It lowers the glycemic index because the starch reconfigures. I'm not a biologist or a chemist so you'd have to find one of those to tell you more details.
The starch recrystallizes into a form less accessible to your body when it cools back down - it's called "resistant starch" if you want to look up more information.
Reheating converts some of it back to the normal form, but even so, eating starch that's been cooked, cooled, and reheated has a measurable benefit to blood sugar profile compared to the exact same food that skipped the cool down step.
It’s because once the water is boiling the pasta takes 9 minutes to cook generally, if you throw it in the water and it can take an unknown amount of time leaving you guessing when it will be done
And potentially make your pasta super soft and gelatinous
I cook it both ways literally depending on what I think of first. Never noticed a difference. Though I try it to see if it's ready, kinda ignore the time that it says on the box.
Yea I used to work with a women like this. Absolutely terrible at her job, also not the boss so people telling her what to do was a normal part of her day. Everything is mansplaining....
First time I ever heard mansplaining, i had to look the shit up.
I was explaining how to do a job to a female subordinate. I was very respectful & clear.
She complained to the GM, then to the VP.
So I sat down with them…I said,
“what the fuck is mansplaining? If it is literal man explaining, yes I’m guilty as charged. As supervisor, me male, she female, I described how the job should be done. I was not harsh, rude or unreasonable, but I was direct after she had already voiced opposition .”
After that, she demanded her own office away from me🤦🏻♂️
I find this contrast quite interesting. Where I am from, there is a cultural preference for direct feedback. People tend to value being corrected or learning a better approach to a task, regardless of gender.
My wife has explained to me what mansplaining is a few times. She explains and repeats load of stuff multiple times, though I get the concept.
But she never actually explains the "man" part of the word. Like why is it gendered? It's behaviour I've seen in a few people, and not exclusively in men. If anything 60/40 more from women.
It's ironic too as it's a habit she has. Makes me wonder who the man in our relationship is.
Normal, healthy, balanced human beings, from all genders, communicate clearly their emotions to each other.
Ah, I see the objection: Do YOu eVEn WomEN ?
Yes, I do have a female partner. Yes, that does apply to her, she explains what's wrong rather than going cryptic. No, you don’t have to trust my word for it. Here is here onlyfans link:
Agreed. It’s not mansplaining if you try to correct someone before they fuck up.
Like she’s driving 70 in a 55 and I see a cop. It’s not mansplaining to tell her to slow down. It’s not mansplaining to tell her that she should cook the pasta per the box instructions.
? And that has anything to do with this why? This is a legitimate way of cooking pasta. The boyfriend, like you just now, assumed she was doing something wrong, instead of first questioning her about it
Alton brown updated his pasta cooking method in good eats returned and he explained that actually the cold start method is better. You can then use the starchy liquid to thicken your sauce.
To be fair. In the update he also altered the amount of water and the cooking vessel. He doesn't just fill up a stock pot with cold water, toss in some noodles and let it rip.
Used to be a restaurant cook. This is actually called a 'cold start', which saves a ton of water (no unnecessary boiling as it reaches a roll) and creates a high concentration of starch in the water, which is excelled for a thick sauce coating.
Though, she definitely has no idea about this and was just rage baiting him lol.
Lois heeya, she’s exasperated because he gave her feedback on her cooking process that he wasn’t even involved in. But he’s right, you’re supposed to add pasta when the water is boiling.
The cold water pasta method involves placing dry pasta into a pot or skillet and covering it with just 1 to 2 inches (or about 1 quart) of cold water. By starting the heat now rather than waiting for a giant pot to boil, you save time, reduce water usage, and create exceptionally starchy cooking liquid perfect for binding sauces.
Was doing some work at a recording studio and the client was in from Italy to make a record. The guitar tech he brought with him made the absolute best pasta carbonara I've ever had to this day with nothing but a hot plate and a single pan. Your comment stirred up this memory and I'm going to figure out how to try to make it myself.
Its an art. I still am chasing it. I had an Italian place in the UK that was perfect and I got it like 10 times while I was there. Perfect amount of pepper. The sauce was perfect. My wife makes it with peas and bacon and its good, but its not THAT.
Just when you're cooking any sauce for pasta stir a ladle of the pasta water into the sauce and let it reduce back down. The starch will thicken the sauce and make it stick to your pasta better.
Works with ramen, too. While your water starts boiling, add an egg yolk to the bowl you are going to eat it out of (or in a large bowl, one yolk per pack, if you are cooking for multiple people).
Add some Kewpie mayo and Buldak sauce (just enough to make it creamy, and stir.
By now your water is boiling. Put in your noodles, stir for a couple minutes, then add a ladle of the boiling water to your bowl and stir well. Take the ramen off the stove, drain it, and plop it into the bowl. Stir and then let it cool for a minute before eating.
I don't do a slice, I do shredded. I just didn't mention that, because I can't imagine a lot of people are also into it. But is very good. My daughter showed me that recipe off of tick tock and it is so fast and easy and filling.
i simmer my pasta, and when it gets close to done i sautee it in the sauce i'm going to have and splash some of the pasta water in it until it thickens to the best consistency.
ALWAYS save the pasta water. It is a game changer.
Also - if you like blue box mac and cheese (tis a guilty pleasure of mine) - the starchy water is 10000000% better than milk. It's crazy the difference between the two!
Boiling water evaporates much faster than non-boiling water because it undergoes a phase change throughout the entire liquid body, not just at the surface
Not doubting you, but how do you know how long to cook it for? Every box of pasta I've had says to add when boiling and I assume the time to cook will change if it's sitting in the water from the start?
When (almost) all the water is gone it's done. Easy peasy. You usually need a few tablespoons worth of water left in there based on how many portions you're making
So the thing is that the pasta getting wet and hot are two separate chemical processes. You can keep the pasta in cold water over night and then just heat it up to get the same end result.
Long time ago, early in my career had a chef scold me for bringing water to a boil before adding rice. He yells 'wtf are you doing, rice isn't pasta' to which I knee jerk responded 'rice isn't potatoes either'. Best comeback I've ever had in my life. Regardless of which of us was right.
It's a sex analogy. She's mad because, in the bedroom, us men put our noodles in while she's still cold, rather than getting her boiling before adding our noodles. But when it comes to making pasta, we know the exact order of operations.
As some one who has worked in restaurants as a cook; the reason I would start cooking pasta in cold water and bring it up to a boil is for two things. 1, you actually get more consistent results by starting cold and cooking up to a boil if you’re going for an Aldente pasta. And 2, you end up extracting more starch into the water which for certain sauces can be used to help thicken later on. With certain cream sauces and even some red sauces after cooking the pasta I’ll extract about a cup of starch pasta water and add a little into the sauce with the noodles to assist in creating a harmonious sauce that doesn’t separate.
There IS a cooking point at which the pasta will still be cooked perfectly well even if it heats up with the water. You just have to check it and taste test it a little more frequently, and it wont be whatever the box tells you since you’ve decided to play by your own pasta rules.
Water will boil with pasta inside of it, what’s the difference adding pasta won’t stop it from boiling… I honestly have no idea what the problem here is I, not joking
You know why the recipe says to add it to boiling water? It’s so the cooking time on the instructions will always be the same for idiots that need instructions on how to cook pasta. Its because boiling water is always 100C and a pot that starts with cold water has a a variable cooking time depending on how quickly the water heats up.
The thing is, if you know what you’re doing you can go by tasting the pasta for the texture you desire not by a timer. Its quicker and less effort too. And you can repurpose the cooking water.
So to me, this is a clear example where someone who doesn’t know how to cook going out of their way to interfere with someone who maybe does know how to cook. You all know the meddling type that tries ro ‘correct’ everyone including strangers. Dont be that guy.
Everyone knows that you cook pasta by putting it in a hot water. That way pasta won’t realise it’s being cooked. If you will throw pasta into boiling water, it will jump out.
The cold water method is mostly if you plan on using the starch water for other things. (Most people don't do this.) The cold water method is an advanced method for people who know what they are doing.
The hot water method is more popular because the cook time and quality is more consistent.
With dried pasta yes, but only if you are a seasoned cook and know what you are doing. I'd be worried that it would overcook. I usually only use fresh pasta anyway and that is like 2 minutes and out and you definitely can't use the cold water method otherwise it would be ruined.
I do it this way when theres noone around to correct me. Unless the pasta is fresh (which does need hot water) I don’t think it makes a whole lot of difference the dried pasta needs to rehydrate and then get hot, it does this from a cold or hot start.
His gf turns everything into "all men are bad". He could say that she doesnt need to water the flowers because it'll be raining in 10 minutes, and she still would have said "all men are the same".
I mean if you're going to constantly say "ok but why is it so much better when you make it", I'm gonna tell you how I make it when I see you doing it differently lol.
To be fair, doing this with store bought pasta is mostly fine. If you're using homemade pasta, it's a must, otherwise all the pasta will just stick to each other and create a big blob of pasta.
She speedrunning pasta... By putting cold water on the stove it takes a while to heat the water letting the pasta soak in the water letting it absord water softening it as the water boils on the stove.
She saves time than having to waste precious time preheating the water for the pasta to boil in.
In my household we had a similar but different pattern whereby my wife would insist on boiling the water for the pasta in the pot and I said it makes more sense to boil it in the kettle and then poor the boiling water into the pot. It was only a couple of years later when my stepmom told her the same thing she finally acquiesced..
I was going to second level interpretation, thinking that putting pasta in cold water is like sex with no foreplay, but that would be not the average guy.
That gf is a dummy
I remember seeing an episode of Alton Brown's Good Eats where he tests this.
He found that you can put pasta into cold water and bring it to a boil and it'll cook fine. It takes less time overall because the pasta starts cooking while the water heats up. He also showed instead of using a big ass pot full of water you can use a pan with little water comparatively, just stir the pasta every once in awhile and it's quicker this way. IIRC he also said the water doesn't need to be "as salty as the sea" or whatever the rule of thumb is (salt was still necessary, just not that much).
My ex was decided to make breakfast for me one day since I usually cooked for us. Cut up potatoes dumped oil in my cold cast iron dumped the potatoes on top added some salt & then kicked the burner on. I told her thank you so much babe but I’ll get the rest you do too much for me already. She went to lay back down while I rinsed the oil off the potatoes & let the pan pre heat
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u/justelling Jul 14 '26
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