this post was submitted on 09 Jan 2026
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[–] AbsolutelyNotAVelociraptor@sh.itjust.works 26 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Pro-tip: don't add butter (or any oil for that matter) to the cooking water. It just makes your pasta slippery making it hard for your sauce to stick to it.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 11 points 2 months ago

If you add a little of the pasta water to your sauce (let it cook about halfway so it's starchy then mix like a quarter cup in with your sauce, assuming it is a sauce that can handle it) the sauce sticks to the pasta better

[–] unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Agreed. Not sure what you mean by sauce, though

[–] AbsolutelyNotAVelociraptor@sh.itjust.works 12 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Normally, you cook the pasta to add something to it. Tomato? Pesto? Some ragù? You "dress" your pasta with some condiment. That's what I mean, with "sauce".

[–] unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz 6 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I was kidding, but often "sauce" for me is minimal. As a kid it was salt, and then I learned I could add butter. A challenged child was I. I have moved on, but spaghetti with just salt and butter, and hot sauce and green chilies and some meat and whatever else but never a traditional red or white sauce, it hits and I like it. This has gone far afield from what I said originally.

[–] AbsolutelyNotAVelociraptor@sh.itjust.works 7 points 2 months ago (1 children)

"Burro e salvia" (butter and sage) is a common pasta dressing in Italy. And it's incredibly good. But then again, the butter comes after the pasta is boiled for the reason I mentioned. If you are using butter, try adding it to the pasta when you serve it (obviously, still hot), you'll see the flavor is much better than when you add it to the water (and you need to use less butter with the pasta because it won't remain in the water).

[–] unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz 5 points 2 months ago

I promise, I don't put butter in the pasta water

[–] Whats_your_reasoning@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Sometimes pasta with just salt and oil/butter hits the spot. It's simple, but pasta's good enough to hold its own even without supporting ingredients.

Alternatively, sometimes I just use Italian salad dressing. (The dressing being Italian is coincidental, but hey if it works, it works.)

[–] unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz 2 points 2 months ago

Yeah when you're cooking in an unknown kitchen and there's literally nothing but pasta and some salad dressing, or wing sauce, or some salt packets, you're doing okay