The day I stopped salting my pasta water for the wrong reasons

I spent 12 years salting pasta water because I thought it was for flavor, not seasoning the pasta itself. Then a sous chef in Chicago told me it's mostly about getting the pasta to absorb salt from the inside, and I realized I'd been under-salting everything the whole time. Took a side-by-side test with two pots last month to actually see the difference in taste. Has anyone else had a basic technique moment that hit you way later than it should have?

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gray619d ago

Salt gets absorbed but not as deep as people think. The real win is salting early, right when the water boils. That way the pasta cooks in seasoned water from the first second. Blind taste test with two batches, one salted late, one early, and you could tell the difference. Sous chefs love to make things sound fancy, but it's just about timing, not some inside-out magic trick.