The traditional way to cook up that pasta in your cabinet is to wait for a pot of water to boil before tossing in the noodles. We all know it works, but it sure does use up a quite a bit of water. Saving as much water as we possibly can is not only better for our bank accounts, it’s better for the planet too.

Regular pasta makers will love this new hack by Harold McGee. It saves on water and energy usage to keep those bank accounts from dipping too low over the winter months. It also to save you loads of time!

McGee, who is a professional chef, was invited onto the set of the CHOW show to give a brief tutorial about his favorite pasta cooking trick. His useful book,The Keys to Good Cooking, was also advertised in the show, and contains a whole section on pasta hacks that are extremely helpful.

For this particular hack, you’ll only need a frying pan, dry pasta, and a quart and a half of cold water.

It’s actually important that the water is cold, since it will keep your individual noodles from sticking together, so be sure you measure out chilly water- not room-temperature or warmer.

Simply toss your dry noodles into the frying pan, then pour the quart and half of cold water over the top. Gently stir the water and noodles as you turn on the stove and slowly increase the heat. The shallower pan will cause your noodles to cook much more quickly, so don’t walk away.

Keep stirring occasionally over the next five-ten minutes while you prepare your sauce. Dinner will be ready in less than twenty minutes!

Now isn’t that exciting?! SHARE the love, pass it on.