With more than 30 years’ experience in the residential and commercial water treatment space, Mark Nelson is a Class 1 Drinking-Water Operator and a CBWA (Canadian Bottled Water Association) Certified Plant Operator. As founder and president of Nelson Water in Ottawa, Mark focuses on dealing with challenging water treatment system designs for problem water. He also heads the largest water bottling plant in the city of Ottawa with a delivery network throughout the Valley.

Most experts agree that cooking with water can really improve your culinary experiments. At almost every stage of cooking, we need water. From washing your produce to cleaning the dishes after you finish your meal. Filtered water can improve the taste of your food and drinks. So, here we’ll break down the different ways that filtered water can impact your cooking.

The Hard Water Basics

Before we begin to discuss filtered water, it is important that you have an understanding of the hard water basics. Hard water contains excessive levels of magnesium, calcium, and other minerals. Although hard water is not considered a hazard to health, it can ruin glassware, damage appliances, and impact your cooking.

Soft water contains few or no dissolved minerals. Soft water is unusual naturally, so water typically needs to go through a filtration or treatment process to become soft. This can include ion exchange, which “exchanges” the calcium and magnesium ions for sodium to remove the impurities. Hard water can also be treated with Reverse Osmosis. This is an advanced filtration method that forces water through a membrane to remove impurities. Whichever method you choose, it will impact how the results of your cooking.

Boiling Water

Boiling water is the first stage for many recipes, and in addition to an unpalatable taste, unfiltered water can often take longer to boil. While this may not seem like an issue, when you add ingredients to your pot and need to bring it back up to the boiling point, a delay can leave your food soggy and lacking taste.

Boiling Vegetables

Green beans, carrots, broccoli, and other vegetables are crunchy and vibrant colored before cooking, but poor water can leave them tasting dull and looking flimsy. When you cook with filtered water, you are likely to notice that vegetables cook more quickly and retain a brighter cooler. Just watch out for your cooking times, as overcooking will leave them mushy and unpalatable.

Baking Bread

Filtered water is crucial for all types of baking, but it is particularly important for bread. The minerals in hard water prevent the proteins in the bread from absorbing liquid. The hard water minerals can also interact with the yeast, slowing down the rising process or fermentation. You could end up with short loaves with very little rise, making them dense and harder to eat.

Cooking Noodles, Beans and Rice

These types of foods do not have a lot of flavor on their own, so the water you use to cook them is crucial. So, if your water has a rotten egg smell or a swimming pool odor, it is likely that you will taste this in your noodles. Additionally, beans can lose their vibrant color due to the hard water minerals, leaving them looking unappetizing.

Making Drinks

Whether you’re making coffee, tea, hot cocoa or even lemonade, water is a key ingredient. The quality of your water will make a big difference in the way the final beverage actually tastes.

For example, lemonade is made mixing the ingredients in cold water rather than brewing or steeping as you would with coffee, tea, and cocoa. This means that any contaminants will directly interact with your ingredients, compromising the flavor. Unfortunately, many common water contaminants cannot be boiled away, so even making hot drinks are problematic.

Common Tap Water Contaminants

There are a number of contaminants found in tap water supplies that can not only compromise your cooking efforts but also have other consequences. These include:

  • Lead: This metal is a problem throughout North America as it can seep into water supplies through lead pipes, fixtures, and solder. There is no safe lead exposure level, and it is particularly dangerous for children. The side effects include chronic symptoms ranging from stomach pains to brain and organ damage.
  • Chlorine: This chemical is used to disinfect municipal water supplies, to eliminate bacteria and viruses. Unfortunately, even trace amounts of chlorine can create a “swimming pool” smell and taste. Chlorine can not only interfere with the taste of food and drinks but also dry out your hair and skin.
  • Arsenic: This contaminant enters water supplies as a result of industrial activities or from naturally occurring deposits in the bedrock. Arsenic exposure is dangerous as low level, long term exposure increases the risk of developing cancer and other serious health issues.
  • Radium: This highly radioactive chemical element is undetectable by the human senses, so it requires professional testing to confirm its presence in water supplies. Long term consumption can increase the risk of birth defects, organ damage, and developing cancer.
  • Radon: This gas is colorless, odorless and tasteless and is caused by the decay of uranium. When dissolved in groundwater, radon gas can be released into the air when you turn on your faucet, increasing the risks of developing cancer.
  • Nitrates: Nitrates are a common ingredient in fertilizer products, as nitrogen is an essential mineral for plant growth. Unfortunately, excess nitrates can run off agricultural sites and be carried into water supplies. There are a number of potential health risks associated with nitrates, particularly infants, as it can affect the oxygen carrying capacity of the cells.
  • Chromium-6: Otherwise known as hexavalent chromium, this is a highly toxic contaminant, and it is produced as a result of industrial activities. Chromium-6 is difficult to detect, even when the concentration levels in water supplies are high, and consumption increases the risk of developing cancer.

Since water is needed for almost every aspect of cooking, water quality is an important consideration in any home. You can choose a point of use system to provide filtered water to your kitchen sink or opt for a point of entry system that treats the water as it enters your home to provide filtered water to all of your fixtures and appliances. Whichever option you choose, you may be pleasantly surprised at how it can impact your cooking.

If you have concerns about your water quality, be sure to speak to an experienced water technician. A water treatment specialist can test your water supply and guide you through the appropriate treatment solutions.