(no subject)

[arethinn]

Many of his other results, however, can be applied to everyday cooking. He says that adding oil to water while cooking spaghetti does not prevent the different strands from sticking together - unless you use very little water and litres of oil.

Er, what? I always add a little oil because it helps keep the starchy froth from boiling over. I never heard that it was supposed to make the pasta not stick to itself (which, no, oil in the water doesn't do).

Comments

[shalora.livejournal.com]

See, my mom always said to add some oil to keep the pasta from sticking. And that made no sense to me because we all learn that oil floats on top of water in, like, second grade science. So once I moved out, I quit using it. But I have gotten sick of the boiling-over, so I'll start adding it again, thanks for that tip! :)

[jarandhel.livejournal.com]

Oh, so THAT is what it actually does... I too was taught that it was to keep the pasta from sticking together, and I too abandoned it since that didn't make a damned bit of sense. Anyone know what the bit of salt added to the water for pasta before you start boiling it is supposed to do?

[twopiearr.livejournal.com]

I was always told it was to raise the boiling point of the water too cook it more thoroughly.