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By: Alfreds9
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I'd like to know what is the temperature range in which pasta can be cooked in water. I'd be interested in this in order to waste less energy/heat as opposed to cooking it in rolling boiling water and then draining away water that's still over 90 C.
If say the temperature window is 60 C and upwards, and the cooking time (as per manufacturer) is 5 minutes at 100 C, would it be reasonable to consider 5 min x 100 C as a sum that needs to be achieved, and calculate at which temperature water has to be heated to, then drop pasta in, keep heating until reaching a temperature in which the remaining cooking time can be achieved just by letting water cool down to the bottom of cooking temperature range?
Thank you
If your goal is to save energy, you can do this by starting your dried pasta in cold water. Alton Brown has a cold water pasta method that works great. By starting in cold water, and using less water, this method will be quicker and use less energy.
That method:
64 ounces cold water
1 box dry pasta ((farfalle, rigatoni, penne, etc.))
1 tablespoon kosher salt
Combine all ingredients in a 4 1/2-quart pot, cover and set over medium-high heat.
When water boils, decrease heat to maintain a simmer. Remove the lid, stir and cook for 4 minutes 30 seconds or until al dente.
Remove pasta with spider.
Why not just drain the pasta into a colander and send the water down the sink? Because that hot, starchy water is magical stuff. It can be used to reheat the pasta just before serving or to thicken up a sauce.
If you're using fresh pasta, I suggest sticking to cooking it in boiling water. Fresh pasta is a whole different animal. It is basically a dumpling, and needs just a couple minutes in the high heat water to achieve the transformation from dough to pasta. Longer/lower cooks won't achieve the same transformation.