Im pretty sure, though I cannot find data on it, that cooking in salt water simply causes salt to interact chemically with the pasta, “tenderizing” it, the same way salt tenderizes meat, vegetables etc.
I assume we could perform an experiment in which we submerge identical amounts of pasta in cold tap water, and in an equal volume of salt water, and wait until it becomes soft enough to eat. My assumption is that waterlogging pasta in salt water would soften it much faster.
Im pretty sure, though I cannot find data on it, that cooking in salt water simply causes salt to interact chemically with the pasta, “tenderizing” it, the same way salt tenderizes meat, vegetables etc.
I assume we could perform an experiment in which we submerge identical amounts of pasta in cold tap water, and in an equal volume of salt water, and wait until it becomes soft enough to eat. My assumption is that waterlogging pasta in salt water would soften it much faster.