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Not really "passive" cooking as you're just not actively pumping heat into already boiling water and just cooking pasta in steadily cooling water. You can actu

by Exmoor 4y ago

Not really "passive" cooking as you're just not actively pumping heat into already boiling water and just cooking pasta in steadily cooling water. You can actually soften pasta and many other similar foods by just leaving them in room temperature water for a much longer period. Some backpackers do this to reduce weight and it's been the only way I've ever prepared food while backpacking. Admittedly, cold noodles, oatmeal, rice, etc. is a lot more appetizing if you're many miles from the nearest civilization and have worked up a huge hunger from hiking.

qroolen 4y ago
i did once, with lentils; but nothing beats cooked food, no matter if it is pre-soaked or not...
riffraff 4y ago
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.
- mattmaroon 4y ago
  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 4y ago
    > 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 4y ago
  Couscous is pasta and “cooks” just fine for in a cold soak. Doesn’t even take that long.
  - almog 4y ago
    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.
  - throw_m239339 4y ago
    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 4y ago
  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.
ricardobeat 4y ago
Wait, how long would you soak rice to make it edible? I’d imagine it’s longer than 24 hours.
- _whiteCaps_ 4y ago
  Typically you'd use instant / minute rice when backpacking.
  - Scoundreller 4y ago
    I'd imagine the pressure-cooked (ie: autoclaved) ready-to-eat products like Uncle Ben's Express (or whatever they renamed it) will take over a lot of this, at least for those not on a serious budget.
- qbasic_forever 4y ago
  Backpackers typically use parcooked instant rice. Anywhere from like 30 minutes to all day will make it soft. A lot of folks put their cold soaking food in water at the start of the day so it gets jostled around and softened all day as they hike.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
- Exmoor 4y ago
  I've never done it by timer, but a quick search indicates about 90 minutes should be good. I'm always pressed for time and just let it soak while I set up camp, so its usually a little crunchy still when I'm done.
  - OJFord 4y ago
    What are we calling 'edible'? I soak rice a minimum of 30m before cooking, I've definitely ended up leaving it longer than 90m on several occasions, I wouldn't just eat it without cooking as a result.
- 4y ago

by Exmoor 4y ago

qroolen 4y ago

i did once, with lentils; but nothing beats cooked food, no matter if it is pre-soaked or not...

riffraff 4y ago

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.

mattmaroon 4y ago
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 4y ago
  > 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 4y ago
Couscous is pasta and “cooks” just fine for in a cold soak. Doesn’t even take that long.
- almog 4y ago
  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.
- throw_m239339 4y ago
  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 4y ago
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.

ricardobeat 4y ago

Wait, how long would you soak rice to make it edible? I’d imagine it’s longer than 24 hours.

_whiteCaps_ 4y ago
Typically you'd use instant / minute rice when backpacking.
- Scoundreller 4y ago
  I'd imagine the pressure-cooked (ie: autoclaved) ready-to-eat products like Uncle Ben's Express (or whatever they renamed it) will take over a lot of this, at least for those not on a serious budget.
qbasic_forever 4y ago
Backpackers typically use parcooked instant rice. Anywhere from like 30 minutes to all day will make it soft. A lot of folks put their cold soaking food in water at the start of the day so it gets jostled around and softened all day as they hike.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
Exmoor 4y ago
I've never done it by timer, but a quick search indicates about 90 minutes should be good. I'm always pressed for time and just let it soak while I set up camp, so its usually a little crunchy still when I'm done.
- OJFord 4y ago
  What are we calling 'edible'? I soak rice a minimum of 30m before cooking, I've definitely ended up leaving it longer than 90m on several occasions, I wouldn't just eat it without cooking as a result.
4y ago