It most often ends up in the sink. And yet, the pasta cooking water is full of little-known benefits. Here are five of them that will deter you from throwing it away from now on.
A cleaning product
Put away your chemical cleaning products, the pasta cooking water works very well for dishes or for cleaning and staining furniture, sinks, tiles and clothes. It is indeed full of starch, extracted from pasta during cooking, and which has detergent properties. It is therefore perfect for removing stubborn stains. Be careful, for it to be really effective, it must still be boiling.
Care for damaged hair
If you have smooth, damaged hair, use the pasta water for hair care. Just let it cool, then pour it over your hair and massage your scalp. Let sit for ten minutes, rinse and then use your usual shampoo. Your hair will say thank you because it will be more shiny and silky. This trick also works with the rice cooking water.
A softener for the feet
Do you have swollen and sore feet after a hard day’s work? Take a foot bath with pasta water! Just let it cool down before transferring it to a basin, and immerse your feet in it. Thanks to the minerals it contains, pasta water has a softening and relaxing effect.
A natural weedkiller
Pasta cooking water, if salty, is effective as a natural weedkiller. Just pour it still boiling over the weeds that dot your driveway or garden, being careful not to spill any on your plants and flowers. The weeds will magically disappear after a few days. In fact, boiling water causes a thermal shock which bursts plant cells, while salt sterilizes the soil and eliminates microorganisms harmful to plants.
a binder for sauces
Pasta water is the perfect ingredient to bind a sauce without adding cream, oil or other fat, thanks to the starch it contains. If it is a tomato sauce, it will be used to thicken it. With pesto, she will lengthen it. To do this, just add the pasta water at the end of cooking, at the last minute.
