Post by Zadkiel on Jul 9, 2016 13:31:14 GMT
This is another one of those food myths that just doesn't want to die. You'll hear it repeated by home cooks and professional chefs, but any first year chemistry student will be able to show you how little the amount of salt you would add to a pot of boiling water in your kitchen actually alters the boiling point.
Yes, strictly speaking, adding salt to water will alter the boiling point, but the concentration of salt dissolved in the water is directly related to the increase in the boiling point. In order to change water's boiling point appreciably, you would have to add so much table salt (and dissolve it completely) that the resulting salt water would be nearly inedible. In fact, the amount of salt you're likely to add to a pot of water will only alter the boiling point of water by a few tenths of a degree Celsius at most.
So this is one of those food myths that rings of chemical truth, but only on scales that wouldn't be applicable for cooking. One thing is for sure though, adding salt to your pasta water definitely makes the resulting pasta tasty.
Yes, strictly speaking, adding salt to water will alter the boiling point, but the concentration of salt dissolved in the water is directly related to the increase in the boiling point. In order to change water's boiling point appreciably, you would have to add so much table salt (and dissolve it completely) that the resulting salt water would be nearly inedible. In fact, the amount of salt you're likely to add to a pot of water will only alter the boiling point of water by a few tenths of a degree Celsius at most.
So this is one of those food myths that rings of chemical truth, but only on scales that wouldn't be applicable for cooking. One thing is for sure though, adding salt to your pasta water definitely makes the resulting pasta tasty.
