Pasta may unarguably be one of the best foods in the world. Treat this delicious, glutenous carb dish with the respect it deserves, and one of the best ways to do so is in the water. Salting your pasta water has numerous imperative reasons behind it, both scientific and common sense wise. 

First and foremost, not salting your water gateways into bland pasta. The comparison is like night and day between cooked pasta with just some salt thrown on top versus pasta that has been cooked in salty water. When the pasta water is saltier, the flavor becomes ingrained into the dish which makes all the difference. Every Italian grandmother knows that you should salt your pasta water so that its salinity is alike to the sea. 

To further elaborate on the subject, any good chef knows one thing: never throw out your pasta water. Ever. The remaining solution is filled with starchiness and flavor that is a must for an accompanying pasta sauce, like alfredo. Unlike the Americanized version with heavy cream, authentic Italian alfredo uses an emulsion of pasta water, cheese and butter. The liquid gold that is pasta water will always be perfect for a mouthwatering base due to this starchiness, which helps to not only thicken the sauce but also to ensure that the sauce does stick to the pasta itself.

This idea of how well pasta sticks together or to itself leads into the debunking of another myth⁠—olive oil can be used in pasta water to aid the pasta to not stick together. If you want another subtle way to make Italians and pasta experts everywhere to roll their eyes at you, this is it. Unless one skipped every basic science class, it is common knowledge that oil and water do not mix. If you add olive oil to the water, the nonpolar oil will find the closest thing to attach to, the pasta, to avoid the polarized solution of water. By doing so, any other sauce like that alfredo that you would add to after the pasta is al dente (“to the bite” or “to the tooth” in Italian) will just refuse to stick on. Your meal will be more like a soup with some noodles on top. 

All in all, every one of these small reasons for making a better pasta may seem like a preference, but I can assure you it is so much more than that. Food is meant to be as enjoyable as possible, so if it takes a second or two more to salt your pasta water, why wouldn’t you? Stay salty, Roswell.