# Cooking pasta with olive oil? Also, garlic storage **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 1, 2003, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-pasta-with-olive-oil-also-garlic-storage/178902 "2003-06-01T05:07:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gentle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eb8c5e/32.png) [@gentle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gentle)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-pasta-with-olive-oil-also-garlic-storage/178902/1 "2003-06-01T05:07:52Z")
A friend of mine boils her pasta in water with a dash of olive oil added. Presumably this is to help the pasta strings from sticking. Another friend, an aspiring cook, insists this is completely unnecessary. Comments? Aside: Opinion seems to be divided as to whether garlic should be stored refrigerated or in room temperature. I notice that stores keep theirs unrefrigerated. I keep mine in the fridge, but does it really matter? ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-pasta-with-olive-oil-also-garlic-storage/178902/2 "2003-06-01T05:16:05Z")
Oil with pasta not surprisingly results in oily pasta from which the sauce will run straight off. Garlic will keep for weeks in a cool dry place. In a fridge after weeks I think it would be mouldy - too wet. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-pasta-with-olive-oil-also-garlic-storage/178902/3 "2003-06-01T05:22:02Z")
Further research reveals that garlic needs cold weather to sprout and in fact refrigeration causes this to happen more quickly. The other thing to avoid in storage is light. ---
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-pasta-with-olive-oil-also-garlic-storage/178902/4 "2003-06-01T12:11:34Z")
I like to mix a dab of olive oil in with the pasta after cooking. Some of the kids like to eat it without sauce. Never had a problem with the sauce running off it, though. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-pasta-with-olive-oil-also-garlic-storage/178902/5 "2003-06-01T12:21:15Z")
Hmm… Zenster’s not here yet? It depends on how much loose starch coats the pasta. Normal store-bought dry pasta (the kind that probably has an expiration date of Nov 2015) tends to have very little starch coating and doesn’t stick as long as you stir it occasionally while it’s cooking. However I would still add a few drops of olive oil anyway just to add some silk to the texture. The fresher pastas like those in refrigerated cases tend to have more powdery starch coating them and either need to be washed off before cooking or you need to add some olive oil. My rule of thumb: the murkier the water goes after adding the pasta, the more olive oil should be added. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-pasta-with-olive-oil-also-garlic-storage/178902/6 "2003-06-01T12:38:54Z")
For many Italians, olive oil _is_ the sauce. Oil with garlic. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-pasta-with-olive-oil-also-garlic-storage/178902/7 "2003-06-01T13:30:31Z")
I’ve done it both ways. I discovered olive oil is completely unnecessary to keep pasta from sticking as long as you keep it moving during the first minute or three of cooking and you don’t put the pasta in unitl the water is vigorously boiling. I have seen some people just throw a bundle of pasta in the water and let it sit until it loosens ups and sinks into the water and _then_ start stiirring, and it will stick like crazy if you do that. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-pasta-with-olive-oil-also-garlic-storage/178902/8 "2003-06-01T13:53:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by don’t ask \* > **Oil with pasta not surprisingly results in oily pasta from which the sauce will run straight off.** I’ve never had this happen. ---
**Author:** ![Thin\_Ice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@Thin\_Ice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thin_Ice)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-pasta-with-olive-oil-also-garlic-storage/178902/9 "2003-06-01T14:04:43Z")
As someone already mentioned, it’s the starch that makes it stick together. I just drain and rinse my pasta well. As for garlic, I always keep mine in the little butter compartment in the door of my fridge. It has started to sprout only once or twice and has never gotten moldy. ---
**Author:** ![MercyStreet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9adbd/32.png) [@MercyStreet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MercyStreet)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-pasta-with-olive-oil-also-garlic-storage/178902/10 "2003-06-01T14:12:59Z")
Garlic will keep in a container that absorbs excess moisture. I have a red-clay “garlic cellar.” An inverted flower pot will do the same thing. Don’t plug the drainage hole. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-pasta-with-olive-oil-also-garlic-storage/178902/11 "2003-06-01T14:21:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jomo Mojo \* > \*\*For many Italians, olive oil _is_ the sauce. Oil with garlic. \*\* I would be one of those Italians. Mmmmm, olive oil and garlic… The key to having pasta not stick is to stir it occasionally. Like **astro** said, keep it moving. It’s when it stops moving that it gets a chance to stick. ---
**Author:** ![DreadLead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@DreadLead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadLead)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-pasta-with-olive-oil-also-garlic-storage/178902/12 "2003-06-01T14:57:59Z")
Stir it alot, especially in the beginning, and it won’t stick. I still through olive oil in the water (quite a bit) because I like it. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Zagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@El\_Zagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Zagna)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-pasta-with-olive-oil-also-garlic-storage/178902/13 "2003-06-01T15:45:28Z")
It’s not the sticking _during_ the cooking that’s a problem for me, it’s the sticking _afterwards_. After I’ve poured out the water, I always add a bit of olive oil to keep the pasta from clumping while it is waiting to be served. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-pasta-with-olive-oil-also-garlic-storage/178902/14 "2003-06-01T15:49:32Z")
Yes, cooked pasta will stick like glue after it’s drained if you don’t immediately add sauce (or oil). While the pasta is draining, my parents would always add a little tomato sauce to the pot the pasta was boiled in, then immediately add the pasta back into the pot and stir it up. They had lots of practice; they made pasta every Sunday the entire time I lived with them, and probably years afterwards. My mom may still make it every Sunday. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-pasta-with-olive-oil-also-garlic-storage/178902/15 "2003-06-01T15:53:18Z")
Another benefit of adding oil (any oil, not just olive) is that it prevents the water from boiling over. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-pasta-with-olive-oil-also-garlic-storage/178902/16 "2003-06-01T16:17:22Z")
Olive oil _after_ draining. Otherwise it just washes away. Olive oil, fresh butter, and garlic. Capers if you like. Add the butter last, and don’t cook it. Serve with a hunk of Boudin sourdough bread to sop up the extra oil, and a \*good]/i] chianti. ---
**Author:** ![gentle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eb8c5e/32.png) [@gentle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gentle)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-pasta-with-olive-oil-also-garlic-storage/178902/17 "2003-06-01T18:49:57Z")
Thanks for the comments, everyone. As for myself, I always add a dash of olive oil after draining pasta, then put it back on the stove to steam off for a little while – and then a blob of butter for special occasions. The explanation about garlic sprouting when cold is interesting. I will start preserving my garlic in a cool, dark, dry place. I eat a lot of garlic, constantly, and the last six months or so I have noticed that after a heartily garlicked meals my normal sense of taste is altered, as if polluted, by a sweet-sour taste that I can’t place; and I have also been refrigerating my garlic the last six months or so, so I’m thinking, and hoping, that there might be a correlation. Attrayant, my experience with starched pasta is that it sticks less, and that sticking during the cooking phase is rather dependent on product quality. There is a non-fresh pasta brand in this country – Norway – that _always_ sticks, no matter how much oil or stirring, and you get these big bundles of hard, uncooked pasta. Unfortunately, my parents used to buy this when I was a kid, and tragically, a lot of people go through life not ever knowing any better. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-pasta-with-olive-oil-also-garlic-storage/178902/18 "2003-06-01T19:06:37Z")
I never store garlic in my refrigerator. Its aroma can infiltrate other foods in a rather nasty way. The cold sprouting issue only cements this for me. Sprouted garlic loses its flavor and the green portion can have a disagreeable taste as well. Oil in the pasta water may not be totally necessary but seems to work well enough. Only those on a very restricted intake diet might wish to avoid the practice. I wouldn’t bother to use expensive olive oil as any vegetable oil works just fine. **gentle** , be sure to add your pasta to the water in small increments (i.e., 10-20 strands at a time) to avoid clumping. **Qadgop** , if the sauce is always running off of your pasta, try tossing it with some grated cheese beforehand. PS: Hi **Attrayant**! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-pasta-with-olive-oil-also-garlic-storage/178902/19 "2003-06-01T21:25:13Z")
Unrefrigerated storage for the garlic; apparently the young green shoots can be bitter, but it is seldom around long enough to sprout in my kitchen. I have added oil to the pasta water before, but I don’t believe it makes any difference - I now add a little after draining and it doesn’t seem to adversely affect sauce adhesion, but it does stop the pasta from sticking as it stands (with some shapes of pasta, you have to let them stand a minute or so to let all the excess moisture out, or else you end up diluting the sauce.