I quit putting oil in my pasta water and it's a win

I always heard that oil stops noodles from sticking together. After learning it just coats them and hurts sauce adhesion, I stopped (and my pasta is better). Why does this bad advice keep circulating?

3 comments

3 Comments

drew82728d ago

Yeah I was totally in the oil camp for years. Just did it without thinking. Saw someone online do a side by side test, sauce just slid right off the oily noodles. Tried it myself and the difference was obvious. Sauce sticks way better now, pasta actually tastes like something. Kind of annoying how long I spent doing it wrong because some old tip got stuck in my head.

jenny3911mo ago

It's wild how often we follow kitchen rules without questioning them. This pasta oil thing is just one example of bad info that gets passed around like gospel. I see it all the time with other stuff, like searing meat to 'lock in juices' which is also a myth. People hear something from a friend or an old cookbook and just assume it's true forever. It takes someone actually testing it out to break the cycle, lol. We need more of that skeptical thinking in everyday life.

black.val1mo ago

Why does bad cooking advice hang around so long after it's been proven wrong? It's like the whole "rinse mushrooms" thing, which just makes them soggy, but my grandma still swears by it. I guess people trust old habits more than new facts, even when the proof is right there in the pot. Good on you for testing it out instead of just going along.