Question

What is the importance of adding salt to boiling water?​

Answer 1

Salt is added to water for various reasons: to season everything that is cooked in it; preserve color; maintain structural integrity. In fact, adding salt to water slows down its boiling; this increases the boiling point, so it takes a little longer to get there.

Answer 2

Adding salt to boiling water has several effects:

1. Increases the boiling point of water: Salt increases the boiling point of water, which means that more energy is required to make the water boil. This is due to the phenomenon known as "boiling point elevation", where the addition of a non-volatile solute (in this case, salt) to a pure solvent (water) increases the boiling point. The water molecules need more energy to produce enough pressure to escape the boundary of the liquid, which results in a higher boiling point , .

2. Decreases the specific heat of water: The specific heat of a substance is the amount of energy needed to change its temperature by a certain amount. When salt is added to water, the specific heat of the solution is lower than that of pure water. This means that the solution heats up faster for a given amount of energy. Therefore, even though the boiling point of the salt water is higher, the water will heat up faster , .

3. Improves the flavor of cooked food: Salt is often added to water when cooking pasta or other foods to improve the flavor. The salt helps to reduce the gelatinization of the starch in the pasta, making it taste better. Additionally, salt can help to reduce the starch loss from the pasta to the water, making the pasta less sticky .

However, it's important to note that while adding salt can increase the boiling point of water, it does not necessarily make the water boil faster. The time it takes for the water to reach its boiling point will be longer with salt, but once it reaches that point, the heating process will be faster due to the increased specific heat of the salt water , .