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Do you save and reuse pasta cooking water?


Margaret Pilgrim

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nope. I may slop  a some into a sauce, but it doesn't do the thickening job that a restaurant's pasta water can do because it isn't as concentrated. More often I use cornstarch slurry .

 

That pasta water advice sounds like clickbait.

"10 surprising reasons to save used pasta water"

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9 hours ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

I've oft read that there is good reason to save and reuse water you've cooked pasta in.     All kinds of uses suggested, from use in bread dough to watering plants.    Do you do this, and is so in what ways?

 

Could you provide some links about those uses? Thanks.

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Never.  We do have a pasta situation in our house.  I like it al dente and Ed likes it what I 'lovingly' call al mushe.

 

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I'll cook vegetables in the salted water BEFORE I cook the pasta and I reserve some water to add to a sauce but once it's served, the rest goes down the drain.  I don't want starchy, salty water on my plants!

 

 

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3 hours ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Needed to reGoogle, but here are a couple of opinion, some amusing, some straight.    https://www.seriouseats.com/talk/2013/02/how-long-can-you-keep-reusing-pasta-water.html 

My first response to the original question is "Ewww.no." But in the comments section of you linked-to article, one person does bring up an exception which I also thought of:

Quote

According to my mother the street food hawkers in Thailand use the same pot of Looing Master Sauce for decades. It gets passed down from generation to generation. They just reboil it and add their pork and boiled eggs, and add water if the level gets too low.

The Master Sauce has been discussed in the Chinese forum before. It is reboiled for each use. It is filtered/strained after use and then stored in the refrigerator. If it doesn't get used shortly, it gets frozen and then eventually thawed for its next use. More of the original spices are added after a couple of uses of the sauce to reinvigorate it. 

So what's the difference in doing the same thing to pasta water?

 

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25 minutes ago, Toliver said:

 

 

The Master Sauce ...is reboiled for each use. It is filtered/strained after use and then stored in the refrigerator. If it doesn't get used shortly, it gets frozen and then eventually thawed for its next use.

 

LOL.    I never looked at my re-purposing in this light before.  

 

Husband is often frustrated that I can't recreate a dish he particularly enjoyed.    He doesn't understand that there is never exactly the same saved "sauce" in the refrigerator. 

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43 minutes ago, Toliver said:

The Master Sauce has been discussed in the Chinese forum before. It is reboiled for each use. It is filtered/strained after use and then stored in the refrigerator. If it doesn't get used shortly, it gets frozen and then eventually thawed for its next use. More of the original spices are added after a couple of uses of the sauce to reinvigorate it. 

 

 

Yes, it is, but only in professional catering. I've never known it done at home, although  I suppose there is always the odd exception to everything.

However, 卤水 (lǔ shuǐ) aka "master sauce" is a complex blend of flavors which develop over time. Pasta water is just starch in water. Can't see any benefit of keeping that going for years or even days.

 

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Agreed - Master Sauce = different animal. Pasra water - why & who has the fridge space?  On a busy night in a pasta driven restaurant perhaps biu otherwise seems bit goofy. 

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