Why or why not oil in pasta?

Years ago I dated an Italian lady who was also a phenomenal cook.
Cooked all kinds of great food, but her speciality was Italian. Some of
the best I've ever had. I don't remember if she even gave me a reason,
but she'd the one that told me NOT to put oil in the water when cooking
pasta. Considering how good a cook she was, I listened. I'm sure one of
the expert "foodies" here know the reason.

The reason some cooks do add oil is its supposed to keep your pasta from
sticking together. I'm just guessing, but I imagine the cooks who don't
probably believe it would also keep your sauce from sticking to the pasta.

Debra

"salgud" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Years ago I dated an Italian lady who was also a phenomenal cook.
Cooked all kinds of great food, but her speciality was Italian. Some of
the best I've ever had. I don't remember if she even gave me a reason,
but she'd the one that told me NOT to put oil in the water when cooking
pasta. Considering how good a cook she was, I listened. I'm sure one of
the expert "foodies" here know the reason.

"Michael Horowitz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Recipes for making pasta vary - some say use oil, others don't mention
it.
Why or why not is oil used? - Mike

I assume you mean in the cooking water, not in the pasta itself. The
supposed reason for putting a little oil in the water is to coat the pasta
and prevent it from sticking together. But it will also prevent many sauces
from adhering to the pasta, and is a bad idea for that reason. Anyway, good
quality pasta properly cooked will not stick if used properly. The idea of
putting a pile of plain pasta on a plate and then ladling sauce over it
would seem strange to most Italians. Much better to mix the pasta as soon as
it is drained with some sauce. THis keeps it from sticking and lets the
flavor penetrate. Then plate it and add more sauce if desired.

--
Peter Aitken

Remove the [censored] from my email address before using.

Michael Horowitz wrote on 07 Apr 2005 in rec.food.cooking

Quoted message said:

Recipes for making pasta vary - some say use oil, others don't
mention it.
Why or why not is oil used? - Mike

Oil is used for preservitive purposes in comercial pastas. A good home-
made pasta is usually eaten within 3 days so no oil needed.

--
No Bread Crumbs were hurt in the making of this Meal.
Type 2 Diabetic Since Aug 2004
1AC- 7.2, 7.3, 5.5, 5.6 mmol
Weight from 265 down to 219 lbs. and dropping.
Continuing to be Manitoban

"Peter Aitken" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Michael Horowitz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Recipes for making pasta vary - some say use oil, others don't mention
it.
Why or why not is oil used? - Mike

I assume you mean in the cooking water, not in the pasta itself. The
supposed reason for putting a little oil in the water is to coat the pasta
and prevent it from sticking together. But it will also prevent many
sauces from adhering to the pasta, and is a bad idea for that reason.
Anyway, good quality pasta properly cooked will not stick if used
properly. The idea of putting a pile of plain pasta on a plate and then
ladling sauce over it would seem strange to most Italians. Much better to
mix the pasta as soon as it is drained with some sauce. THis keeps it from
sticking and lets the flavor penetrate. Then plate it and add more sauce
if desired.

I made a recipe in the Soprano's (television show) cookbook, that:
After cooking the pasta and draining it, they heated butter in the same
pan, and put the pasta back in, stirred it up. Now here is where my
husband's and my memory differ. I recall they poured all of the sauce over
the mixed butter & pasta while it was on the stove, then mixed it and served
it in a pasta bowl; my husband said they did not mix the sauce into it, but
poured in on, on the table.
I must've checked this recipe out at the library, because I don't see it
anywhere.
Dee

Michael Horowitz said:

Recipes for making pasta vary - some say use oil, others don't mention
it.
Why or why not is oil used? - Mike

I assume you're talking about adding oil to the cooking water. There are
several discussion points about it, all false.

1) it prevents pastas from sticking together.
2) it prevents sauces from sticking to the cooked pasta.

The only thing that keeps pasta from sticking together is turbulence.
Rapidly boiling water and reasonably frequent stirring. Oil in the water
won't stick to the pasta and, since it's lighter than water, will float
out of the pot with the first pourings.

Putting butter or oil on the cooked pasta absolutely won't keep sauce
from sticking. But it will keep the pasta from sticking together. And it
adds a nice flavor note to the dish. Both in my restaurants where we
literally served tons of pasta over the years, and at home, I've cooked
it, drained it and tossed with oil for holding. Both my Italian
grandmothers did it that way. Cook, drain, toss with oil, sauce. Or
rather, my Sicilian grandmother tossed it with olive oil and my northern
Italian grandmother used butter. At home nowadays I use butter.

I tested the whole thing years - decades - ago and then have repeated
the tests for the cooking classes I've taught. Everyone had these
theories before we tried it. BOOM go the theories...

The only thing that oil in the cooking water will do is suppress
foaming. But so will turning the heat down a tiny bit to moderate the boil.

Conclusions:
1) there's no good reason to put oil in the cooking water.
2) there's a good reason to toss the pasta (any kind) with a little oil
or butter after draining.

Pastorio

I was always told that adding a little salt to the water would prevent
the pasta from sticking. Furthermore, a majority of the oil is floating
on the surface, so how can it coat the pasta under water?

In article <[email hidden]>, "Peter

Aitken said:

"Michael Horowitz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Recipes for making pasta vary - some say use oil, others don't mention
it.
Why or why not is oil used? - Mike

I assume you mean in the cooking water, not in the pasta itself. The
supposed reason for putting a little oil in the water is to coat the
pasta and prevent it from sticking together.

Really? I thought you put it in the cooking water to keep the foaming
down. That's why I do it. And when I pour the water off, the oil's the
first to go.
--
-Barb, <http://www.jamlady.eboard.com> The Nylons added 4-3-05.

"I read recipes the way I read science fiction: I get to the end and
say,'Well, that's not going to happen.'" - Comedian Rita Rudner,
performance at New York, New York, January 10, 2005.

In article <[email hidden]>,

ccrevival said:

a majority of the oil is floating on the surface, so how can it coat
the pasta under water?

Bingo! My sentiments, too.
--
-Barb, <http://www.jamlady.eboard.com> The Nylons added 4-3-05.

"I read recipes the way I read science fiction: I get to the end and
say,'Well, that's not going to happen.'" - Comedian Rita Rudner,
performance at New York, New York, January 10, 2005.

"Michael Horowitz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Recipes for making pasta vary - some say use oil, others don't mention
it.
Why or why not is oil used? - Mike

Actually, the oil is intended to reduce foaming and potential boil-over.
Simply using
enough water (we're talking at least two gallons for a pound of pasta) in a
deep enough
pot (uncovered !!!) works just as well.

And, recently <stops to wash hands before typing> Alton <hears heavenly
choir> did
a show called "Myth Smashers" were he actually performed an experiment which
demonstrated that roughly 90 % of the oil is recovered when the water is
drained off.

So, myth "Smashed" :-)

Salt in the water because that is your only opportunity to season the pasta
itself, oil
if you like (and I do) but if your sauce doesn't stick look elsewhere for
the cause and
don't blame the oil !

John<==addicted to "Good Eats"

Mikey TROLL Horror-witz said:

Recipes for making pasta vary - some say use oil, others don't

mention

Quoted message said:

it.
Why or why not is oil used? - Mike

Oil is what makes all Eyetalian cooking greasy, like a friggin' dirty
filthy greasy WOP... Mikey TROLL!

Sheldon

John Bonnett wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

And, recently <stops to wash hands before typing> Alton <hears heavenly
choir> did
a show called "Myth Smashers" were he actually performed an experiment

which

Quoted message said:

demonstrated that roughly 90 % of the oil is recovered when the water is
drained off.

So, myth "Smashed" :-)

I saw that episode and, no, it actually didn't "smash" anything.

AB recovered (he guessed) 90 percent of the oil he put in the cooking water,
and from this he proposed that not enough oil could be left behind to coat
the pasta and keep it from sticking together. But he didn't do the obvious:
he didn't toss the pasta and see if it was sticking or not.
THAT would have been the smasher, had he seen it through to the end.

Brown (and others) also claim that adding oil to the water will slick up the
pasta enough to keep sauces from adhering. But wait a minute. If not enough
oil is left on the pasta to keep it from sticking to itself, how can enough
be present to keep sauces from sticking?

I like "Good Eats" too, but it and Brown are not immune to errors and
misstatements. By the way, during the 4/6/05 Gyro episode, did a segue frame
state that "Meatloaf" was born in 1969, or was I imagining it?

<that would mean he was roughly six years old when he made "The Rocky Horror
Picture Show"... hot patootie, bless my soul!>

Monsur Fromage du Pollet said:

Michael Horowitz wrote on 07 Apr 2005 in rec.food.cooking

Quoted message said:

Recipes for making pasta vary - some say use oil, others don't
mention it.
Why or why not is oil used? - Mike

Oil is used for preservitive purposes in comercial pastas. A good home-
made pasta is usually eaten within 3 days so no oil needed.

Well, I guess I wasn't as clear as I could have been, but I was
talking about mixing pasta, NOT adding oil to the water (coats the
pasta and reduces the 'cling' factor);

"pennyaline" <[email hidden]> wrote
in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

John Bonnett wrote:

<snip>

-----snippage-----

Quoted message said:

AB recovered (he guessed) 90 percent of the oil he put in the cooking

water,

Sorry. A DVR is your friend. AB didn't 'guess'...he *measured* with the
aid of
an (approximately) ten foot tall tube. That's one of the things which made
that
episode so cool.

Tossing would have been redundant. He had just demonstrated that adding oil
to pasta cooking water does *not* coat every individual strand preventing
sauce
from sticking. Which, after all, was the purpose of the exercise.

As an emperical note...it hasn't affected the hundreds of pounds of pasta
I've
cooked with a tablespoon of olive oil over the past half-century either.

John<==ummmm ! Pasta !!!

"Bob (this one)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Michael Horowitz said:

Recipes for making pasta vary - some say use oil, others don't mention
it.
Why or why not is oil used? - Mike

I assume you're talking about adding oil to the cooking water. There are
several discussion points about it, all false.

1) it prevents pastas from sticking together.
2) it prevents sauces from sticking to the cooked pasta.

The only thing that keeps pasta from sticking together is turbulence.
Rapidly boiling water and reasonably frequent stirring. Oil in the water
won't stick to the pasta and, since it's lighter than water, will float
out of the pot with the first pourings.

Putting butter or oil on the cooked pasta absolutely won't keep sauce from
sticking. But it will keep the pasta from sticking together. And it adds a
nice flavor note to the dish. Both in my restaurants where we literally
served tons of pasta over the years, and at home, I've cooked it, drained
it and tossed with oil for holding. Both my Italian grandmothers did it
that way. Cook, drain, toss with oil, sauce. Or rather, my Sicilian
grandmother tossed it with olive oil and my northern Italian grandmother
used butter. At home nowadays I use butter.

I tested the whole thing years - decades - ago and then have repeated the
tests for the cooking classes I've taught. Everyone had these theories
before we tried it. BOOM go the theories...

The only thing that oil in the cooking water will do is suppress foaming.
But so will turning the heat down a tiny bit to moderate the boil.

Conclusions:
1) there's no good reason to put oil in the cooking water.
2) there's a good reason to toss the pasta (any kind) with a little oil or
butter after draining.

Pastorio

My mother-in-law has always cooked spaghetti (not angel hair) by covering
the pot when it boils and turning off the heat. I have done that myself and
it works -- I prefer #9.
Dee

Sheldon said:

Mikey TROLL Horror-witz said:

Recipes for making pasta vary - some say use oil, others don't

mention

Quoted message said:

it.
Why or why not is oil used? - Mike

Oil is what makes all Eyetalian cooking greasy, like a friggin' dirty
filthy greasy WOP... Mikey TROLL!

Sheldon

Yes, and notice how clever I was! asked a question that could have
been taken two ways; confused all the troops; had 'em all going in one
direction (and the wrong way at that!)- Mike

"Michael Horowitz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Monsur Fromage du Pollet said:

Michael Horowitz wrote on 07 Apr 2005 in rec.food.cooking

Quoted message said:

Recipes for making pasta vary - some say use oil, others don't
mention it.
Why or why not is oil used? - Mike

Oil is used for preservitive purposes in comercial pastas. A good home-
made pasta is usually eaten within 3 days so no oil needed.

Well, I guess I wasn't as clear as I could have been, but I was
talking about mixing pasta, NOT adding oil to the water (coats the
pasta and reduces the 'cling' factor);

Yabbut you have prepared the field for an *excellent* flame war !

Lacking the equipment to prepare pasta from scratch I've always
had to use the pre-made (I like Mueller's brand) stuff from the store.

The ingredient list on the box does not mention oil at all.

I've experimented with adding oil to the breadmaking machine and
the results weren't pretty :-(

John<==sticking with the tried and true !

John Bonnett said:

Quoted message said:

Lacking the equipment to prepare pasta from scratch I've always
had to use the pre-made.

Um, my condolences on the loss of your hands.

Sheldon

John Bonnett said:

I said:

AB recovered (he guessed) 90 percent of the oil he put in the cooking

water,

Sorry. A DVR is your friend. AB didn't 'guess'...he *measured* with the
aid of
an (approximately) ten foot tall tube. That's one of the things which

made

Quoted message said:

that
episode so cool.

If the tube was "approximately" ten feet tall, and as I recall not marked in
graduations...

And if the volume of oil to be used in the demonstration was not measured in
the same tube before adding it to the water...

Then the eyeballed amount of oil recovered in an unmarked tube but not
measurable as it was not measured in the first place (don't need a DVR, TiVo
or On Demand for this) is a rough, VERY rough, guesstimate of a return.

Quoted message said:

Tossing would have been redundant. He had just demonstrated that adding

oil

Quoted message said:

to pasta cooking water does *not* coat every individual strand preventing
sauce

No, he didn't demonstrate that. How on earth do you (and he) imagine that he
did? What was his evidence that it did or did not occur? If, as you
maintain, he did get 90% of the oil back, that meant that 10% was still in
there. That means it was on the pan, the strainer, and the pasta. Probably
on all of the pasta.

After the oil recovery demonstration, Brown moved immediately into the
cooking-pasta-in-abundant-amounts-of-water demonstration, insisting that it
was the cram-up of starch in lesser volumes that led to sticking and that
the whole thing could be solved by using enough water.

It proved nothing about whether adding oil could prevent pasta from sticking
and as such, it certainly didn't "smash" the myth.

Quoted message said:

As an emperical note...it hasn't affected the hundreds of pounds of pasta
I've
cooked with a tablespoon of olive oil over the past half-century either.

My own emperical note: I have added oil for decades, have had no trouble
with sauces and have non-stick pasta every time (I don't use two gallons of
water per pound, either).