Food - Drink
Does Salt Slow Down Boiling Water?
By SYLVIA TOMCZAK
Whether you love or hate cooking, we can probably all agree that waiting for a pot of water to boil is one of the most tedious aspects. There are tried-and-true methods to speed this up—like using less water, and keeping the pot covered—but the debate always seems to return to whether or not adding salt helps or hinders boiling.
As it turns out, adding salt slows down boiling but only by seconds, so it’s not likely to affect the time you spend in the kitchen. Salt increases the boiling point of the water because when salt is dissolved in water, the resulting mixture requires more heat exposure, meaning the liquid will reach higher temperatures, but not necessarily faster.
At first glance, it might look like your salted water is boiling faster because it bubbles sooner and more vigorously, but this is a bit of an illusion because the salt makes it easier for air bubbles to form, but these bubbles don’t signify boiling. At the end of the day, adding salt is a preference and isn’t likely to affect your cooking time.