Can I use vegetable oil instead of olive oil

Van Hellseek · 11 Sep 2009 at 20:31

davestar_delux said:
when cooking pasta?

Middle-class student by any chance?

Darkst4r · 11 Sep 2009 at 20:38

I wouldnt bother using oil , it just stops the pasta sauce from sticking to the pasta properly

davestar_delux · 11 Sep 2009 at 20:40

seek said:
Middle-class student by any chance?

No, reader of instructions on packet...

PhillyDee · 11 Sep 2009 at 21:00

davestar_delux said:
No, reader of instructions on packet...

Cooking stuff comes with instruction? :eek:

I never RTFM.

Kennysevenfold · 11 Sep 2009 at 21:01

"andy" said:
huh?

dont you just boil pasta in water?

This.

With some salt

Mark A · 11 Sep 2009 at 22:51

Hmm, Ive never added oil to pasta before and its never stuck together before. Just make sure there is enough water and don't overcook it.

Sankari · 11 Sep 2009 at 23:11

davestar_delux said:
You're too late!

The oil worked anyway, it didn't stick this time but it still tastes as rotten as last time I made it with just water. I also burned the bacon I have added to the pasta so overall a fairly disgusting meal.

High five!

oli collett · 12 Sep 2009 at 02:22

Why do people fail at cooking pasta?

It's simple:
1 litre of water & 10g salt per 100g pasta

Forget oil in the water, it's useless. For anyone who doesn't salt the water or claims that you don't need to - you might as well not worry about it in the first place.

wannabedamned · 12 Sep 2009 at 02:29

^It's not useless.

I add oil to my pasta if i plan on making a fair bit and putting it in the fridge. Helps stop it becoming a pasta cake.

Moredhel · 12 Sep 2009 at 02:38

You're supposed to add it afterwards to stop it sticking, not during cooking.

Tripnologist · 12 Sep 2009 at 11:17

oli collett said:
Forget oil in the water, it's useless.

Actually, it breaks the surface of the water and prevents it from boiling over. I always use a bit for that reason.

Psypher5 · 12 Sep 2009 at 11:18

It'll give you aids.

DavidB · 12 Sep 2009 at 11:23

I've never understood the fascination with adding salt to everything..
Personally I find salty food dissapointing, not to mention unneccessarily unhealthy.

FatalSaviour · 12 Sep 2009 at 11:23

A few of my Italian friends seem to use Olive oil when they're cooking pasta. That was more than enough convincing me to do the same

Mr_White · 12 Sep 2009 at 12:29

DavidB said:
I've never understood the fascination with adding salt to everything..
Personally I find salty food dissapointing, not to mention unneccessarily unhealthy.

It's not for taste.

A common misuse of the effect of ebullioscopic increase leads to add salt when cooking pasta, only after water has started boiling. The misconception is that otherwise it would take longer for water to boil to elevate the temperature of the water before it boils. However, at the approximate dosage of salting water for cooking (10 g of salt per 1 kg of water, or 1 teaspoon per quart), ebullioscopic increase is approximately 0.17 C (0.31 F), but it is counteracted by the fact that at that concentration salted water absorbs heat faster.

Burnsy2023 · 12 Sep 2009 at 12:32

I don't add oil to the water any more. Instead I put a few glugs through the pasta once cooked. Gives it an awesome flavour and prevents sticking too. That does need to be a good olive oil though.

z0mbi3 · 12 Sep 2009 at 12:34

Tripnologist said:
Actually, it breaks the surface of the water and prevents it from boiling over. I always use a bit for that reason.

As opposed to adjusting the heat?

Get the temperature right and it shouldn't boil over.

Burnsy2023 · 12 Sep 2009 at 12:35

z0mbi3 said:
As opposed to adjusting the heat?

Get the temperature right and it shouldn't boil over.

Indeed. Should be a simmer not a boil.

Shimmyhill · 12 Sep 2009 at 16:38

I come from an Italian family - they all add oil and so do i !

I find it helps when you mix it thru with pesto and you dont seem to get that starch coating you get if you dont put olly oil in.

Scam · 12 Sep 2009 at 17:14

Burnsy2023 said:
Indeed. Should be a simmer not a boil.

I always thought actually boiling it is better than a simmer :confused:

Here's another thing to argue about; who puts the lid on the pan? In my opinion, covering the pan seems to add to the starchy/stickiness somehow, maybe because of the steam being caught in there? Same goes for boiling potatoes. They come out far less starchy if you dont cover them.