To leave DD (10) home alone for 4 hours and expect her to cook lunch for our return

[Quattrocento]

Well, AIBU?

I'm sorry QC but as far I'm concerned YABVU - your carbonara recipe is a total travesty. Onion and cream??????

I wouldn't let my 10 year old do this on their own. Cutting proper pancetta is difficult and requires a super sharp knife. Pasta for us would also require around 5 litres of boiling water, there is no way I would want my son carrying this across the kitchen and emptying it into the sink on his own.

5 liters of water!!! Goodness how many in your family - we used to use quantites like this for 20 in the restaurant

Most chefs advise that 500g of pasta requires at least 4 litres of salted water.

I doubt I could manage 5L of water plus pasta in a saucepan - I can just about manage 1.5L of water (weak wrists) - in fact, the only saucepan I have that could hold 5L of water is my enormous soup cauldron!

I've jst re-checked and yep, most advise that you should use 1 litre of water per 100 grams of pasta. I think you may be overestimating the volume of 5 litres. I never cook less than 500g of pasta and frequently a lot more.

Usually buy pre-chopped pancetta (agree that the recipe is totally bastardised though). Am quite a purist over bolognaise but anything goes with carbonara.

Usually use 500g of pasta for 4 of us but nowhere near 4 litres of water. Closer to one litre if I had to guess.

We teach the DCs to fill the kettle and take the kettle to the saucepan rather than the saucepan to the kettle. Obv we were there when she dished up but wouldn't have had any qualms - she's dished up rice and pasta often enough ...

Our kettle holds 1.7L of water. we use 1 full kettle load of water for our pasta, usually about 250g for 2 of us. I don't think I am underestimating what 5L of water looks like, thanks.

I would be amazed if you could cook 500g in one litre of water - that is a really small amount in a saucepan. I would have thought it would all stick together. It's the draining of the pasta that would bother me. I have frequently scalded my hands doing this.

or even overestimating it

My husband always cooks pasta in only just enough water to cover it. It used to drive me nuts until I realised that it actually worked. 5l is utterly unnecessary im(new and revised)o. And it doesn't stick together either!

thumbwitch, so for 500g pasta, that would be 3.4 litres of water then

I'm with duchesse, never measured water to cook pasta in my life. Never even occured to me. Just add enough water to well cover the pasta! As for letting a 10 year old cook alone. Sorry not in my house. Glad they are cooking etc and that is great but not unsupervised. Good grief, they only have to lean over the gas or put a tea towel too close and a major fire could start. I've set a towel on fire before and I'm 44

It would never occur to me to measure the water - I just know how much I need relative to how many I'm feeding.

Are you saying that you put the pasta in first and then pour boiling water over the top? Is that the way English people do it?

Have never measured the water, just know how much my kettle will hold because it's on the side
Don't cook 500g of pasta, don't need that much.

I think I must be too over protective of my dd, apart from sandwiches she has never cooked anything. I have only just let her walk to school by herself and I still walk her home at night. I don't let her play out on the street either.

I am in awe.

How old is she Fimbo?

I think this is great. Well done Quattro & dd.

Piscesmoon - she will be 11 in June

I think it is a good idea to get them cooking, Fimbo-while you are there.

I never imagined that the thread would get quite so preoccupied with how much water it takes to cook a packet of pasta!

Thanks to all for your contributions. I will let you know when DS is left home alone to cook lunch. He is clamouring for it now ...

lol Quattro

Suggestion for Quattro-could you start a new post-AIBU for not bothering/caring how much water others use for their pasta....

Can we just assume that Quattro's dd is sensible enough (or has had enough tuition) to do these things safely?

Perhaps the sink is close enough to the cooker to not necessitate carrying boiling water across the room. In our kitchen you wouldn't need to carry it across the floor at all as they are right next to each other.

Also not all houses have gas. You have to lean over an electric cooker for quite a while before setting anything on fire.

Also , a 10 yo ought to know what you do if you spill a cup of tea down your front (icecold showers for 10 minutes). Don't you lot give your children first aid training?

5 dangerous things you should let your kids do