I'd like to know what is the temperature range in which pasta can be cooked in water.
I'd be interested in this in order to waste less energy/heat as opposed to cooking it in rolling boiling water and then draining away water that's still over 90 C.
If say the temperature window is 60 C and upwards, and the cooking time (as per manufacturer) is 5 minutes at 100 C, would it be reasonable to consider 5 min x 100 C as a sum that needs to be achieved, and calculate at which temperature water has to be heated to, then drop pasta in, keep heating until reaching a temperature in which the remaining cooking time can be achieved just by letting water cool down to the bottom of cooking temperature range?
Thank you
Best Answer
Cooking pasta (i assume dried pasta here) has two stages:
The hydration can be done completely off the stove, earning you back come of the cooking time and energy. Just soak the pasta in water, it depends on the type of pasta and thickness, if your soaking time is more than 4 hours, i would refrigerate it to avoid food-borne illnesses.
The starch gelatinization is the part that actually the pasta becomes cooked. Most starches gelatinize at 80C. That would be a good starting point for temperature, and since your pasta is already soaked, you just need to keep your pasta until you get your desired texture (mine is al dente) and cook in minimal amount of water to gelatinize.