COOKING pasta seems pretty straightforward, something we reckon we've mastered by now.
But according to experts, this is far from the case – and turns out, there's an easy pasta hack that will also help you slash energy bills.
Chatting to Huffington Post, one of Italy’s biggest pasta brands, Barilla, explained how foodies can boil pasta for just two minutes, switch off the heat, put the lid back on, and let it continue to cook “passively” in the water.
Not only will this limit CO2 emissions by up to a whopping 80 per cent, the cooking method is also promoted as a way to save energy – and money.
The experts noted that around 400 million portions of pasta are served every single day – and if most of us adopted passive cooking, it would make a significant impact on the environment.
And even renowned chefs, such as Gennaro’s Limoni, have tried the method and claimed it works.
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“My only point would be to reduce the waiting time by a couple of minutes so it is perfectly ‘al dente’.
''If it means saving CO2 emissions, then I’m all for it!” he added.
However, not everyone's been sold – and Francesco Mazzei, the Italian chef-patron at Sartoria in Mayfair, is one of them.
“If you want to save energy just cook something else,” he hit back.
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“A lot of things can be cooked in three or four minutes. Why would you jeopardise one of the most amazing foods in the world?
''I wouldn’t cook a Yorkshire pudding in a steam oven.”
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Recently, another foodie shared a hack for saving money when cooking this carbolicious meal – but people were left totally divided.
One savvy woman named Brooke Smith took to Facebook group Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK group and shared her clever money-saving hack for cooking pasta.
Alongside a before and after photo, the woman penned: "When I have pasta for tea I put the pasta in water in the morning then when it comes to making tea it only takes 5 minutes to heat up as the pasta is already soft."
But much to her surprise, Brooke's top tip caused quite a stir online…
"Does it not go starchy and slimy?" asked one.
A second noted: "Under cooked pasta is an E.coli risk. Same as raw flour."
A third added: "Would rather pay the extra 10p thanks."
And one more penned: "Probably cost you more in prescription when it makes you ill."
Addressing the negative comments, Brooke, replied: "Sorry for upsetting so many people over pasta and a money saving tip even though it may be small.
"My pasta has never gone slimy, maybe it’s the type your buying that goes slimy.
"As other people have put I personally probably do soak it for too long but I literally just do it before I leave for work so I can cook it as soon as I get in.
"Good to see that other people do already do this as well and I look forward to seeing other peoples money saving tips no matter how little it saves as it all adds up. I live on my own so I always find it very helpful."
Elsewhere, many took to the comments section in full support of Brooke and praised her for sharing the energy-saving hack with others.
"Say what you want about this post but it will help some people," commented one.
"If not for the energy cost side of things then for the parents with hungry kids at dinner time making the cooking process quicker."
Another agreed: "So many people saying negative things about this – you do realise there are people out there who actually do have to be THIS careful?
"Who barely ever have heating if at all. Who sit in the dark or use candles because they can’t afford any electricity?
"Y’all are so entitled it’s unreal."
A third noted: "Been doing this for years. You dont need to soak it for that long though.
"I normally boil the kettle for a brew, soak it with the water at the same time for 30mins and then pop it on for 5mins to finish cooking.
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"It doesn't take long to heat up then either as the water is still warm!"
A further questioned: "Why you hating? People are all in the same boat this may be helpful to some."
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