Purpose of Salt in Boiling water?

Question

Is the purpose of adding salt to cooking water (such as boiling pasta or potatoes) for flavor, or does it reduce the boiling point of the water -- thereby shortening the time needed to bring it to boil?

Or does it increase the boiling point, causing the cooking to occur at a higher temperature?

Answer 1

Increases boiling point, but not by much (3 to 5 degrees, unless you're dumping the whole shaker of salt in).

The main idea is to flavor the pasta.

In fact lots of people don't even bother cooking the pasta all the way when its just in the water, they cook it partially (Al Dente) and then finish cooking it by mixing it with sauce and simmering all of that together, so they obviously don't care about the cooking rate.

Answer 2

Ever get the idea when you read these answers that people really don't have a freaking clue? Adding salt to water is a solution...not a chemical reaction. When table salt is dissolved into water the ideal situation is that it would raise the boiling point right? So that it would cook the food faster? Simply getting the water to boil at a lower temperature wouldn't cook the food correctly right? And when boiling pastas it's very important to keep the water at a high temp rapid boil other wise the pasta doesn't cook or it gets to soft. Adding a teaspoon of salt to the amount of water that you use in boiling pasta would have a negligible affect on taste. you want to add taste use alot of Oregano in your boiling water...i usually add it until it discolors the water.

Answer 3

Salt in water is interesting because it raises the boiling point and lowers the melting point of water. If you are at a high altitude putting salt in the water will allow you to boil the water about normal boiling point. Salting the water for pasta is not needed, and actually shouldn't be done if you are on a low sodium diet. The pasta will stick together if it is not mixed up properly not because of salt. It can shorten the time things need to boil but for most people the difference is minimal. For potatoes add salt if you want salty potatoes.
Most people add salt because that is the way they were told to boil water but honestly it is not needed.

Answer 4

Salt is used primarily for flavoring. If you were to use it to change the boiling point by an appreciable amount, then you would need to add so much salt (about 115g per degree) that your food would taste *horribly* salty. Adding the salt during the boiling process instead of afterward helps to distribute the flavor evenly across all of the pasta, though a great deal of it is lost in the draining process.

Answer 5

Adding salt raises the boiling point of water. It takes longer to boil; however once the water does boil, it is at a higher temperature. Thus the amount of time needed to cook whatever food you are preparing should be less (once the food is placed in the boiling water).

Answer 6

salt in water will raise the boiling point by about one half degree Celsius for every 58 grams of salt.

For the cooking purpose, only a small amount of salt is added and it will not affect the boiling point that much. However it will help enhance the flavor.

Answer 7

It reduces the boiling point causing less time to bring the water to a boil. It really is not intended for flavor because you would have to put a substantial amount in to be able to taste it. I always season it after I drain the water. Good luck.

Answer 8

"Salt can be used to retard the effect of evaporation when water is boiled by raising the boiling point. This is most effective in cooking. The salt is absorbed by the water forming a solution the salt is soluble. When the water reaches saturation boiling point remains constant."

Answer 9

Salt, when added to the water, increases the boiling point, making the water hotter and decreasing cooking time. It also lowers the freezing point of ice, thus it's use in ice cream making and on roads in the winter to melt ice.

Answer 10

Salt makes it boil faster. When you add the salt it creates a chemical reaction which actually heats up the water (slightly) and it will help the water to boil faster.