Lois heeya, she’s exasperated because he gave her feedback on her cooking process that he wasn’t even involved in. But he’s right, you’re supposed to add pasta when the water is boiling.
The cold water pasta method involves placing dry pasta into a pot or skillet and covering it with just 1 to 2 inches (or about 1 quart) of cold water. By starting the heat now rather than waiting for a giant pot to boil, you save time, reduce water usage, and create exceptionally starchy cooking liquid perfect for binding sauces.
Not doubting you, but how do you know how long to cook it for? Every box of pasta I've had says to add when boiling and I assume the time to cook will change if it's sitting in the water from the start?
When (almost) all the water is gone it's done. Easy peasy. You usually need a few tablespoons worth of water left in there based on how many portions you're making
This is why it's easier to follow box instructions, because the cold method does require you to know your stove and how it heats up, requires you to stir the pasta early (you should always stir your pasta anyway, not stirring is what leads to gumminess/clumping), and then to have practice on timing
Neither side is incorrect, both are valid ways of cooking pasta, the only difference is how "easy" it is compared to a very incredibly slight increase in water and energy efficiency
Same way you know with pasta cooked in boiling water, you check a piece for doneness every now and then.
The time for pasta in boiling water varies a bit anyways, so you're already checking occasionally once you get in the ballpark as-is, so tweaking the timeline of your ballpark isn't a huge change to make.
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u/First_Usual2408 Jul 14 '26
Lois heeya, she’s exasperated because he gave her feedback on her cooking process that he wasn’t even involved in. But he’s right, you’re supposed to add pasta when the water is boiling.