why do we add salt to boiling water when making pasta?

Question

my chemistry teacher said it has something to do with raising the boiling temperature but my friend says it is to prevent the pasta from sticking. but how useful is it to have hotter water and it seems like the oil would be forpreventing stickage. Besides, just stirring a couple times does this without the use of salt or oil!

Answer 1

At constant pressure under normal conditions, once water reaches boiling point, the water will not get any hotter.

In addition to adding some flavor, adding salt RAISES the boiling temperature so that the water can actually get hotter than 100 degrees C (212F) - and will cook your spaghetti faster.

Salt will also lower the freezing temperature of ice which is why we put it on icey roads (so the roads don't have to get up to 0 degrees C (32F) for the ice to melt)

Answer 2

Salt In Boiling Water

Answer 3

It's likely entirely for the psychological benefits. The amount of salt you're adding to the water will spread out both through the water and the pasta, it's unlikely you could taste the difference whatsoever in a blind taste test, even if you added a lot of salt. Then since everyone pours sauce onto their pasta anyway, a dog couldn't notice by that time, let alone a person.
Some think it makes it less sticky, which is possible, but likely not noticeable. You could rinse your pasta and it would eliminate stickiness to a vastly greater degree. Some people don't like to do that because they think it washes away nutrients, which speaks to the low level of science education our country endures under.
Also the salt only raises the temperature of the water a small amount, and a one degree difference to your cooking water thanks to salt will do nothing. And is far less powerful than the effects of elevation from sea level that most people are cooking pasta with.

Answer 4

Adding Salt To Water

Answer 5

While your chemistry teacher is correct that adding salt to the water will raise the boiling point, you will need to add a lot of salt to have any observable change in boiling point. For example, a whole container of salt contains 737 g of salt. If you're boiling 4 quarts of water (usual pot size for cooking pasta), and add the WHOLE 737g of salt into the water, the boiling point of the water will rise to 101.7 C (a 1.7 C rise in boiling point). That means, if you add just the normal amount of salt you use when cooking, the change in boiling point will be barely noticeable.
So, adding salt to the water when cooking pasta is basically to salt the pasta.

Answer 6

The salt add flavor to the pasta when its cooking. While salt water has to be hotter to boil than fresh water, the raise in temperature isn't enough to make the paster cook faster or anything like that, its purely for flavor.
As for oil to stop the pasta sticking - if you add pasta to boiling water and cook it following directions on the packet it won't stick so you won't actually need to add oil - Chefs tip that I saw on tv once

Answer 7

My Italian mother and grandfather have always taught me that adding salt to the water when cooking pasta is the only way to season pasta. I have always done it with sea salt the way they taught me and it always comes out fine. I use a splash of olive oil to keep it from sticking if I am serving sauce separately.

I have hear recently from Mario/Rachel Ray and Alton Brown that it is to season pasta so maybe my Mom and Grandfather have it right.

Answer 8

Salt water boils at a higher temp. Oil keeps the pasta from sticking.

Answer 9

The pasta absorbs the salty taste which give a better taste than boiled without salt. The oil prevent it from sticking (with constant stirring) during boiling and after rinsing

Answer 10

The salt helps prevent the water from boiling over the pot. Also it add some flavor enhancer to your pasta. Yumm.