What type of salt do you use for boiling pasta?

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We just use generic fine table salt, but one of our friends was horrified that we don’t use nice sea salt or rock salt flakes

Our pasta tastes great, as long as I sneak in a little more than my salt-averse girlfriend

We do have sea salt flakes in for other purposes, but actually it doesn’t get used that much.

What do you use, do you think it matters?

 

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I don't but if I do then table salt because salty water is salty water

Why salt in pasta water? Not something I've ever considered a need for tbh, standard issue water works perfectly.

How are you mentalists not salting pasta water? Am I in the wrong subforum or something?! Cooking pasta without salting the water is beyond awful !!

For cooking, any table salt.

Only use posh salt for texture, like on top of a cookie, or on a side dish to "dip" your way steak into.

Yeah same. Although actually we have sea salt flakes in the grinder which often is what goes in sauces etc.

Also, table salt has anti-caking agent in it which I assume is why some people get uppity about it.

 

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Honestly guys I'm in shock here I thought this was a subforum for hobbyist cooks!

reduces the starch, less mushy due to boiling point difference and better taste apparently. I have never tried side by side comparisson though.

You want the starch in the water to add a swig of it to your sauce. Helps emulsify the fat and water content of your sauce and thicken it (slightly).

I use Lo Salt and some olive oil, makes a big difference if you rinse the pasta when cooked

When it comes to things like salt and butter, the real stuff in moderation is infinitely better if you're trying to be healthy. No need to really be that moderate when adding salt to pasta water. 1.5 tsp for roughly a litre gives about 1% salinity iirc which is about correct. And most of it will go down the drain anyway.

Don't salt pasta or vegetable water, if you want to add salt to things you can, you can't take it out if you don't want salt

But I do want salt. Because I'm cooking and seasoning food is absolutely essential to cooking well How many times do you see on Masterchef where people get docked points for poor seasoning. They're not talking about spices Seasoning veg is absolutely essential too. Cook some tender stem broccoli, just steam or boil it (in plain water if you like!) then take half of it plain. Eat that and compare that to the other half if you sprinkle a pinch of salt over it. It's an absolute world of difference.

I was going to post various articles from Serious Eats but it seems like a Jamie Oliver video from 12 years ago might be more apt here! Note; salt in water, oil not necessary, save some starchy water for your sauce. Easy.

 

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Was following until the Oliver video appeared

Sorry dude, judging from the initial responses I felt like I had to dumb it down to that level (I don’t actually mind JO, his bish bash bosh (sorry) attitude really made cooking fun and accessible for a lot of people)

oil is supposed to stop it boiling over I thought - reduced surface tension ... but I wouldn't be putting olive oil in, any more (even though reducing pasta sticking maybe a myth)

Shouldn’t really be any danger of pasta sticking if you don’t drain it to an inch of its life like it’s the seventies, and make sure you get it in the sauce asap. (With starchy water!). I think the Italians are more amenable to adding butter or oil to the pasta once it’s cooked, if it’s not going straight in the sauce first some reason.

Depends on the use. For example I do use regular vegetable for stir frying, but for some things I still stick with olive oil

We have cheap olive oil for cooking and “nicer” stuff for dressings etc. Extra Virgin olive oil shouldn’t be cooked with really. We use groundnut oil for stir fries in the wok.

 

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Imagine using Oliver to make a point.

Imagine having to use Oliver to make a point for your audience! Nothing he says in that video is wrong though is it.

Sea salt is a lot more pricey than table salt. We often use table salt in sauces etc as well. Maybe I’ll try upgrading to fancy salt going forward…

 

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People putting salt on a cookie should be shot

Salt with sweet stuff is great. Salted caramel, chocolate etc. Open your mind

 

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You wouldn't use chunky salt crystals for baking though, same as you wouldn't use granulated sugar, you'd use caster sugar as its finer and blends/melts easier/more evenly.

It's the same stuff but some 'form factors' are more suited to certain scenarios than others.

If you are seasoning a steak you'd want chunkier crystals, if making bread mix you'd want it as fine as possible.

Yeah exactly. I use granulated/cheap table salt for dry brining meat. If you try and use chunky flakes they just fall off. But on the flipside, a pinch of sea salt flakes over a sliced steak/roast is wonderful.

Maybe I'm saving gas by using granulated table salt in my pasta water?

 

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There's a knack to getting it right

What exactly are you getting “right” here?

You’re rinsing out all of the starch which will help emulsify your sauce. If you can’t time 8-10mins for your pasta with the rest of your cooking then I’m worried. Heck, you could just turn 99% of sauces off the heat before you start the pasta and they’d stay warm enough when tossed through with freshly cooked pasta.

I don’t doubt probably some restaurants do the above for means of having everything ready to go but there’s really no need for home cooking. Plus all the extra washing up and faff. Sod that!

 

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Nah, it doesn't rinse out all of the starch at all.

So you're saving some of the starchy water?

If you're cooking a jar of dolmio then maybe it's no so important

I've not had a jar of pasta sauce in the house for 15+ years. I don't see the need when at a push you could fry up some garlic, add a tin of tomatoes and simmer away for 20mins (on its most basic form) and get something perfectly good and way better than the sugary mess that is jarred sauces. If you prefer creamy sauces then we always have a pot of creme fraiche in the fridge which serves a very similar purpose.

Anyhoo, Serious Eats generally never misses the mark when it comes to breakdowns of cooking process, so I'll just leave this here; https://www.seriouseats.com/does-pasta-water-really-make-difference (the short answer is yes it absolutely does make a difference)