Wooden Spoon To Prevent Boiling Over – Ashley Abramson is a hybrid mom writer in Minneapolis, MN. Her work, which focuses primarily on health, psychology, and parenting, has been featured in the Washington Post, New York Times, Allure, and more. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two sons.
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Wooden Spoon To Prevent Boiling Over
This happens almost every time I make pasta (which is a lot): I put water in a pot, wait 10 minutes for it to boil, and pour in the noodles to watch the foam fill the top of the stove. not long after. I’ve tried most of the tricks in the book, including adding more salt to the pasta water (thanks, Grandma!) and reducing the pasta. But nothing seemed to happen – at least not until recently.
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Last week I found a tip on TikTok that changed the way I cook pasta forever. Here’s the thing: To keep foam from spilling over the top of the pot and onto your stove and counter, simply place your wooden spoon on top of your pasta while it’s cooking.
@justtt_jessica Every time I make pasta! #lifehacks #cooking #fyp #ThisCouldBeUs ♬ Ultimate Hacks – Kelly – Bath of Life
As you can see in the video, the spoon somehow attracts the foam so that it sticks to the pot instead of coming out of it. Some reviews say that it has to do with real wood (and in addition, this hack does not work with some types of wooden spoons). Other reviews say that the spoon just creates a visual cue to remind you to hold the water and turn off the stove if it boils. Of course I have to check myself.
According to Dr. Michelle Dickinson, author of the cookbook Kitchen Science, the foam in a boiling pot of pasta is made up of water, air and starch molecules. The starch and water form a “sandwich layer,” which Dickinson says creates a structure that traps air and steam inside. As the pot heats up, steam-filled bubbles form beneath the existing vessels, eventually causing them to take up more space than they fill the pot. This is when your pot is full of starchy pasta water.
This Is Why It’s Better To Cook With A Wooden Spoon — Eat This Not That
Dickinson says the material of the spoon is important when using this TikTok trick: wooden spoons are insulators, meaning they don’t conduct heat well. That way, when you put the spoon on top of the pot, it stays cooler than the pot and the foam. Thanks to the temperature and the rough and dry structure, the spoon leaves foam. Then, the bursting bubble releases steam that cools instantly, creating a small cooling air stream.
Although a single bubble may be produced by touching the spoon, the surrounding foam may also be detonated by either physical shock waves caused by a burst bubble or cooling air currents that disturb the surface of the foam, causing multiple bubbles to form. “This minimizes the number of bubbles on the stovetop, and as long as they pop faster than new bubbles are forming, your pot shouldn’t boil,” says Dickinson.
Of course, knowing it was more science than magic at play, I had to try it myself on my kids’ mac and cheese. After pouring the noodles into the boiling water, I put a wooden spoon on top of the pot, then stood and waited, hoping to find a hack to pass it on to my grandchildren (or at least generously share the duo with two TikTok followers).
It didn’t take long to see the trick work. As soon as I added the noodles, the water bubbled too much, so the smallest amount was boiled. But wait: The spoon contains the remaining bubbling water outside the pot! The water came close to the edge a few more times, but the spoon served as a perfect barrier.
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I will definitely try the science experiment again with a different type of pasta – maybe my rice noodles or plain rice. Along with discovering the hack I was excited to share with anyone who would listen, I was also happy to have an excuse not to invest in a spoon rest. Over the years, modernization has taken over. From writing letters to communicating over the phone or through social media platforms, the world has come a long way. Cooking and service technology has also developed. There was a time when people ate using porcelain. But with modern kitchens and other cooking equipment, cooking has become easier.
However, even in this modern era, some ancient hacks can reach us. Often when cooking, individuals are busy with more than one task at a time. For example, you can let go of your pasta and start cutting vegetables. No matter how fast you go, there is a chance that the water will boil and make a mess.
The probability is always higher when the pasta is cooked, because the starch molecules absorb into the water and make the foam stronger. These bubbles form a thick layer of foam over the entire surface of the device. This prevents steam from escaping and causes a small burst of water.
A hack to avoid this situation is to balance a wooden spoon on top of the pot. They say that the thin handle of a wooden spoon prevents foam from reaching the bay. This is not magic. There is actually quite a bit of science behind this phenomenon. According to the report by
How To Prevent Boil Overs
This phenomenon can happen mainly because of two notable characteristics of wood: it absorbs water very well; it is also an insulator that conducts bad heat.
When you place a wooden spoon over a pot, the rough surface of the spoon and the hydrophilic nature of the wood create the perfect environment for small bubbles to form in the boiling water. A wooden spoon, because of its rough texture, has plenty of surface area to absorb these bubbles and prevent them from spilling onto your stove.
As the wooden spoon absorbs these bubbles, it stretches them and forces the bubbles out. In this scenario, the stretching force exceeds the surface tension force that holds the bubbles together. Thus, the bubble collapses and the foam settles.
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Of all materials, wooden containers have the highest capacity to withstand boiling water. This is because wood is more absorbent and heat resistant than steel or aluminum.
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A team of writers bring you stories about what’s causing a stir on the Internet as they explore science, cricket, technology, sex, Bollywood… Read more Nothing hurts more than cleaning a pot of boiling water than pasta. no, but this simple hack prevents it!
It sounds crazy, but it actually works and tastes good. In addition, it gives a bright purple color to the macaroni.
In the last minute or two of cooking the pasta, add the vegetables to the boiling salted water. The pasta and vegetables cook at the same time and you can drain them all in a colander.
Seriously: starchy, salty pasta water is the key ingredient to any really good, authentic Italian pasta sauce. A few spoonfuls in your sauce, and you will be a believer.
Why Does A Wooden Spoon Stop Pasta From Boiling Over? « Food Hacks :: Wonderhowto
Take it from Italian chef Fabio Viviani himself. The “grandma” way of making pasta, by hand, takes forever and is very messy. Whipping up dough in a food processor takes minutes with no mess, and it frees up your hands for a glass of wine. Winner!
Martha Stewart’s one-pot pasta recipe (including the sauce) is worth trying at least once in your slow cooker or crock pot on your stove.
The sauce, made from olive oil, butter, pecorino (or Parmesan) and black pepper, goes into the instant ramen in a convincing way.
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