What is the purpose of putting salt in water for boiling?!
Answers: I've always put salt in water before I boil it, e.g., if I am making hard boiled eggs or pasta. Is it necessary to do this? If so, what is the purpose of putting salt in the water?
Adding salt raises the boiling point of water, which can help regulate (or speed up) cooking time.
At sea level, water boils at 212F. At altitude, however, that boiling point drops (due to decrease in pressure) significantly. If water is boiling at 192F, it will take significantly longer to cook your food. Also, many foods benefit from being cooked faster at higher heat. Pasta especially will reach the perfect "al dente" stage quickly and reliably with a little salt thrown in the water.
It doesn't make any difference for eggs, but it flavors the pasta. This is true of boiling vegetables, rice, other grains. Never add salt when cooking dried beans, though, because it makes them tough.
You don't need to add salt to the water to boil eggs. Putting salt in the water for pasta is optional. It is just to give it flavor. I try to watch my salt intake, so I don't add salt to pasta and it tastes just fine.
It helps with flavor and is supposed to help raise the temperature of the water.
salt allows the water to remain at a boil at lower temperatures (don't remember the chemical reaction why bit..) You put it in eggs so that if one cracks it coagulates the white fast and seals the rest while it cooks also the temperature is a bit lower than without and this helps stop the yoke edges from turning grey
I put salt in my water before I put in potatoes and corn to give it flavor plus its something less I have to add when I take it out of the water.
Putting salt in the water raises the boiling temperature quicker and adds flavor to what you are cooking. Adding salt to eggs makes peeling them better, why...........I don't know, but I'm sure if you're a Food Channel Fan, Alton Brown will tell you why. This information is just from a simple cook of 20 yrs. experience and from the many Chef's I have had the pleasure of apprenticing under.
Well, putting salt in water makes whatever you are cooking, cook faster. This is because the addition of salt raises the boiling point of the water (NaCl plus water has a higher boiling point than just water alone).
Aso, like mentioned above, it flavors the pasta/rice. And also like said above you do not want to add it beans b/c it makes them tough. It's better to slow cook beans so they are tender. If you try to cook them faster, they will be tough and nasty..lol
If you want your eggs to cook a bit faster then add the salt to the water, but I suppose it doesn't decrease the cooking time THAT significantly...
-chai
P.S. Sorry to get all nerdy on you with the chemical explanation of adding salt to water, but sometimes I can't help it..lol :)
As far as I know dearie,,,,it's only for taste....you also can add a little oil so it doesn't boil over and it keeps the pasta, if thats what you are cooking, from sticking together....
as far as eggs go, a little salt, a little vinegar, is suppose to help the eggs peel better...However , I believe that depends on the age of the eggs, more so than anything you can add to the water.....
it raises the temp making it boil faster along with adding flavor to the dish. Only use this if the meal requires salt if not you're only making the water salty.
Hope this helps.
When you put it in for the eggs it makes them easier to peel when your ready. And salt does raise the boiling point of the water. I really don't remember why, I learned about it in science class in high school and science wasn't my thing, and that was at least 10 years ago.
Anyway I remember something about cooking foods in salted boiling water also but don't remember the details.