A chef has shared the key to getting perfectly cooked al dente pasta every time, and it all comes down to ditching one common - and expensive - ingredient that's often added to the water.
The ingredient to avoid
New Zealand chef Andy Hearnden, known on social media as Andy Cooks, says olive oil in pasta water "does nothing" and could actually stop sauce from properly sticking to the pasta. He shared his advice in a YouTube video titled 'Olive oil does nothing in your pasta water, I promise'.
Andy, who is based in Australia and spent more than 20 years working in restaurants before the COVID-19 pandemic, explained that oil cannot solve boil-overs. "The foam that climbs up the side of your pot isn't fazed by fat, it keeps rising regardless. Look at that - it's not sticky. No sticky," he said.
The better method
Instead of oil, Andy recommends using a larger pot and cooking the pasta at a lower temperature. "Your best defenses are a larger pot and a lower flame. It's way cheaper and far more reliable," he said.
He added: "And another benefit to not using olive oil in your water is that your sauce sticks to your pasta better. Bon appétit."
Viewers react
In the comments, viewers agreed with Andy's tip. One person said: "The main benefit is that you don't waste a pretty expensive quality product for nothing." Another wrote: "All you need is salt and to keep stirring and like you said lower flame bigger pot!"
A third commented: "Chef Andy, debunking cooking myths since 2020!!!" while a fourth added: "I've heard this thing about putting oil in the pasta water before...but as an Italian I don't understand the point of it. Just be careful, maybe use a larger pot, but no oil please!!" Someone else said: "I didn't even know that some people put olive oil in their pasta water."
