Pasta should go into boiling water. AIBU?

[MadMaryBoddington]

Dh cooks pasta by putting it into a pan of cold water then putting it onto the hob. HIBU isn’t he?

I am aware that I have no moral high ground and that if I want it doing a certain way, I should just do it myself. But he’s still wrong, isn’t he?

I put it to you, MN jury...

He is being VVVVVVVVV unreasonable - surely that's a recipe for a horrific starchy, gloopy mess? The water should be salty as the ocean and on a rolling boil!

He is definitely wrong. It sticks together and goes all slimey in places and doesn't cook properly in others if you put it into cold water.

I use boiling water. Sure it's still fine using cold but must take ages!

Yanbu.
He is wrong.

No I put it in cold water too! It saves time. While you are waiting for it to boil it could actually be cooking from the start when it’s cold

I'm with your husband on this one. Though can see the advantages of doing it your way.
Frankly, I don't think it's something to be bothered/opinionated about.

I pour boiling water on the pasta and put on the hob

I put it in cold water and heat on hob. Not had an issue with it

Yes he is a pasta boiling buffoon. Always boiling water

Except for the texture, it is ok. My mum used to cook pasta like this to feed a young cousin of mine who liked stodgy, mushy pasta.

Cold water for me too unless it's spaghetti and no salt. What is the salt meant to do? I know you're meant to use it but we don't salt anything so never remember to.

Boil water in kettle, transfer to pan, add salt, bring to boil in pan, add pasta.

Urgh. It must come out all soggy.

How long does he cook it for for god's sake? By the time the water's come to the boil it's already been on the hob for way too long surely.

He does know pasta should be eaten al dente doesn't he? It's not supposed to be boiled to within an inch of its life.

Boiling water and a splash of olive oil, once cooked rinse in boiling water.

Gross. It needs to be boiling. Also add a little oil so that it doesn’t boil over.

@tattychicken has it spot on.

I feel your pain tho OP. Your dh is so wrong.

Could be worse tho...someone I know starts boiling the pasta (in about an inch of water - she practically uses the absorption method like with rice) BEFORE she starts even browning the mince for bolognese ?! Pasta is boiled for over 20 mins The pan is covered in a thick layer of stodgy starch. Rank

Urgh, starchy soggy mess. Put pasta in pan, pour over boiling water from the kettle - kettle boils more quicker (and I suspect more efficiently) than a pan on the stove and no splashing boiling water as you drop pasta into it.

Thank you. I knew I was right.

‘Pasta boiling buffoon’

Pasta goes into boiling water. Why would you want it to slowly dissolve as cold water heats up? Weird. It's not like the cooking process is going to be any quicker either. Pasta is a fairly small object that does not take an eternity to warm up. Potatoes go into cold water as they are large and you want them to be mushy.

Doesn’t it just dissolve?

He is unrepentant. I showed him the thread and he just read out all the posts that agree with him.

I remember reading that the less time the food is in contact with water the better for flavour etc. I use fresh pasta which only takes 3 mins to boil or 4 from frozen put into boiling water with salt and some oil. Potatoes the same put into salted boiling water

It's boiling water you should use, you're correct. Pasta shoild be cooked al dente, a small bite to it, and not mushy. Cooking it from cold water will make it too soft at best, mushy at worst.

On a separate note, I had the best pasta I'd had in a long time in a Birmingham restaurant a couple of weeks ago. Cooked by an Italian. Al dente, with just olive oil, fresh garlic, chilli flakes, and some sea food. My husband had his with a spicey sausage tomato sauce, it was also al dente and delicious.

It's very easy to over cook pasta, and forget how good it tastes cooked right. Cooking from cold water is guaranteed to not cook it right...

Why on earth is he wasting all that time by heating a pan of water up from cold? Just boil a kettle, put the hot water in a saucepan, lots of salt and then add pasta.

I've always cooked mine in cold water. Never been mushy and I rinse after and it doesn't stick together. I do know now why DH's is mushy, he obviously does it for too long. As soon as mine is soft I switch it off.