Don’t Pour Pasta Water Down the Drain, Freeze It This Way Instead

Pasta leaves something useful behind after the noodles come out of the pot. The cloudy cooking water contains starch that can add body to sauces and soups, but most of it disappears down the drain after dinner. If you have more than the recipe needs, pour the extra into an ice cube tray instead. Once frozen, the water becomes small portions you can grab the next time a sauce needs help.

You can freeze the pasta water as it is or reduce it first for a more concentrated cube.

Let the pasta water cool first

Save the water after removing the pasta and let it cool before pouring it into a freezer tray.

Don’t fill the molds with hot water.

Once cool, divide the water among the wells of an ice cube tray and place the tray on a flat freezer shelf.

A silicone tray makes the frozen portions easier to remove.

Reduce it if you want smaller portions

Pasta water can also be reduced before freezing.

Simmering removes some water and concentrates the starch, which means each frozen portion contains more of what gives sauces body.

There’s one catch.

Reducing pasta water also concentrates its salt. If the pasta pot was salted, keep that in mind when seasoning the dish where the frozen cube ends up.

Choose the cube size based on how you cook

Small molds make sense if you tend to need a splash of pasta water rather than a cup.

One ounce wells offer small portions that can go into a sauce without adding too much liquid at once.

Larger molds work when you plan to use the water in soups or recipes that need more liquid.

Take the cubes out of the tray

Once the pasta water has frozen solid, don’t leave the cubes sitting in the mold.

Pop them out and transfer them to a resealable freezer bag. That gives the tray back for another job and makes individual portions easier to grab.

Label the bag with the contents and date.

For best quality, use the frozen pasta water within about six months.

Drop a cube into your next sauce

Frozen pasta water gives you the starchy liquid even when pasta isn’t on the menu.

Add a cube to a sauce or soup when you want extra body without making a roux or slurry.

You can also use the cubes when you are making pasta but forget to reserve water before draining the pot.

Pasta water costs nothing and usually heads straight for the sink. Cool the leftovers, freeze them in portions, then move the cubes into a bag. The next time a sauce needs a little starchy water, you won’t need another pot of pasta to get it.