Vent: Tried the 'no salt until the end' pasta water thing and it was a total fail

I saw a bunch of posts saying to only salt your pasta water right before it finishes cooking, so I tried it on a batch of fresh fettuccine. The pasta came out tasting flat and the texture felt off, like it didn't absorb anything. I did a side-by-side test the next day with my usual heavily salted boiling water from the start, and the difference was night and day. Has anyone else actually cooked with this method and gotten a good result, or is it just theory?

3 comments

3 Comments

jana_hart1811h ago

Honestly I've been salting my pasta water from the start for years and it always works. Why would you wait until the end when the pasta needs to absorb that salt as it cooks? I tried the late salt method once and the noodles were just bland, like you said. Maybe it works for some shapes but not for fresh pasta.

patricialee1h ago

Yeah that part about the noodles being bland hits home, I did the late salt thing once and my pasta tasted like it was cooked in sad water. @jana_hart18 is totally right, the salt needs time to get into the pasta while it boils. I felt like such a fool, my whole dinner was just off. Never making that mistake again, it's start of the boil or nothing for me now.

jennifer_jenkins7h ago

My friend Mark tried salting his water after the pasta was already boiling last week. His spaghetti tasted like cardboard, no flavor at all. He's back to salting from the start now.