… Butter also acts as an emulsifier giving you a thick, velvety sauce without adding texture that is associated with olive oil.
What does adding butter to pasta do?īut the real magic at work is the butter. Most veteran pasta makers add oil to their pasta water to prevent the noodles from sticking together, or to keep the water from boiling over. Why do we need to add oil or butter in cooked pasta? “The butter - instead of olive oil at that point - becomes part of your sauce, and helps make your sauce stick to the noodle. If you’re worried about your noodles sticking together post boiling (if you’re not adding your sauce right away), Easton suggests tossing the cooked noodles in butter.
For a more complex, interesting flavor, I add 1 to 2 tablespoons sea salt to a large pot of rapidly boiling water. The pasta dish may even require less salt overall. What do you add to pasta after cooking?Ī generous amount of salt in the water seasons the pasta internally as it absorbs liquid and swells. Without fat, you have at best watery sauce (nobody has ever said, “Waiter, my pasta is not quite wet enough”), and at worst sauce that over-thickens with starch alone and takes on a pasty texture. Why does water stop boiling when you add pasta? Should you put butter on pasta after cooking?Ī small amount of fat-extra-virgin olive oil or butter-is essential to good pasta sauce texture.