Hacker News Reader

Comment by askvictor | Hacker News Reader

I make steel cut oats in the pressure cooker; you need to put some fat in there to stop it bubbling while it's cooking, so butter has a physical purpose there too. And also tastes delicious.

View on HN

For those who haven't done much cooking - this bubble-busting trick works in a wide variety of situations. Very useful.

Some proteins seem to have a similar effect - but I haven't tried to narrow that down, and don't know the food science behind it.

Is this why my grandma put oil in the pasta pot?

yes. It also keeps the pasta from sticking together as quickly after you drain it. But an Italian friend made a face and said "it will keep the sauce from adhering to the pasta!!!' so... yeah.

Keep a little of the starchy pasta water in there when mixing in the sauce — it's the real key.

It's useful to add oil after cooking pasta if you're going to save it for later; otherwise you definitely don't want to. I've never had pasta foam over as I cook without a lid (though haven't tried it with oil and a lid); it's also completely possible to cook it without any heat; once the pasta is added, bring back to boil, then turn off the heat, cover, and let it sit until it's done. It only needs about 80C to cook, which the remnant heat will provide.

Also, (and I learnt this much too late in my life), cook the pasta until a few minutes before it's done, and _finish cooking in the sauce_. This is what makes the sauce adhere. Keep a cup of the starchy pasta water to add in case it needs to be loosened a bit.

That's to reduce the pasta sticking together as it cooks.

Doubtful because it just floats on the surface. Maybe ones you pour the water out?

In my experience, stirring within the first tens of seconds of submersion is enough and it won't stick together again for the rest of the boil. After it's strained is a different matter, but you might as well wait until then if you're going to oil it.

Which doesn’t really work as the oil and water won’t mix.

Not Strega Nona tho.

Possibly, though most likely because of long standing myths. I've never had a pasta pot boil over, but I cook it without a lid; maybe with a lid it makes a difference. I might also try it next time I boil potatoes, which I usually cook with a lid, and have a tendency to froth over if the heat isn't just right.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com