Pasta Cooking Time

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Altitude, water, and environment

  • Several commenters note that altitude significantly affects boiling temperature and thus cook time: in high-altitude US cities, box times can be accurate or even low, while at sea level in the UK/Europe they’re often too long.
  • Water chemistry is debated: hardness, alkalinity, and acidity may all slightly change cooking time. One commenter with very alkaline municipal water suspects it shortens times; another with acidic well water sees much longer times.
  • Pasta type (whole wheat vs white), shape, and thickness also strongly affect time; some very thick or unusual pastas take 15–18 minutes without turning mushy.

Timing vs tasting

  • Many insist pasta should not be cooked “by the clock” but by tasting: start near the box’s low estimate and test repeatedly.
  • Others defend timing as a useful baseline, especially for unfamiliar brands, then adjusting one’s personal “known good” time.
  • Several point out that pasta continues to cook after draining and especially if finished in sauce, so it should come out slightly underdone.

Al dente, doneness, and culture wars

  • Thread contains a mini culture war: some view overcooked pasta as a near-crime; others openly prefer soft or even “mushy” pasta and reject “pasta snobbery.”
  • Disagreement over what “al dente” means: some equate it with a slightly raw white core; others argue that’s undercooked, and true al dente should have resistance without a chalky center.
  • Some non-Italians criticize common US/UK practices: overcooking, dumping jarred sauce on plain spaghetti, or not marrying pasta and sauce.

Pasta quality, shapes, and brands

  • Multiple people stress buying higher-protein, bronze-die pasta as a bigger factor than obsessing over seconds of cook time.
  • Bronze vs Teflon dies: consensus that bronze gives a rougher surface that holds sauce better and yields starchier water, though some say this is overemphasized relative to thickness and flour quality.

Sauce, pasta water, and finishing

  • Strong advocacy for finishing pasta in a pan with sauce and some cooking water, rather than saucing on the plate.
  • Ongoing myths and clarifications:
    • Pasta water is indeed starchy, but the effect is modest with a single batch unless you use less water or reuse it.
    • Oil in the water doesn’t prevent sticking; it may help prevent foaming/boil-over but can slightly hinder sauce adhesion.
    • “Salty like the ocean” is widely considered far too salty; people suggest much lower concentrations.

Energy, water use, and alternative methods

  • Some promote “passive cooking”: boil briefly, then turn off heat and cover to save energy, citing Barilla’s guidance.
  • Others recommend using less water overall (with more stirring) for faster heating and starchier water.
  • Alternative techniques discussed include soaking pasta to pre-hydrate, cooking pasta like rice, no-boil baked pasta, pressure-cooker/Instant Pot methods, and pre-cooking in restaurants then finishing to order.

Science-minded experimentation vs intuition

  • Many enjoy the article’s measurement-heavy, experimental approach as “very HN.”
  • Others argue that in everyday cooking, training one’s senses (feel, taste, appearance) is more practical than building strict rules, especially given variation in ingredients, equipment, and preferences.