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Adding salt at the beginning elevates the temperature of the water which speeds the cooking
I thought this was a myth
psg1ben-
Re salt & pasta, here’s Harold McGee:
Cooks give several reasons for boiling pasta in salted water. Some say salt raises the boiling point and cooks the pasta faster; some say it toughens the pasta and makes it less vulnerable to overcooking; and some say it just makes the pasta tastier. In fact, normal amounts of salt do not raise the cooking temperature significantly. And while salt does toughen wheat gluten and slow the softening of starch granules, these effects don’t make a noticeable difference. It really does come down to taste. Pasta cooked in unsalted water tastes bland, and that internal blandness can be noticeable even when the pasta is salted afterward or dressed in a sauce.
aglet
Depends on what the instructions are. Adding salt at the beginning elevates the temperature of the water which speeds the cooking.
There needs to be enough boiling water in the pan so when the pasta is addded it resumes boiling quickly. If too much pasta is added it drops the water temperature.
Also cooking fresh pasta needs a lot more salt as it is not in the water for so long.