Boiling pasta...interesting thing I have learned- info added in post #1

[Mabelen]

I don't think electric kettles are nearly as common here in the US!

No, they are not. When we relocated from the UK 17 years ago, it took us several stores before we found one. We use ours on a daily basis for tea. I would not want to live without one.

[Lady Florida.]

I have an electric kettle and use it several times a day to boil water for tea and coffee. I dislike the way it tastes when I microwave the water - no rolling boil.

 

My microwave will bring water to a rolling boil.

 

Sadie, we either use a pot on the stove or the microwave.

[Kathryn]

I've never heard of electric kettles besides on here.

 

If just I am drinking tea, I hear the water and the teabag in the microwave in a measuring cup, then add my sugar, stir, and pour in my cup (I make two cups at a time). If others are having tea, I use a stovetop kettle because we generally drink different kinds.

[Pam in CT]

I never had an electric kettle until my daughter went off to university in Scotland.  Now I'd never go back.  They.are.awesome.

 

And speaking of electric kettles and pasta -- did y'all know that you can pour a little roiling-boiling water over lasagna noodles in one pan and slosh it around for maybe 20 seconds, move the noodles over to another pan, and you don't have to cook the noodles?  You can just layer on the other stuff and you're good to go into the oven?  Gamechanger, I tell you.

 

 

[MamaBearTeacher]

Does this method work well with whole wheat pasta? So many of us have been wasting so much time all these years!

[cjzimmer1]

I never had an electric kettle until my daughter went off to university in Scotland.  Now I'd never go back.  They.are.awesome.

 

And speaking of electric kettles and pasta -- did y'all know that you can pour a little roiling-boiling water over lasagna noodles in one pan and slosh it around for maybe 20 seconds, move the noodles over to another pan, and you don't have to cook the noodles?  You can just layer on the other stuff and you're good to go into the oven?  Gamechanger, I tell you.

 

Even better, just skip the whole sloshing in water step.  I just use noodles straight from the box (just regular noodles not even the no-boil kind) and my lasagna works out great.  This works especially well for when I want to freeze the lasagnas since those always end up a bit watery and using uncooked noodles helps absorb the extra moisture.

[GailV]

Ouch.  Water from a microwave is a very unevenly heated.

 

Preach it!

 

The water molecules in microwaved water are moving at various rates -- some are actually still cold, some are quite hot.  You can find little animations online showing this, and compare them to the little animations of water coming to a proper boil where the molecules are forming convection currents.  

 

Science!

[Tap]

I have an electric kettle and use it quite often.  Once you get used to having one, it is surprising how spoiled you get.  I like that I can put water on for my tea and go do something else for a few minutes.  When I come back, it is the perfect temp.  Mine is like this one. I can set the temp on it so the water can be boiling if I want to preheat water for cooking, or if I want tea I can adjust it to be below boiling.  

[GailV]

Even better, just skip the whole sloshing in water step.  I just use noodles straight from the box (just regular noodles not even the no-boil kind) and my lasagna works out great.  This works especially well for when I want to freeze the lasagnas since those always end up a bit watery and using uncooked noodles helps absorb the extra moisture.

 

Yes, this was a really wonderful discovery for me.  The biggest trick is to make sure all the noodles have sauce over them -- otherwise any bits left sticking out naked will be baked dry.

 

Sometimes I end up adding a little water before I put it in the oven if my sauce seems a little too sludgy.

[Joyofsixreboot]

I use my electric kettle constantly for tea, etc. I found it at that fancy store....Big Lots 😄

[SparklyUnicorn]

Does this method work well with whole wheat pasta? So many of us have been wasting so much time all these years!

 

I don't see why not, but I will test it out.

[Mothersweets]

I 'discovered' electric kettles about 5 years ago. We use ours several times a day for coffee, tea, ramen. I LOVE my electric kettle and don't know what I would do without it.

 

I found ours at Target for about $30 - best thirty bucks I ever spent!

 

and I'm definitely going to try the cold water pasta method next time we have noodles!

[VaKim]

My parents had an electric kettle (we called it a coffee pot) that always stayed plugged in and kept the water hot all day. They use to use it to make instant coffee back when they drank it all day long. I don't even think they sell that kind anymore. I liked it better than the ones now, that you have to turn on to heat the water up every time you want it hot. I have one of those, but never use it.

 

About the pasta, I always bring the water to a boil, throw in the noodles, turn the heat off and put a lid on the pot. I might try the op's method next time. 

Edited March 1, 2016 by VaKim

[Laura Corin]

The thing is, if the water is hot all day, it's not good for tea: you need freshly boiled water for tea - it it's hot for long, it loses its oxygen.

Edited March 1, 2016 by Laura Corin

[J-rap]

Uh, remember the (unofficial) board rules, missy! If a poster references a good recipe, said poster must also provide that recipe. Thank you for your cooperation. 

 

Here you go, ma'am!   :)

 

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/slow-cooker-spinach-and-ricotta-lasagna-with-romaine-salad

[Barb_]

An electric kettle and a French Press make the best coffee hands down. It's the only way to make coffee at the correct temperature. We use ours for coffee, for tea, for speeding up the cooking process...mine is going all day long. I buy the Hamilton Beach one at Costco for $20 and it lasts 5-6 years before I need a replacement.

[redsquirrel]

Alton Brown is a cold start pasta convert. He wrote a blog on it:

 

http://altonbrown.com/cold-water-method-pasta-recipe/

 

Boom.  If Alton says it's ok, then I'm good.

 

And my sister owns an electric kettle and I wish I did. I don't have room for it though. I used to have a kettle on the stove but it finally died, after about 10 years of daily use.  Now, I just boil water in the micro or in a pot when I make tea.  We go through a lot of tea.  I could get a new kettle, but I have come to like not having it on my stovetop all the time.

[Tsuga]

Does this work for al dente?

[Barb_]

Does this work for al dente?

Hmm, good question. What is the texture like?

[KungFuPanda]

Most people I know have electric kettles. They're in a lot of stores here in the mid Atlantic. A friend's 22-year-old daughter just got married and she even registered for one. Some have different temperature settings for different teas. My kettle has one temp, but I also have a Zojirushi water boiler with three temperature settings. I've used that thing constantly for 7-8 years.

 

As for the original question, a friend put the pasta in before a boil once and it got all sticky. I never attempted it after that. I have trouble believing people didn't try this before and reject is for some reason. Maybe it throws off the timing and you have you hover over it? Or the stickiness? I not know. I do make lasagna without pre-cooking, but those noodles aren't as delicate as angel hair.

[redsquirrel]

Most people I know have electric kettles. They're in a lot of stores here in the mid Atlantic. A friend's 22-year-old daughter just got married and she even registered for one. Some have different temperature settings for different teas. My kettle has one temp, but I also have a Zojirushi water boiler with three temperature settings. I've used that thing constantly for 7-8 years.

 

As for the original question, a friend put the pasta in before a boil once and it got all sticky. I never attempted it after that. I have trouble believing people didn't try this before and reject is for some reason. Maybe it throws off the timing and you have you hover over it? Or the stickiness? I not know. I do make lasagna without pre-cooking, but those noodles aren't as delicate as angel hair.

 

The stickiness is from starch. It could be caused by stirring the pasta too much. That can happen even if you put the pasta in after the boil.  You can also do it with rice. Yumm... rice paste. Or it could mean the outside is cooking faster than the inside, which is what I have always assumed would happen if you put the pasta in cold water to cook.

 

And angle hair pasta is so, so thin that it only needs to boil for, what, 3 mins? It's really fast.  My mom only makes angel hair because she is impatient, lol. I can see how it would be very easy to over cook. Even putting it in boiling water it is easy to over cook. I actually don't like it because I find it to be too sticky and difficult to sauce well.

 

I'm going to try this tonight, pasta is on the menu, and keep an eye on it.  I am mostly concerned about it sticking together into a big lump.  I don't want to add oil because that could coat the pasta and keep the water from penetrating.

 

I think I am going to try it in a way that is similar to my rice. I'm going to put it in cold, let it come to  a boil (keeping an eye on sticking) and let it par-boil. Then I'm going to turn off the stove and cover it and let it sit.  It should cook just fine, if I don't let it sit too long.  That would be amazing because it would save on fuel and also mean I might be able to cook pasta in the summer. I don't have a/c so I use the stove as little as possible.

 

I think I won't use spaghetti.  That is most likely to stick together.

 

I know that someone upthread mentioned her grandmother did it that way. I have found a number of things cook very well that way. It does save a lot of fuel. I am always looking for ways to do that.