Pasta is served at least once a week in many households. When it is cooked, we strain them through a sieve and the water ends up in the drain. What else could you do with it? Quite a lot, actually! Thanks to the starch it contains, pasta water can work miracles, both in the kitchen and in the bathroom. We show you several brilliant uses for pasta water.
Pasta water for hair growth
Washing your hair with pasta water? This sounds rather strange at first but the water contains salt, starch and many minerals that can give your hair beautiful shine and volume. It could also improve hair growth.
For the right effect, you can either apply the cooled water directly over your dry hair, let it work for ten minutes and then wash it out with a light shampoo. Or you can use it as a hair rinse, so first wash your hair with shampoo, then leave the hair treatment to work for ten minutes and then wash it off with lukewarm water.
Pasta water as a dish soap
Directly after cooking, you can simply leave the water in the pot – and scrub it with it. The same applies to the pan in which you cooked your sauce. Burnt spots can be cleaned very well by the starch in the pasta water. Just let the hot water soak in for a while, and the dirt will dissolve by itself. This works with potato water, as well.
For thickening a sauce or a soup
Let’s stick to cooking for a moment. Before you use the starchy water to scrub the pots, you can save use a cup of it and use it in your spaghetti sauce. Whether in tomato sauce or pesto, the starch present in the water thickens the sauce and provides extra creaminess. The pasta water should be boiled up with the sauce to achieve the desired effect.
If soup is on the menu the next day, you can also save some pasta water. The effect is the same: the soup thickens slightly and the water adds a little spice to the soup. You can read more about that in this post.
Pasta water for watering plants
Your houseplants will also thank you if you pour the spaghetti water into the soil instead of into the drain. Because of the minerals it contains, the water acts as a natural fertilizer and is good for plants. This way you can also give new life to plants that have long since lost their leaves. However, so that you don’t kill your plants accidentally, you should definitely let the water cool down beforehand. Read more about that in this post.
For soaking chickpeas and beans
If you prefer to buy dried chickpeas or beans, you must soak them before cooking. Instead of using normal water, you can also use the remaining pasta water. This gives the legumes a slightly salty flavor. It is best to leave them to soak overnight.
Pasta water for steam cooking
Steam cooking is a very gentle technique for cooking vegetables. This means that a large number of minerals and vitamins are kept. All you need is a steamer basket, which you can place on any normal saucepan.
If you want to eat vegetables with your pasta, you can simply hang the steamer attachment over the cooking pasta. Otherwise, you can also save the water and use it for steaming the next day.
Pasta water for baking bread
What do you need to bake bread? That’s right, salt and water. Both are already contained in the pasta water. The contained starch also ensures good consistency. So why not make the pasta day directly into a bread baking day?
