Took me 20 years to try salting my pasta water like the ocean

For years I was just tossing a pinch of salt in the pot, thinking that was enough, until a sous chef in Denver watched me and said 'you're barely seasoning the water.' First time I dumped in a full handful, the noodles actually tasted flavorful on their own, and I could back off on the sauce salt. You guys measure your salt or just go by feel in the water?

3 comments

3 Comments

victorb1727d ago

Hang on, you're telling me that ocean water is 3.5% salt and not 1-2% like the sea water rule? That's wild, @the_james. I've been out here for years telling my crew to make it taste like the ocean thinking I was spot on. I go by feel, just dump a big handful of kosher salt in while the water's heating up and give it a stir. But now I'm wondering if my pasta has been borderline brine this whole time lol.

bennett.noah15d ago

Kosher salt volume is all over the place, just weigh it and move on.

the_james27d ago

The full handful thing is a good start but you gotta be careful with the "like the ocean" rule. Ocean water is about 3.5% salt by weight which would make your pasta literally inedible. A good pasta water should be salty like sea water, about 1-2% salt by weight. For a standard pound of pasta in a big pot that ends up being around a tablespoon of kosher salt, maybe a bit more for thicker noodles like rigatoni. The real test is when you take a sip of the water and it tastes pleasantly salty but not like you're drinking brine. Do you boil your pasta in just enough water to cover it or do you go with the big rolling boil with tons of water?