Really unimportant point, but in Spanish you would say al diente (that is if you were translating it - they may just borrow directly from Italian, I don’t know). *A *+ el = al in Spanish, and in Italian you also get al but from a + il.
Somehow, I really, really doubt that. I’ve also made bread forgetting to put the salt in it. It was terrible. Bland, nearly inedible stuff. Nobody in the house but me would eat it. I couldn’t believe that a little salt could make that much difference, but it does.
Salt to me is like MSG in its “amplifying” effect on the tastebuds. The flavor of MSG isn’t simpy umami to me. It intensifies other flavors. My reaction to salt is much the same. Even in sweets, where I don’t taste any “saltiness”, a little sprinkle of salt seems to “brighten” and liven the flavors.
I don’t think you should ever rinse pasta. Washing off the starches on the outside of the pasta makes it more difficult for sauce to stick.
Neither of these experiences refute the idea that this is a matter of habituation. If you try eating foodstuffs supposedly requiring salt for an extended period of time, and you still feel it’s required, then you have a case.
Peter Barham in his book The Science of Cooking describes experimenting with various amounts of salt, from what’s required in the recipe down to zero, and finding no significant deterioration in taste.
I’ve tried cutting down on salt myself, for various foods, and found that after a period of adjustment they taste just as good without, and that adding salt back just makes them taste salty.
I haven’t tried this with pasta, but I believe with a sufficiently slow reduction of the amount of salt I’d have the same experience.
Second this regarding crab. Cooking crab in plain water - blandblandbland. But in seawater (at least Puget Sound water) makes all the difference.
There’s scientific data upthread that shows salt does other things to flavors other than making them taste “salty.” For me salt level is on a continuum of “bland” -> “full” -> “salty.”
As to the matter of acclimation, I’m not acclimated to putting salt on my fruits. However, I’ve tasted melons with just a tiny sprinkle of salt on them and they don’t taste “salty” to me. They just taste more intense. It’s not a habit I want to pick up, though, since I get plenty of salt from other sources.
Yeah, I can’t think of a case off the top of my head where rinsing pasta is desirable. I’m sure there’s exceptions, but for most of the types of dishes I make (puttanesca, all’amatriciana, arrabiata, etc.), the pasta itself needs the starch for the appropriate stickiness with the sauce.
Moving to Cafe Society, since the OP about boiling point was answered.