58
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    @zetaprime In this case I have tried cooking pasta from cold water.... not really my experiment, but due to another cook's accident [cooking-while-distracted], and that pasta turned out awful. I think it was elbow macaroni for macaroni and cheese, and it was a big gluey mushy mess. – Lorel C. Oct 14 '18 at 19:57
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    And like I said, I've started it cold (probably at least a dozen varieties, including macaroni) and it works as well as if not better than starting from boiling. It's possible to make good or bad pasta either way. Additional anecdotes about it aren't going to resolve anything; we've pointed out the issues in the answer at this point. – Cascabel Oct 14 '18 at 23:47
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    Also, I'm just going to remove all the religion analogy stuff. It's just distracting from the actual points. – Cascabel Oct 14 '18 at 23:56
  • In this second segment of this video you can see that even professional Italian chefs sometimes use a method involving non-boiling water: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF_G2a8xsa8 He hydrates dried spaghetti in 37°C water for 45 minutes, and then cooks it in the sauce. – Max Nov 10 '18 at 15:39
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Actually both given answers and options in the question are wrong. The highest temperature starch needs for hydration is 83°C. Water boils at 100°C, thus you don't need boiling water. Cold water is also wrong, but not because of the pasta, because of the cooking pot. The salt is made of ions which need to connect to other atoms when the salt is dissolving. If the water is cold but you heat up the cooking pot, then the ions might connect to the high energized iron atoms instead of being surrounded by low energized water molecules. Damages to the cooking pot will be visible after 10 years though. In the cooking water the salt is added to prevent starch granules in the pasta to merge with each other instead of swelling during hydration. Because if they merge the pasta lose elasticity and the sugar taste of the starch is less accessible for our tongue, making the pasta taste bad and feel clumsy. For this fact you can allegedly never add too much salt to the boiling water. Rule of thumb is 1 teaspoon for 1 liter of water. There is no rule of thumb for the ration of pasta and water, since you can even cook pasta like a risotto.

The best way to cook pasta is to heat water in a cooking pot until you see bubbles at the bottom, then add salt and then add pasta, stir occasionally. Boiling cooking water is for lazy cooks who don't want to stir all the time and cold water cooking is for soaking the pasta when you are low on heating fuel.

Harry Pachty
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    There are some points in this post that I reckon may be good advice, but also quite a few that seem more like pseudoscientific gobbledygook. “the ions might connect to the high energized iron atoms”... sounds like you're describing _the pot rusting_, but that's not really something you can influence much with temperature. – leftaroundabout Oct 14 '18 at 23:16
  • Your advice will ruin a stainless steel pot. You need to get it to a full boil before adding salt so you don't get the chemical reaction that causes pitting: https://cooking.stackexchange.com/q/30253/67 – Joe Oct 14 '18 at 23:25
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    I've studied a lil bit of thermodynamics. If your water produces steam, it's at 100 degress C. That being said, this is a new technique to me so I'm going to upvote. You should consider removing the part where you call cooks lazy for using conventional methods. This community is one of the softest most sensitive communities on the internet. Literally any form of negativity will get you downvoted. It's honestly suffocating, but it's best to play the Positive Mental Attitude game till you hit about 1000 reputation. I'd also hate to see the mods remove this unique advice. –  Oct 15 '18 at 14:58
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    @Joe The top answer in the question you linked contradicts the statement you made. –  Oct 15 '18 at 15:03
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    @Steve Just a minor note... Water produces steam at 100 degress C... at 1 atmosphere of pressure. At high elevations where the pressure may be lower, water steams at significantly lower temperatures. – Beofett Oct 15 '18 at 16:18
  • @Beofett can you quantify "significantly lower"? Assuming this poster is correct and 181 F (83 C) is the highest temp needed, at what temp will water steam at higher elevations? I know the boiling point at 1 mile in elevation is reduced from 212 to 202 (94 C), but I am curious about steaming temp. – J. Chris Compton Oct 15 '18 at 16:48
  • @Beofett You're absolutely right. I wish Stack exchange let us edit comments after five minutes. I would have probably edited my comment to say "if your water produces steam it's in phase change, which is the same as boiling at one atmosphere of pressure. Basically, turning the temperature dial up on the stove won't heat it up anymore, it will just make more of the water convert to steam faster." –  Oct 15 '18 at 17:14
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    @J.ChrisCompton steaming temperature is the same thing as boiling point for this. Basically, once the water gets a certain amount of heat applied to it, it starts to change phase and become a gas. At that point any additional heat just makes it become a gas faster. A rolling boil is just water that's becoming steam at a decent pace for cooking. In thermodynamics this would have to do with the quality of water if you want to look into it more. If you want to actually make the water hotter you'd have to increase pressure. That's what pressure cookers do. –  Oct 15 '18 at 17:20
  • @Steve Yes, for what I've heard termed a "light boil" the water will *all* be at the boiling point (in theory anyway). If I remember my university physics though, water will convert to a gas at lower than boiling temperatures. The exact temperature depends on the relative humidity. I have seen a pot of water steam a lot, but still be minutes from its boiling point - that is the number I thought you were talking about. I have a laser thermometer, I'll try using it when it is at the "visible steam" temperature. If the comments aren't locked I'll post my result. Hope that makes sense. – J. Chris Compton Oct 17 '18 at 22:04
  • @J.ChrisCompton It does. Try measuring at more than one spot in the water too. –  Oct 18 '18 at 14:39
  • @leftaroundabout - I can't comment on whether or not salt in cold water causes more corrosion than hot (although the proposed mechanism sounds at least vaguely plausible, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt) ... but I will say that if you're adding enough salt to water for boiling pasta that it's a significant corrosion hazard for a stainless steel pan, *you're doing it wrong*. – Jules Oct 18 '18 at 20:13
  • @Joe I explained the pitting corrosion from line 3. – Harry Pachty Oct 20 '18 at 19:45
  • @Jules When Pasta came into existence in Europe, people used sea water for cooking since salt was too expensive to use for just water. – Harry Pachty Oct 20 '18 at 19:47
  • @Steve Thank you for your advice. I just prefer this method because it saves a lot of energy and any additional temperature will not make the pasta hydrate faster. In the UK the Minister for Energy ordered a study on energy waste of boiling water for tea. If you prepare hot water for a cup of tea, you usually heat a little more water than you need. This excess hot water won't be used, but the energy is still lost. The study found out the cumulated energy wasted for excess water in the UK could be used to power all street lights in the UK for the whole night. And pasta needs 20° less. – Harry Pachty Oct 20 '18 at 19:57
  • @leftroundabout Yes you can influence it since heat = energy = bonding ability of atoms. If the atoms in the steel have a higher energy than the atoms in the water molecules then the salt ions looking for bonding partners choose the steel atoms more often than with warm water. – Harry Pachty Oct 20 '18 at 20:04
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    @HarryPachty is that significant amount? How much energy would you need to seriously influence that? –  Oct 22 '18 at 14:36