One of the most important cooking ingredients is water. Even though this is often overlooked, the water quality can also impact the flavor of the meal you’re cooking. That’s why many people want to improve the quality of water they are using for cooking.
One of the ways to do so is to cook with distilled water. Even though it’s mostly used in labs, for medical purposes, or with household appliances, distilled water is slowly finding its way into the kitchen. But can you cook with distilled water, and should you get a water distiller for home? This article will tell you all you need to know, so keep reading.
Can You Cook with Distilled Water?
Generally speaking, you can cook with distilled water. It is completely safe to do so, as distilled water has no bacteria, minerals, or other contaminants that you don’t want in your cooked meal. This is especially helpful if you don’t have access to clean drinking water, and using distilled water is the best alternative.
Cooking With Distilled Water: Precautions
The water purity and safety aren’t the only concerns you should be paying attention to. Minerals that naturally occur in most drinking water are removed through the distillation process. These minerals can make a subtle but meaningful impact on your food. In other words, meals prepared with distilled water might lack the usual flavor and even taste flat or dull.
Another reason why cooking with distilled water isn’t ideal is the fact that minerals from regular water are also important for your health. Completely removing these minerals from water could lead to mineral deficiencies in your organism.
Overall, cooking with distilled water is safe, but you shouldn’t do it all the time. Use regular drinking water at least occasionally, just to ensure you aren’t denying yourself some essential minerals.
Distilled Water for Cooking: Does it Make a Difference?
Distilled water does make a difference when you’re cooking with it. However, the impact varies depending on what you’re cooking. For example, with the foods where water is absorbed, such as grains and pasta, the absence of minerals is more noticeable. The grain/pasta texture can feel softer, and flavors may feel less noticeable.
Distilled Water for Cooking Vegetables
You can also feel a difference when boiling vegetables with distilled water. Sometimes, distilled water can lead to the leaching of nutrients and flavor without replacement minerals to balance the taste. So, boiled vegetables might feel bland because of distilled water. Still, soups, broths, and sauces get their flavor from spices and other ingredients, which is why making them with distilled water doesn’t make a huge difference.
Distilled Water for Baking
If you want to use distilled water for baking, you might notice some differences. Yeast fermentation and gluten development could happen slightly differently with distilled water, which will affect how your baked goods will turn out.
Distilled Water vs Spring Water for Cooking
When to Use Distilled Water
- Distilled water is great if you want to ensure the purity of water, especially if the quality of regular drinking water is too low.
- Distilled water is also great if you want to ensure that you’ll get consistent flavors, as distilled water has no flavor and can’t impact the flavor of other ingredients.
When to Use Spring Water
However, if you can use clean spring water instead, there are several reasons why you should do so.
- Spring water provides a better seasoning balance. It is also great if you prefer a slightly firmer texture in pasta and grains, and richer flavors in soups and stews.
- Spring water is also full of minerals that are good for your body (as long as it is free of contaminants).
Cooking Pasta, Rice, Noodles With Distilled Water
1. Cooking Pasta With Distilled Water
Distilled water isn't the best choice for cooking pasta, rice, and noodles. The lack of minerals affects how starches interact during boiling, sometimes leading to a softer or less resilient texture. As a result, pasta cooked in distilled water often tastes blander unless you add more salt than you usually would.
2. Cooking Rice With Distilled Water
Rice cooked with distilled water may appear fluffier, but it tastes less complex. When the rice grains absorb pure water without any mineral contribution, it can dull the final flavor. However, you can fix this issue by adding broth, spices, or a pinch of salt.
3. Cooking Noodles With Distilled Water
Noodles, especially egg-based or wheat noodles, cook slightly faster in distilled water. That’s why you need to monitor cooking times to avoid overcooking. You will also need to add more seasoning to the water to avoid a bland taste.
Best Uses for Distilled Water
Despite its potential drawbacks, distilled water remains the best choice in certain cooking and kitchen scenarios. For example, it works well when making clear stocks or broths where mineral-related flavors are undesirable. Additionally, coffee and tea enthusiasts often use distilled water to control flavor precisely.
Distilled water is also practical when cooking in areas with very hard water. In such cases, distilled water has two effects. First, it prevents scale buildup on cookware. Second, it prevents metallic or chalky flavors that can transfer to food.
Large-Sized Water Distillers For Home Use
1. CO-Z 1.1 Gallon Water Distiller, 1750W with Glass Container.
This 1750W water distiller provides 2 ppm water at 0.4 gallons per hour. It's 1.1 gallon (4L) capacity ensures an adequate supply of fresh water to meet your daily hydration needs. It displays the current and target temperatures and the distilling duration to let you keep track of the whole process. It automatically turns off when the temperature reaches 239°F or when the water level is low.
2. CO-Z 1.1 Gallon Water Distiller, 750W Countertop
This 750W water distiller provides 2 ppm water at 0.3 gallons per hour. It's 1.1 gallon (4L) capacity ensures an adequate supply of fresh water to meet your daily hydration needs. This BPA-free distilled water machine is made of 304 stainless steel, and the water pitcher is made of borosilicate glass, giving you years of corrosion-resistant use while making maintenance a breeze.
Conclusion
So, what’s the final verdict? Can you cook with distilled water or not? The answer is yes, you can cook with distilled water, but be aware of some potential downsides, such as making your food taste slightly bland. Fortunately, you can fix these downsides by adding more salt and other seasonings to the recipe!
Explore some tips on how to get the best water distiller for home use.
