Status: 18.10.2023, 18:30 p.m.
CommentsShare
Which ingredients you should add to the pot when cooking pasta, whether pasta makes you fat and whether you really have to throw it around to check if it is cooked.
Does pasta make us as weak as a stuffed flour sack or is it the classic "sports nutrition"? Should you put butter or salt in the pot and should pasta be thrown against the wall when cooking or not? When it comes to pasta, idioms, housewife wisdom, and common assumptions vary widely. But what's really behind all the myths about pasta? Which ones are true and which ones have someone made a joke of starting a rumor in the past?
Salt or butter: What goes into the pot when cooking pasta?
In principle, in the end it is up to everyone to decide what he or she produces in the kitchen at home. But if you want to prepare delicious, cooked noodles that are neither sticky nor slippery, you should follow the tips that Funk, the content network of ARD and ZDF, has put together for its social media followers. In doing so, the news portal also clears up some pasta lies and myths.
Pasta like grandma's: Which pasta tips are real and which housewife tips are just myths? © Imago
Pasta myths: 1. Salt in the water to make it cook faster?
This is a myth. In fact, the salt in the water prevents the water molecules from breaking away from their compound – i.e. from rising as steam. According to an article by the Max Planck Institute, this means that the water boils a little later with salt than without. However, it doesn't take much longer: water boils at 100 degrees, salt water at 101 degrees.
On the other hand, the salt ensures that the water boils more. In order to boil, water needs points of attack where it can bubble. The salt molecules are such points of attack. By the way, it doesn't matter when the salt is added to the water. For a liter of water with 100 grams of pasta, you should use 10 grams of salt.
Don't want to miss any more recipes and kitchen tricks?
Click here for the gourmet newsletter of our partner Merkur.de.
2. Oil or butter to keep the noodles from sticking?
As soon as the water boils, the noodles go into the pot and are cooked until they are al dente. In the meantime, you can add butter or oil to prevent them from sticking together? False! Again, this practice is a pasta lie. The oily substances would prevent the natural layer of durum wheat starch around the pasta from being destroyed in the water. This reduces the taste.
0
Read also
Easy Recipe: Apple Pudding Cake from the Tray
READ
Blue cheese uncovered: with mold for enjoyment
READ
Truly Dolce Vita: Bake the Italian chocolate cake speciality Torta Tenerina
READ
Twelve soup recipes to refine your autumn
READ
Juicy carrot cake: how to bake almond and carrot cake
READ
Fancy a voyage of discovery?
My Area
Instead, you should add oil, butter or the sauce of your choice only after the noodles have been drained. This preserves the flavor, the sauce adheres well to the pasta, and the pasta doesn't get sticky or slippery.
3. Really throwing spaghetti at the wall?
No, unfortunately not. It may be a fun activity in the kitchen, but it's also an unnecessary one. Spaghetti gets stuck on the fridge or tiled wall when its surface starts to soften, but it is far from cooked. In addition, spaghetti still cooks after cooking and can be cooked even after a failed "throwing test" without additional cooking. Throwing spaghetti is therefore not very informative and is probably only intended for the amusement of the amateur cook.
Are noodles fattening? Why you can gain weight from pasta, but you don't have to
Furthermore, there is a persistent misconception that pasta makes you fat. This may be true in some cases, but then it is due to the entire dish and not just the pasta. According to various nutrition websites such as Gutekueche.at or Reishunger.de, 100 grams of common pasta durum wheat semolina pasta, which consists of durum wheat semolina and water, provides between 150 and 160 calories.
So the noodles themselves don't make you fat, as the calorie count is rather low. Pasta only makes you fat if it is eaten in bulk or with fatty side dishes. Sauces that contain a lot of sugar, calories and fat should therefore be enjoyed in moderation. Instead, a light pesto or garlic oil is more suitable.
In addition, the well-known saying applies to noodles: It's the quantity that counts. This is due to the carbohydrates, which are also contained in pasta in addition to the calories. These substances ensure that insulin is released in the body, which stores excess calories in fat cells. If you eat too many of these carbohydrates, you gain fat. In moderation and with light sauces, pasta does not make you fat or heavy, but provides a healthy amount of calories, carbohydrates and energy.