Elbow Macaroni Cooking Tips
Elbow macaroni is a common type of pasta. It is used to create a variety of dishes, the most widely popular of which is macaroni and cheese. It is fairly easy to cook elbow macaroni in water. However, some simple techniques can be used to enhance its quality and flavor. Does this Spark an idea?
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Adding Salt
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Add salt to the water once it begins to boil, but before you add the dry elbow macaroni. Salt brings out the natural flavor of the pasta. You can add up to 2 tsp. salt to optimize the macaroni's taste. Most of the salt drains with the water and is not absorbed by the pasta. This means you will not largely increase the sodium of your dish by using salt this way. Wait until the water is boiling to add salt. Otherwise, undissolved salt crystals that normally disappear into hot water can mar the surface of your pot.
Baked Pasta
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Elbow macaroni is a popular choice for baked pasta dishes. Macaroni used this way is cooked twice. Therefore, you should reduce its boiling time before mixing it with other ingredients and putting it in the oven. Boil your elbow macaroni until it becomes flexible, but is still noticeably firm. Usually this takes about one-third the normal boiling time. Reducing the boiling time helps avoid overcooking your baked pasta.
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Portion Sizes
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Sometimes it can be difficult to measure how much dry elbow macaroni you need to cook for everyone to get enough. Elbow macaroni becomes over twice its original size when cooked in boiling water. One cup, or 4 oz., dry elbow macaroni swells into 2 1/2 cups cooked pasta. This amount of cooked pasta is an adequate serving size as a main dish for one person.
Cold Water
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Only use cold water when boiling elbow macaroni. Hot water may dissolve and carry impurities in your home's water system into your pot. Cold water does not dissolve contaminants as easily. Although the impurities may not necessarily harm your health, their flavors can be absorbed by your pasta. Elbow macaroni is noted for its unique pasta taste, so using warm water can introduce contaminants that degrade rather than enhance its flavor. Cold water is not as problematic. Install a filtering system if you know your water is susceptible to impurities.
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References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
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Comments
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I did not know this. But why do they say add butter when you boil macaroni?
