Do you know the secret of the water in which you cook your pasta
Have you ever used the foam that Pasta produces while it boil? Do you know that it is an important ingrendient for your recipes?
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38 Comments:
Yes.
arm1970 at 9:34AM on 05/26/09
I use it to make sauces for my pasta dishes.
kate34 at 9:41AM on 05/26/09
No, I didn't know that - do you reserve it over time, or use it right away?
bareneed at 10:17AM on 05/26/09
I think you are nuts...pasta water, yes, the foam? What foam?
derosa at 10:25AM on 05/26/09
No. I don't reserve it over time... but while pasta is cooking you can take two spoons of foam and shed them into your pasta condiment... You have to know that foam is composed by water and starch that pasta release during cooking... it is a very good ingredient that link all ingredients of your recipe.
Italianfood at 10:31AM on 05/26/09
When you cook your pasta... especially homemade pasta while it boils release a foam... it is composed by water and starch.
Italianfood at 10:35AM on 05/26/09
The Pope does indeed shit in the woods.
simon at 10:36AM on 05/26/09
Anyway as you can read from other posts.. other people know the foam I am talking about.. at this point I think that nuts is not me maybe someone else. Thank you
Italianfood at 10:40AM on 05/26/09
I don't recall any mention of said foam in any other posts. This strikes me as a little strange, but whatever blows your skirt up.
buffy at 10:51AM on 05/26/09
I think she was referring to the pasta water itself (that's the way I took it) and I thought this was a fairly common technique. I'm not sure if she's just trying to he helpful or if there is something more sinister going on here. ; )
If she is just trying to be helpful then I shall quote Chiffy and say "Carry on" ...otherwise....this is going to fun to watch!!
arm1970 at 10:59AM on 05/26/09
Ok, I will grant you that there is occasionally some foam on my pasta water...but in what way would it be different from the pasta water itself? And, is it so different that it is worth me standing over and waiting for the perfect moment to scoop a spoonful into my condiment? Is it going to change the flavor/texture of the final dish? I am skeptical.
derosa at 11:07AM on 05/26/09
Yes, I use some of the pasta water. No, I don't use the foam that @Italianfood talks about.
CooksForOne at 11:28AM on 05/26/09
Is it so difficult to understand? maybe is fault of my not perfect English. Anyway I will resume some ponits just to reorganize our ideas.
1) Water boils when it is about 100 °C ok?
2) at this point you put inside your pasta, right?
3) then pasta (especially homemade) will release starch that whit boiling water will do a sort of foam
4) So, you can take some of this foam and put it in your sauce (fish sauce or bolognese suce for example) and mix it.
Naturally it don't upset the taste of your sauce, but give it more harmony. A dish of pasta can be prepared in different way but at the end are the details that give the difference. ;)
Italianfood at 11:41AM on 05/26/09
Something smells funny. =/
Me thinks this is a SE regular who made another name and is pretending to have "not perfect english", mispelling words on purpose, etc.
Sorry if this offends anyone, it's just my gut feeling.
caramel at 11:48AM on 05/26/09
Is this a website where people speaks about food or is it a place where anyone is subject to the judgement of the first person that write?
Italianfood at 11:58AM on 05/26/09
@Italianfood- your talk topics and responses are a bit unusual. In general, if someone has a question about a specific recipe, they will post it. Read through some older Talk topics to get a feel for the site. Would you be willing to tell a bit about yourself and what attracted you to Serious Eats?
Kerosena at 12:24PM on 05/26/09
I only use my pasta foam on Wednesdays cause Wednesday is Prince spaghetti day.
bessfour at 12:32PM on 05/26/09
@Kerosena- Thank you kerosena! your explanation is very important for me. The reason why I registered on this website are two:
1) I like to cook
2) I would share my knowledge and know other techniques and methods of foreigns cooking culture
Another reason is this: in the past I was in USA where a lovely person that was my host me in her house decided to prepare a dish of pasta and tomatoes in honor to my Country.... I appreciated the idea, but not the pasta because she prepared it with tomato ketchup, big slices of onions and maize!!!! So I would give some suggestions to people that want prepare some Italian dishes....
Italianfood at 12:34PM on 05/26/09
It's unusual that you have trouble with the English but you know enough not to end a sentence with a preposition.
bessfour at 12:35PM on 05/26/09
Probably, time to stop feeding the trolls.
derosa at 12:35PM on 05/26/09
I think I understand what italianfood is trying to get across. You use the foam to do two things. First and least important, the starches in the foam will thicken the sauce a little. Second, and more importantly, the starches in the foam will carry over the flavors of the pasta into the sauce. It does not hurt that a little starch makes a sauce smoother, either.
I with you italianfood. Go ahead on. I'm learning something here.
Grumpy Old Man at 12:40PM on 05/26/09
Does anyone else collect the steam from their boiling water? I set up an upside down wok to capture it, it condenses in the wok and drips off into a cup like a distilled liquor.
Adding that to the sauce: penne vodka squared...
Chris De Noia at 12:55PM on 05/26/09
Is it me or should someone that prepares pasta sauce with ketchup be shot?
arm1970 at 12:56PM on 05/26/09
@arm1970 - it is not just you, I am completely appalled.
embolini9 at 1:00PM on 05/26/09
In Italy ketchup is used only with french fries, or as condiment for hot dog etc.. it isn't an ingredient of any kind of pasta. Just for example, you can0t prepare a dish of pasta with ketchup and present it as Italian food... ;)
Italianfood at 1:12PM on 05/26/09
@Chris - Why don't you just DRINK the vodka and call it a day! Man, I thought I was sketchy! LOL
arm1970 at 1:15PM on 05/26/09
@Grumpy old man Thank you... You have written excatly what I mean.
@chris You have not to catch it and save in a cup... If you want follow this method you have to catch it and mix immediatly with your condiment.
Italianfood at 1:16PM on 05/26/09
I've never heard of ketchup in pasta sauce. I admit to putting ketchup on gnocchi when I was like 5 years old and we ran out of sauce, and I admit to enjoying it, but even then I knew it was weird. I've also never heard of putting pasta water in fish sauce, nor have I heard of fish sauce in Italian cooking, but maybe I'm just ignorant.
I've used pasta water a few times to thin out sauce. I use jarred sauce more than I'd like to admit though, so the texture usually doesn't need any more thinning. I do finish cooking my pasta in the sauce though...cook it in the water until it's somewhere between crunchy and al dente, and then strain it and throw it in the sauce to finish. Takes on more flavor that way.
cycorider at 1:37PM on 05/26/09
@italianfood - That's what we use ketchup for, too...nobody uses it in pasta, or any type of Italian food, for that matter.
embolini9 at 2:01PM on 05/26/09
I would think that the actual pasta would carry over the pasta flavor all by itself, but maybe that's just me.
Also, in my experience, if you use a sufficient amount of water to boil your pasta, there is little to no foam.
But.... ketchup on pasta??? That is a food felony!
buffy at 2:12PM on 05/26/09
In defense of @Italianfood - I know people who use ketchup (and water) in place of jarred sauces to make a red sauce (yuk!) - and Italianfood stated that she was given it to eat when she was in America - so let's cut her some slack, shall we? I believe this young lady truly wishes to talk about her cooking methods in order to teach some and in order to learn some - I truly do not believe she has a "hidden agenda." As stated by @Kerosena, perhaps Italianfood didn't quite understand the premise of SE talk, and now she realizes that most of us are fairly accomplished cooks and know our way around the kitchen - however, there is always room to learn a thing or two and I for one, am interested in the experiences of a cook from another country and will happily read her posts with interest. Everyone is welcome on this site and should be treated with respect - if hidden agendas are suspected, it will be found out and dealt with by ignoring the poster. I believe we should be more patient with people who speak English as a second language, communication and understanding nuance is difficult.
bareneed at 3:52PM on 05/26/09
Thank you bareneed... It is funny know that someone think that I am an "hidden agenda". Anyway my apologyze for any disturb but I don't know why some people have to criticize what I write without respect.
Italianfood at 4:19PM on 05/26/09
Well, I for one am glad somebody finally started an interesting conversation. SE has been pretty boring lately. Thanks Italianfood. :)
buffy at 9:04PM on 05/26/09
LOVING this thread! Tears in my eyes.
As for the foam, I skim it off the top and freeze it. Was not sure until now what to do with it, but I hated to waste it.
Remander at 11:22PM on 05/27/09
No, no, no! The foam is to precious to use as a sauce component! One must freeze it and save if for their first born's offspring. SO PRECIOUS IS THIS STARCH WATER!
feriorrenna at 2:07AM on 05/28/09
I saved the potato-y water from gnocchi once, and used it as the water that got mixed with flour in bagels. All the starchy water, not just foam. It was pretty good.
cycorider at 11:31AM on 05/28/09
speaking of starch and water, my dermatologist says to grind 1/4 c. oatmeal to a powder and put it in your bathwater to soften your skin. works wonders. (or you could pay $12 for about 2 cups of the stuff (colidal oatmeal) in the cosmetics asile).
nightmoon at 6:16PM on 06/03/09
BTW...my ex made his red sauce with ketchup and tomato soup! REALLY!! I swear. It was SO gross...he would cook hamburger...TONS of hamburger, and add in a tin of tomato soup and about a half cup of ketchup, a sprinkling of dried onions a bit of garlic and LOTS of sugar!! Oh, and maybe a tsp of 'Italian seasoning'. That was IT! I get the heebie-jeebies just thinking about it. (I flat-out REFUSED to eat it. I DID put a little in a teaspoon and tasted just to make sure it was as bad as I knew it would be...actually, it was WORSE! So, yes, LOTS of Americans are truly awful cooks. I would like to hear more from Italian Food. I really enjoy hearing about authentic recipes from other countries. I'm not sure what sort of 'ulterior motives' she/he could have by posting this. (I don't know why, but Italian Food strikes me as being a male, though I haven't clicked on his/her user name. Yet.) Still, I would be happy to hear more.
Carolina de Witte at 7:06AM on 06/11/09