Cooking either in boiling water, or by heating the food until boiling
76
votes
5answers
16k views
Why add salt to the water when cooking pasta?
What is the effect of adding salt to the water when cooking pasta?
26
votes
5answers
3k views
Pasta: Simmering Water or Rolling Boil?
I recently got into a surprisingly heated argument with a friend about what level of boil you should cook your pasta at. He (an engineer) argued that the heat transfer would remain the same regardless ...
25
votes
7answers
9k views
When you cook spaghetti, do you add olive oil to the boiling water?
Many people (at least in Germany) think that Italians add olive oil to the boiling water for spaghetti. However, Italians tend to tell the opposite (from my experience).
So, can you please state ...
13
votes
3answers
1k views
At what point is water considered “at a boil?”
Lots of recipes call for waiting for the water to come "to a boil." However I have never been sure when that is. From my viewpoint it could be at three different points:
First start to see small air ...
8
votes
9answers
8k views
What's the best way to tell that pasta is done (when boiling)?
I've tried a number of different ways to tell when spaghetti, capellini and other pasta types are done, but I'm curious if there are more specific rules of thumb. With regular spaghetti, I've tried ...
17
votes
2answers
3k views
What causes water to boil over?
What are the mechanics of water boiling over? How can you stop it from happening? Is it more likely to happen with certain ingredients? Which? How does the amount of water effect the likelihood of ...
9
votes
6answers
680 views
How to soft boil an egg
Is there a fool proof way to make sure the white of the egg is set but either all or some of the yolk remains runny?
19
votes
2answers
547 views
Does water that's been left to sit and then reboiled taste different from fresh water boiled once?
This may sound like a silly question, but I've always wondered:
If I boil some water and use some of it and leave the remainder in the kettle, and then a few days later boil that same water again, ...
12
votes
3answers
6k views
Why add salt to the water when cooking rice?
Given the great answer to the question on adding salt to water when cooking pasta, I am curious whether the same explanation holds for rice as it does for pasta (flavor and starch gelation)? Is there ...
8
votes
6answers
192 views
Peeling tomatoes
I have a recipe that calls for peeling tomatoes. I've found elsewhere that this is often done by boiling them and letting the skin lift away during that process.
Is there anything else that can make ...
2
votes
2answers
400 views
Will adding lemon juice to non-wheat pastas make them starchier?
I read in this question: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/2574/why-add-salt-to-the-water-when-cooking-pasta that adding an acid like lemon juice to water you're cooking pasta in will help ...
20
votes
5answers
12k views
When boiling water, why start from cold?
A question about probably the most mundane subject in cooking: boiling water.
For cooking techniques where you drop ingredients in simmering or boiling water - such as for vegetables, pasta, many ...
16
votes
6answers
1k views
Can food be boiled “extra fast/hard” in water?
Once water is boiling you can either leave the heat on quite high, or turn it down a bit so that it just keeps boiling. Apart from extra water vaporating, does this have any effect on the taste of ...
8
votes
2answers
620 views
How can I rescue a soft boiled egg that is too soft?
I love a boiled egg, but it has to be soft. On occasion I get it just too soft, so some of the white is still 'snotty'. Oviously I only discover this once I have opened the egg, when it is too late ...
5
votes
2answers
847 views
Quickest, and safest way, to bring milk to boil
So I made homemade cottage cheese yesterday that had me cook the milk until it was just about to boil. I had it on the stove for at least half an hour because I didn't want it to start boiling the one ...
2
votes
8answers
4k views
Peeling and dicing potato before boiling it
I've mostly seen people peel a potato after it has been boiled and then cutting it to pieces if required. Given it's muddy exterior, I find it cleaner (and probably takes less heat) to remove the skin ...
0
votes
5answers
646 views
How can I stop the cooking in my chicken and noodle soup?
I usually enjoy my chicken noodle soup right after cooking it to perfect noodle doneness. Most of what I cooked goes into the fridge. My problem is that while I'm waiting for the left-over soup to ...
