Background and Objectives: In catering environments, subsequent batches of pasta are cooked in the same water to save water and energy. This results in formation of a foam layer made up by solids leached from the pasta. Here, the effect of cooking up to 13 subsequent batches on spaghetti cooking and foaming of the cooking water was investigated. Cooking at acidic pH was also studied for a single batch. Findings: Water uptake by dry spaghetti decreases with batch number. The increasingly lower mobility in the network of swollen starch and polymerized protein network reduces the extent to which albumins and globulins are leached out. Evidently, the solid content in the cooking water increases with batch number while its pH drops. Separation of pasta fragments from the cooking water does not significantly affect (p > 0.05) the foam stability. Significance and Novelty: This study provides additional insights in the composition and foaming properties during the continuous cooking process of pasta.
