Don’t Let Hard Water Ruin Your Holidays
If you have hard water coming from your pipes, it can affect everything you do in your kitchen. Because of its high concentration of dissolved minerals, it can have a negative impact on the texture, appearance, smell, and even taste of your food.
With the holidays coming up, you may be spending a lot of time in the kitchen. It would be a shame to put all that time and effort into preparing a beautiful meal, and having it ruined by hard water coming from your sink. Below are common issues of using hard water in your kitchen.
Time – If time is important to you, then using hard water can take its toll. Hard water typically takes longer to boil because the mineral particulates absorb some of the heat from the water. On top of that, cooking beans, rice, and potatoes with hard water takes longer.
Vegetables – Using hard water to cook vegetables can have several consequences for your healthy side dishes. Hard water can change:
- The appearance of your vegetables by making them lose color or look “bleached.”
- The texture of your vegetables by making them feel tough or rubbery.
- The taste or smell of your veggies by having them absorb some of the taste or smell that your tap water has.
Pasta – Most professional chefs will tell you to salt your pasta water before adding your pasta because it is the last chance you will have to season the pasta itself. If this is the last chance to season your water, you don’t want any of the dissolved minerals from hard water being absorbed as a final “seasoning” for your pasta.
Baking – There are several ways that hard water can ruin baking. Because baking deals more in science, ratios, and chemistry, the addition of dissolved particulates in hard water can throw off a great recipe. One of its biggest impacts is that it has an effect on both gluten and yeast development. This can result in a rubbery or tough dough when making bread, pies, or even cookies.
Coffee and Tea – Coffee and tea pairs well with some of the baked goods mentioned above. However, if you use hard water, you will end up with beverages that may taste a bit off. Because water is the major component in both water and tea, having water that comes out of the tap with an odd taste or smell will lead to a final product with a similar unwanted taste or smell.
As you can see, hard water can have an influence on many different aspects of your kitchen. To ensure that your water doesn’t ruin your holiday meal, you can use a Culligan Reverse Osmosis Filter to get filtered water right in your kitchen. Your Culligan Dealer can help you have a safe and delicious holiday for you and your family.
Works Consulted:
https://emilykylenutrition.com/how-hard-water-negatively-impacts-the-quality-of-food/
https://tasteinsight.com/does-hard-water-affect-home-cooking/
http://surfptp.com/2016/07/11/3-foods-that-are-affected-by-hard-water/
