As McGee points out, a gently bubbling pot of boiling water is only slightly lower in temperature than a rolling boil. As long as you see a constant stream of large bubbles, you’re good to go.

Quirky's Boil Buoy is a floating chime that lets you know when a pot of water boils. It also has a pun in the name which only really works if you speak English with an English accent. "Buoy" is ...

You want as little temperature drop as possible from the second you drop those noodles, and the more water boiling like crazy at the start the better. At home I use a 16-quart pot of water on my ...