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4 quarts of water and 1 tablespoon salt! Recipe calls for 1.5lb. pasta I am using only .5lb! Do I ne

2K views 6 replies 6 participants last post by  chef ray 
#1 ·
Hey guys good evening! I consider intelligent in certain areas of math however I honestly truly don't know how to figure this "math problem" out in my head!

I am making spaghetti meatballs and recipe calls to boil 1.5lb. pasta in 4 quarts of water and 1 tablespoon salt! I only want to cook up .5 lb. pasta! In my head I am thinking it doesn't matter the amount of pasta you use because the salt to water ratio isn't changing, is this true? Do I need to change any quantities?

Can someone kindly explain this for me? Thank you very much see ya
 
#3 ·
hey jimbo i appreciate the reply, yea you see that is what i was talking about, i am concerned about the water/salt ratio! even with my basic knowledge of science it seems pretty simple: the amount of salt in the water is not changed, only the pasta, so the pasta shouldn't be absorbing  any more salt, it should stay equal . .

still unsure though..... pasta tasted fine!

thanks!
 
#4 ·
It's not enough that the water cover the pasta, it has to have plenty of room to move around as it boils.  Otherwise  when the pasta hits the water, it will cool down too much, the pasta will start to soften without really cooking and the end result may be a sticky, the water cloudy.  Use lots of water.  The amount is really not so much a matter of measurement as it is depth in the pot, so the pasta can slosh around.  A very wide pot will need more water.   Plus, a tbsp of salt is far too LITTLE for 4 quarts of water.  I use a handful of salt, it would probably be 4 heaping tbsp.  It makes a difference. 
 
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