# Salt -\> Increase Boiling Point, how much? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 5, 2005, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-increase-boiling-point-how-much/297752 "2005-04-05T00:45:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SandWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8491ac/32.png) [@SandWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandWriter)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-increase-boiling-point-how-much/297752/1 "2005-04-05T00:45:27Z")
Hey All, How much salt do I have to add to increase the boiling point of a quart of water how many degrees? ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-increase-boiling-point-how-much/297752/2 "2005-04-05T00:55:38Z")
[Boiling and Freezing points of pure and salty water](http://van.hep.uiuc.edu/van/qa/section/States_of_Matter_and_Energy/Boiling_Evaporating_and_Condensing/20030104203955.htm) I don’t speak whatever language they are speaking on that page, but maybe one of our resident chemists will pop in and decypher it for us. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-increase-boiling-point-how-much/297752/3 "2005-04-05T01:25:38Z")
Can you define your question some more SandWriter? I would either need how many degrees you wanted it raised or how much salt you wanted to add. Without, there is no way to calculate. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-increase-boiling-point-how-much/297752/4 "2005-04-05T01:27:34Z")
[This](http://www.nzifst.org.nz/unitoperations/evaporation4.htm) chart says about 110?C. ---
**Author:** ![SandWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8491ac/32.png) [@SandWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandWriter)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-increase-boiling-point-how-much/297752/5 "2005-04-05T01:46:12Z")
> [@ZebraShaSha](#): > > Can you define your question some more SandWriter? I would either need how many degrees you wanted it raised or how much salt you wanted to add. Without, there is no way to calculate. The instructions on the side of the Mac & Cheese box say to add a dash of salt to the water that the macaroni is boiled in. I’m curious as to how much a dash? 1/4 teaspoon? will raise the boiling point of the water. Which just begs the question, if I add a bit more will it make the boiling point higher? And, does it really make a difference? Does adding 1 teaspoon make a difference at all? Or do I have to add in 3 tablespoons? I’m starting with tap water… ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-increase-boiling-point-how-much/297752/6 "2005-04-05T01:47:40Z")
> [@Patty O'Furniture](#): > > [Boiling and Freezing points of pure and salty water](http://van.hep.uiuc.edu/van/qa/section/States_of_Matter_and_Energy/Boiling_Evaporating_and_Condensing/20030104203955.htm) > > I don’t speak whatever language they are speaking on that page, but maybe one of our resident chemists will pop in and decypher it for us. All that page is really saying is that if you took 1 litre of water, a cube 4 inches on each side, and added 29.23 grams of salt, a cube roughly 1.14 inches on each side, the temperature would be raised approximately .5 degrees Celcius. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-increase-boiling-point-how-much/297752/7 "2005-04-05T02:11:34Z")
I’m getting roughly 9.232 x 10^-8 degrees Celcius. By using Patty’s cite, which says a .5 molar solution NaCl will produce a .5 rise in Celcius degrees, I assumed the rise would be fairly linear for our purposes. Using 1/4 tsp for a typical pot, which I assumed would be around 680 ft^3 (6 inches high, 1 foot across, cylindrical in shape), I got a solution about 9.232E-8 molar. Seems minimal. Nametag - That is a **saturated** solution of NaCl. Huge difference. (All the above calculations taken at 1 atm.) ---
**Author:** ![Catalyst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@Catalyst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catalyst)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-increase-boiling-point-how-much/297752/8 "2005-04-05T02:20:05Z")
If I recall correctly, you add salt when boiling pasta to keep the pasta from sticking, not to raise the boiling temperature. ---
**Author:** ![daffyduck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ec9cab/32.png) [@daffyduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/daffyduck)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-increase-boiling-point-how-much/297752/9 "2005-04-05T02:45:58Z")
> [@ZebraShaSha](#): > > I’m getting roughly 9.232 x 10^-8 degrees Celcius. > > By using Patty’s cite, which says a .5 molar solution NaCl will produce a .5 rise in Celcius degrees, I assumed the rise would be fairly linear for our purposes. Using 1/4 tsp for a typical pot, which I assumed would be around 680 ft^3 (6 inches high, 1 foot across, cylindrical in shape), I got a solution about 9.232E-8 molar. Seems minimal. > > Nametag - That is a **saturated** solution of NaCl. Huge difference. > > (All the above calculations taken at 1 atm.) You have a pot that holds 680 cubic feet of water? You must have a hell of a stove. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-increase-boiling-point-how-much/297752/10 "2005-04-05T03:34:10Z")
To raise the boiling point of 1 kilogram of water by 1 degree celsuis, you would add 15.7 grams of salt. Converting from metric to imperial measures is left as an exercise for the reader. ---
**Author:** ![SandWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8491ac/32.png) [@SandWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandWriter)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-increase-boiling-point-how-much/297752/11 "2005-04-05T03:37:48Z")
> [@NattoGuy](#): > > To raise the boiling point of 1 kilogram of water by 1 degree celsuis, you would add 15.7 grams of salt. > > Converting from metric to imperial measures is left as an exercise for the reader. Okay, so in summation, adding a dash of salt to boiling water raises the boiling point by exactly “below measurement error” amount. Can I hijack my own thread? How does salt keep pasta from sticking to itself? ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-increase-boiling-point-how-much/297752/12 "2005-04-05T03:45:06Z")
> [@SandWriter](#): > > Okay, so in summation, adding a dash of salt to boiling water raises the boiling point by exactly “below measurement error” amount. Well, that depends on your measurement method. But suffice it to say that the change in temperature is not gastronomically important. > [@](#): > > Can I hijack my own thread? > > How does salt keep pasta from sticking to itself? Boiling pasta with salt is the best way to season it, but I am not aware that salt keeps pasta from sticking to itself. The best way to keep pasta from sticking to itself is to stir it for the first 2-3 minutes after adding it to the water. Try a practical experiment and let us know how you get on. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-increase-boiling-point-how-much/297752/13 "2005-04-05T03:52:54Z")
In very loose terms, not attempting to be scientifically correct, the salt added to the tap water enables the gluten cooked out of the pasta to dissolve and remain dissolved, rather than sticking to the outside surface of the pasta and causing the strands/elbows/radiatore of pasta to stick together. One drop of olive or canola oil added to the cooking water also helps in this regard; apparently whatever gluten is, is partially non-polar. ---
**Author:** ![SandWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8491ac/32.png) [@SandWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandWriter)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-increase-boiling-point-how-much/297752/14 "2005-04-05T03:55:37Z")
> [@NattoGuy](#): > > Boiling pasta with salt is the best way to season it, but I am not aware that salt keeps pasta from sticking to itself. Catalyst? p.s. I always stir the pasta after I add it to the already boiling water so it doesn’t stick together. Experiment done. To NattoGuy, you seem to want people to do all the work. You make us do the metric english conversion, you think up experiments for us to do, you believe everyone has an expensive, accurate, recently calibrated, 2 decimal place accurate, thermometer in their house… ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-increase-boiling-point-how-much/297752/15 "2005-04-05T04:07:11Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > In very loose terms, not attempting to be scientifically correct, the salt added to the tap water enables the gluten cooked out of the pasta to dissolve and remain dissolved, rather than sticking to the outside surface of the pasta and causing the strands/elbows/radiatore of pasta to stick together. One drop of olive or canola oil added to the cooking water also helps in this regard; apparently whatever gluten is, is partially non-polar. It is true that oil will prevent pasta from sticking. Everything else in the above post is factually incorrect. Anyway, you shouldn’t use oil to correct the sticking problem. Oil coats the surface of the pasta and prevents it from absorbing flavor of your sauce or other ingredients. The way to keep pasta from sticking is use plenty of water and stir vigilantly for the first few minutes of boiling. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-increase-boiling-point-how-much/297752/16 "2005-04-05T04:15:31Z")
> [@SandWriter](#): > > To NattoGuy, you seem to want people to do all the work. You make us do the metric english conversion, you think up experiments for us to do… Whose dinner is this anyway, mine or yours? I gave you the boiling point calculation you asked for. I answered your salt question. You could just say “thank you.” ---
**Author:** ![SandWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8491ac/32.png) [@SandWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandWriter)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-increase-boiling-point-how-much/297752/17 "2005-04-05T04:27:05Z")
Hey Nattoguy, Thank You. ---
**Author:** ![Catalyst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@Catalyst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catalyst)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-increase-boiling-point-how-much/297752/18 "2005-04-05T04:52:20Z")
> [@SandWriter](#): > > Catalyst? After a quick googling, it would appear that I badly misremembered an episode of _Molto Mario_. The top several hits for a search on “pasta salt sticking” all indicate that salt is strictly a matter of seasoning, though they disagree on how much salt to add. They seem to also indicate that a bit of oil has no discernable effect on sticking. My apologies for not checking my facts before posting. ---
**Author:** ![1010011010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ea666f/32.png) [@1010011010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1010011010)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-increase-boiling-point-how-much/297752/19 "2005-04-05T06:09:11Z")
[Raoult’s Law](http://www.chemguide.co.uk/physical/phaseeqia/raoultnonvol.html)… is what you’re looking for.