[riffraff]

Pasta needs to reach something like 80 degrees to "cook", if you just soak it at 35 it will not be the same result.

The method described here (which has been around for centuries) instead gets you the same result as cooking in constantly boiling water, saving a lot of gas/electricity.

[almog]

A cold-soaking only approach works well with instant noodles, dehydrated pasta and freeze dried pasta (all of which are pre-cooked).

However, a hybrid approach, meaning cold-soaking your meal an hour or so before dinner then heating, can help speed up the cooking process and thus save fuel (weight).

Having tried all of the above I can say that for me at least, many Korean ramens + peanut butter are a godsend that lend themselves really well to cold-soaking not just in ease of use but in taste too.

[mattmaroon]

I really doubt it’s a lot. I really don’t think it’s much at all, and that’s why they’ve got the asterisk on the number.

Water has really high specific heat capacity, and there’s a lot more water than noodles (by mass). You’re using a lot more energy to heat the water than the noodles. Most people switch to low heat (the water just has to stay boiling, how fast doesn’t much matter) at about the same time this would have you switch it off. So you’re saving a little bit of energy for the last maybe 25% of the process.

[riffraff]

> I really doubt it’s a lot. I really don’t think it’s much at all, and that’s why they’ve got the asterisk on the number.

The asterisk is on the 80% claim, a more conservative estimation from a research published by the italian pasta makers association last summer was at 47%, which I think still qualifies as "a lot".

I think you are under-estimating the amount of power required to keep the water boiling, especially on gas stoves.

[sulam]

Couscous is pasta and “cooks” just fine for in a cold soak. Doesn’t even take that long.

[throw_m239339]

You don't need to cook Couscous and it is often pre-cooked in retail. In fact, that's how one prepares Taboulé. For Pasta it is absolutely not the same thing at all. Uncooked pasta isn't good for your stomach. If you don't want to cook pasta, then buy instant ramen, they are already cooked.

[almog]

True but unlike most pasta, store bought couscous is usually pre-steamed/cooked. That plus its small size (large surface area) makes it perfect for cold soak.