MUST spaghetti be cooked with SALT!?

Answer 1

Only if you like it that way. You never have to ad salt to anything if you don't want it.

Answer 2

Be empirical about the whole thing . Do a half a pound of spaghetti cooked al dente with the proper amount of salt in it [and the reference to tasting like the Mediterranean Sea is about right ] and do a half a pound without any salt in it . After you taste, touch , feel , & see the resulting products you will notice a huge difference between the two products.
MUST spaghetti be cooked with SALT ?
No
Should it be ? Absolutley

Answer 3

No. But my understanding is that when you cook it with salt, the taste gets absorbed by the pasta and you will use less salt overall than if you add it to the sauce instead.

To correct an earlier poster...

Do not always assume you can leave salt out of a recipe and still have it turn out okay. Cooking and baking are about chemical reactions between different ingredients. Sometimes salt is needed to trigger something in another ingredient. For example, in some recipes, baking powder will not perform correctly without an otherwise insignificant amount of salt.

If you're note sure, try leaving the salt out and see what happens. But if it's a recipe in which you've always used salt, you don't have time to remake it, and it's for something important, don't think you can leave out the salt and all will always be fine.

Answer 4

Aside from the flavor salt is used to keep the foam down while boiling the spaghetti. How ever today,s stove,s are more accurate and this is not a problem any more. So cut the salt if you want. It make,s you retain water any way.

Answer 5

Supposedly .. the water should be as salty as the Mediterranean. Taste aside, you need the salt to raise the water temperature above 100 degrees so that it cooks properly. Pure water boils at 100 degrees but with salt in it's a bit higher.

You could try making the water lemony instead with lemon juice. This will have a similar effect on the temperature of the water without the salty taste. You get a lemony taste, though.

Nobody would die if you did not bother with either. This is all just food snobbery, of course :)

Answer 6

No. There are low sodium salt substitutes that can be used. Salt is mainly used for seasoning pasta. There are many ways to season pasta. You can use low sodium chicken broth or other spices.

I have made pasta without the use of salt many times and it turned out quite yummy.

Answer 7

no, it doesn't have to be cooked with salt. it's not a requirement. just water. sometimes i do put salt in the water and sometimes not. it's more like if i remember. if i do use salt in the water, i don't add it again to the meal.

Answer 8

No- it's optional. Add about 2 tbs of olive oil to the water before you add the pasta. Check it after 7 min and try a noodle every minute til it is done the way you like it. After it's cooked strain it and add more olive oil to keep it from turning into a clump. I like it with Paul Neumans Vodka sauce, veal parmazon and crusty warm bread- enjoy.

Answer 9

No, I have made very good spaghetti, without salt.

Answer 10

the only reason for the salt in the water is to enhance the flavor of the pasta. If it is not to your taste leave it out.

Answer 11

The purpose of the salt is to make the water hoter faster
not really needed