Does It Really Work to Add Oil to Boiling Pasta Water?

Question: My mother always told me to add a few drops of oil to boiling water to keep pasta from sticking together. Does this really work? Sent by Joanna, NY

by Veronica Brandy

Veronica Brandy

Veronica is the co-founder of Eatwell101. Veronica's culinary education started at 3 and came through hands-on experience—helping her mother and grand-mother running restaurants and catering services, cooking for friends and family. In 2011, Veronica and her husband joined forces to create Eatwell101, bonding over their shared love of food and cooking as a family.

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Updated Jul 17, 2016

Editor:  We are sorry to bust one of the biggest kitchen myth, but we usually don’t recommend adding oil to pasta water. Oil makes the noodles slippery, causing the sauce to slides right off the pasta. And nobody wants their noodles floating on a sea of bolognese sauce. To prevent sticking, cook your pasta in a large pot with plenty of water, checking regularly that it doesn’t aggregate to the bottom. But if you want to flavor your freshly cooked pasta with a dash of olive oil, that’s another story!

(Image credit : Nina L. palmer)