There is an old saying: A pot has been observed to never boil. However, if you’ve spent time in the kitchen, you know this phrase isn’t quite right! Learn how to prevent water from boiling with a few simple tips and tricks.
Simplify your life and stop the mess before it starts! Messy boiling water is a pain, but you don’t need to deal with them again.
In our ongoing efforts to bring you short, simple guides to kitchen conundrums, today we’re going to talk about hot water!
Well, boiling water is the simplest kitchen technique. And yes, boiling water mayhem still happens to all of us, even the most experienced chef you know.
In fact, there are several things you can do to prevent your pot from boiling over! Home cooks needing to deal with more of the blackened mess on their stove? Not me!
When you are cooking pastarice, potatoes for those mashed potatoor any other starchy favorite, take a bit of this advice and help prevent a boil water mess before you get started!
How to prevent water from boiling
Why does this happen? Usually, when cooking starchy foods like pasta and potatoes, the pot will be overfilled. Not stirring often and/or covering the pot can also cause the water to boil and mess up your stovetop.
Try one of these ideas to prevent this from happening next time!
- A wooden spoon Take a wooden spoon (long enough for it to fit across your pot) and place it across the top of the pot as the water starts to boil.
- Use one Overflow stopper – This is a product meant to solve this problem a lot! The silicone lid captures more water as the foam rises.
- Add ice – Throw an ice cube in your pot! This method very quickly prevents the water from frothing and boiling by immediately lowering the temperature of the water in the pot.
- Adjust the temperature – For the most part, your water only needs to be at a rolling boil if you’re cooking pasta. For many other items, you can reduce the temperature after the water is completely boiled.
- Try a bigger pot – If you are stuffing too many potatoes or too much pasta or rice in the stock pot, you may need a larger one.
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Advice
- Do not add the wooden spoon until the water is almost boiling or has boiled. Otherwise, it will become too warm to exert the desired effect against the bubbles.
- Do not use a lid – The lid prevents steam from escaping when the water boils, which can really make your problem worse.
- Very important: Stir your pasta as soon as you put it in the boiling water. This is when the starch on the outside of the noodles is dissolving, and if you don’t stir, you’ll end up with lumps.
- Don’t add oil to your pasta. It does not prevent stickiness and clumping.
- Add salt as soon as the water comes to a boil so that the salt can be stirred and dissolved. Not only will salt add flavor to your pasta and potatoes, but it can also prevent the foam from boiling quite high if you add salt at that point!
frequently asked Questions
No. Salt only helps to slightly reduce the amount of water in your pot, which probably only prevents the water from boiling rather quickly.
No, don’t add oil to your pasta water – it doesn’t stop the water from boiling and doesn’t prevent the pasta from sticking. This just results in a slippery pasta condition, which keeps your sauce from getting so sticky.
The boiling point of water is 212°F. How long that will take depends on many factors, including the starting water temperature, the amount of water, and the temperature of the burner. A pot of pasta broth usually takes about 5-10 minutes to reach the boiling point.
I would love to hear from you! Are you going to try out any of these quick and easy kitchen tricks?
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