Noodles

[xaelzc]

There has been a question nagging on me for quite a while. The question that i have is complicated and not completely about cooking.

If noodles such as spagetti or macaroni, are to be put on the stove with a liquor (beer, Jack Daniels, etc.), will it absorb the alcohol as well as water or just water, I realize the boiling points of the water and of liquors are different, but need to know if noodles absorb water only or alcohol and other liquids too.

 

[boar_d_laze]

Yes they will.

BDL

 

[pcieluck]

Pasta will absorb any liquid just as easy as water, but keep in mind that you may need more liquid than usual. Consider, for example, how much more liquid is required to cook rice in a stock than it would to make plain white rice with water.

If i was trying to get a particular flavor into pasta, I'd be much more inclined to make a fresh pasta and incorporate it into the dough. I have seen a few pasta recipes that use a dash of white wine. Imagine too, how much more costly it is to fill a pot with your favorite liquor to cook pasta in it, when a few ounces into the dough would probably get plenty of that flavor into your pasta

 

[dc sunshine]

I'd rather make my sauce with alcohol in it, rather than boiling the pasta with alcohol.  As said above, yes it will absorb the alcohol.  Don't think I've heard of that before and certainly have not tried it.  Would be curious to hear back if you do try it and see how the taste was.

 

[kcz]

Don't you think most of the alcohol would boil off before it was absorbed into the pasta, since the boiling point of alcohol is only 172*F ?   Particularly if you waited to add the pasta until the liquid is at a full boil?  While making desserts and ice cream using syrups made from rum, liqueurs, etc, I have found that it doesn't take much heat to dissipate almost all the alcohol from the liquor.  I don't believe the pasta would absorb much alcohol at all, while it would absorb the other components of the liquid in question.

 

[chrislehrer]

The poster, xaelzc, hasn't yet explained. The question as posed isn't complicated at all, if we assume that the issue is simply absorption of flavor. But the question is about alcohol as such, and is stated to be both complicated and not entirely about cooking. So I suspect that we need a clearer formulation of what's at stake here.

 

[pcieluck]

I get the idea that the poster was asking a purely hypothetical question and doesn't even intend on trying this.

 

[chefedb]

The heat factor will cook off some of the alcohol content, but not the flavor which is a separate issue. There are pasta dish recipes that are cooked in wine.