Why Chefs Save Leftover Pasta Water, and Why You Should, Too - CNET

Among the suggestions home cooks often hear about unforgivable pasta sins, two top the list: overcooking and underseasoning. But you’ve already got this! You know to ignore the recommended cooking time by a minute or two, understanding that crossover cooking and/or added sauce will keep moving the needle toward perfect al dente, and you’re absolutely in the habit of salting your pasta cooking water to a degree that’s “like the sea.”

Those two steps are crucial to get the best outcome for your pasta, no matter the shape, and they deserve top billing. But the world’s most practiced pasta cooks also follow a third maxim: Save your pasta water.

I spoke to three chefs about why hanging onto this liquid gold is a habit you should always practice, no matter what kind of sauce you have — or even if there’s no sauce — simmering nearby.

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