We have all done it: you put the pasta on to the boil, turn your back for a few minutes to wipe off the counter or read a newspaper and suddenly you hear that foreboding hissing sound of water boiling over.
So why does this happen????
It has everything to do with the composition of pasta.
Pasta is made from
1. Flour
2. water.
3. sometimes egg....
That means it is basically just starch and protein rolled out into different shapes and dried. It’s the starch molecules that are important. Once they are heated in a moist environment-like a pot of water- starch will absorb more and more water until it finally bursts. That sends little starch molecules into your water, resulting in white foam.
It's the foam layer on top that causes the problems. What has happened is the starch makes the bubbles that were already there more stretchy and pliable, so it takes longer for them to burst. A lot of bubbles on the surface doesn't allow for proper ventilation of steam. Meaning the pot of boiling water boiling water becomes superheated of the pot isn't stirred out the frothy bubbles to expand and pop up, resulting in boiling- hot pasta water over your stove if not carefull :p
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