My mother in law's salt advice was actually right, and I owe her an apology

For 10 years I refused to salt pasta water. My mother in law kept telling me to add a handful, said it makes a difference. I thought she was just being fussy, like her thing about rinsing every dish before it goes in the dishwasher. Last month I finally tried it with a batch of spaghetti for Sunday dinner. Used about 2 tablespoons in 4 quarts of water. The pasta actually tasted seasoned on its own, not just the sauce doing all the work. I still think she's wrong about the dishwasher thing, but I've been salting my water every time since. Anyone else stubbornly ignore a family member's cooking tip for years before caving?

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wendy7214d agoMost Upvoted

Take the salt tip one step further and season the water like you mean it. The rule I always heard is it should taste like the sea, not just vaguely salty. If it just tastes salty on your finger, that's not enough, you need it to actually hit your tongue. I fought my own dad on this for years and honestly the difference is night and day, the pasta gets flavor all the way through instead of just on the outside. Also don't worry about the dishwasher thing, some people just have their quirks, but you might wanna test if she's right about that too before you apologize twice.