Robert L. Wolke, the author of the book 'What Einstein told his cook' and professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh conducted an experiment with potato slices cooked in various degrees of salted water and discovered this:
“…the potato simmered in plain water was bland, the potato simmered in the one-teaspoon-per-quart water was salty, and the potato simmered in the one- tablespoon-per-quart water was much saltier. Does this mean that the potato actually absorbed salt from the “soups?”
No, All it means is that the potatoes soaked up some salt water, they didn’t selectively extract the salt from the water. Would you be surprised if a sponge placed in salt water came out tasting salty? Of course not. The concentration of salt in the water – the amount of salt per quart – would not be affected. So the salty taste of the potatoes proved nothing, except that for more flavor we should always boil our potatoes – and our pasta, for that matter – in salted water rather than plain water. “
Of course Sarah Moulton, the TV chef, didn’t believe him, so she went into her kitchen at Gourmet and did the experiment herself with potatoes, pasta and rice and found out that he was completely right.
So what is the solution for saving a salty dish? Add more water. Duh...
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have that stretchy-kinda waist band. Perfect...
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Or, heat it up, add cork from win bottles and cool it down. Salt will crystalize on the cork.
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