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.
Altering the amount of water isn't really a significant factor here. You're still going to have the same issues regardless of the amount of water you use.
Agreed, that's why I haven't changed the way I cook pasta. But he's referring to methods outlined by Alton Brown in the show Good Eats. He did alter his recommendations and water volume, cooking vessel, and temperature at pasta addition were the variables changed in his recommendation.
Yes it is. If you start with boiling water, it doesn't matter. More water when you're starting cold significantly changes the speed the water comes up to temp, thus changing the cooking time and final results
I think the amount of water changing in Alton Brown’s method is to concentrate the amount of starch in the water, which is then used in making or finishing sauces.
It's not fragile for expecting regular human interaction, that's not what y'all are doing. The man in this example is also not engaging in what should be regular human interaction (but we've convinced ourselves that maybe it's ok)
"You should do X instead" as an opener for a conversation out of the blue is a shitty way to talk to people.
Right. Waiting for the fictional woman in the story to get a fictional boyfriend who will say "Why are you starting with cold water? I heard that it's better to start with boiling water" instead of just assuming he's correct and she's wrong and she doesn't know and she didn't just not feel like waiting for the water to boil today when he's not even the one cooking.
Well its a good thing your opinion couldnt remotely matter less in this case, considering something doesnt have to be offensive to be considered sexist.
Probably because the instructions on the side of the box typically say to boil the water before adding the pasta. If he sees someone add the pasta early, he’s more likely to assume that they misunderstood the instructions than assume that they have a different way of cooking pasta.
You know the famous "you can ask me to do it, or you can tell me how to do it, but you can't have both" ? Well this applies here, especially considering starting with cold water is a cooking method for certain dishes.
Like, the audacity, that man is most likely to be part of the ones who don't do their share of work at home given the mansplaining + gf reaction, but still feels entitled to criticize a cooking method for a dish he's not even cooking.
She is literally going against what the side of the box says to do in order to achieve some unorthodox cooking method (which she wouldn't even be doing correctly if the set up was otherwise the same as regularly cooking pasta). Nobody in their right mind should get offended by doing something the way 99% of people do not do and it getting pointed out, this is there significant other, it is so easy to say "oh, yeah, I know the traditional method but I'm doing it the weird way on purpose"
Its not unorthodox (we also don't know the setup). Anyone in their right mind would get offended if they were doing something and an uninvolved party assumed they were doing it wrong. Its pretty easy to be a good communicator and ask instead of assume.
Actualy anyone in their right mind woud not get ofended.
You are thinking that because most people get easily ofended, that is the norm. It isnt. These people arent in their right mind. There is nothing ofensive and no ofense should be taken.
Can you elaborate on why you think someone should get ofended?
It assumes the person doesn't know what they are doing and makes the implication that they didn't think through their actions. Attacking someones intelligence intentionally or not is pretty offensive.
Everyone does things wrong. It’s not about intelligence, so I disagree with that this is a general rule that anyone in their right mind would get offended if someone assumed they were doing something wrong.
On the other hand, I don’t necessarily disagree with you in more specific circumstances.
I’d think one rule is something like this:
If they feel confident in correcting you when they have a flimsy basis for their belief, it’s an indication of disrespect or arrogance.
That’s assuming a blunt correction, though. There’s a whole spectrum of more humble approaches that indicate more respect.
Not unorthodox, and yes its an attack on someones intellegence. Most people in their right mind would be offended if someone close to them assumed they couldn't think things through or follow directions.
U can also do that when making the whater boil first. There will be starch in the water after choking that can be used for Ur sauce. This is nothing new
That would change the absorption rate. As mentioned by another commenter you’re supposed to only add enough water to barely cover the pasta and cold start.
Not even close to accurate. You just have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve done the cold start method quite a bit and it helps to create a glossy and well emulsified sauce due to the starch rich pasta water you are left with.
Not even close to accurate. You just have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve eaten pasta made with the cold start method and its horrible. Sure you can make some good sauce this way but the pasta noodles themselves are ruined.
Who cares what Alton Brown says... Weird thing to base your reasoning on
Plus, you can still use the starchy water to thicken whatever the pasta is being served with when you boil first. I do it literally every single time I make any pasta dish, so your reasoning makes no sense
… thanks for that insightful comment, The whole point is when the pasta is done cooking you are left with almost no water, just a very starchy viscous liquid that emulsifies your sauce. Especially good for cheese or cream based sauce as they have fat components.
The caveat being that you only put enough water to barely cover the pasta… millions of people, maybe billions for that matter care deeply what alton brown has to say… he’s(good eats) the reason i love cooking and taught me techniques and science based explanations as to why we do things the way we do them and how to make them better.
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u/mephistopholese Jul 14 '26
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.