Am I the only one who never questioned why I boil pasta water before adding salt?

Iris Rivera · 2026-10-03T17:40:04.128074+00:00

Last Tuesday I was making spaghetti in my kitchen in Tucson and I dumped the salt in at the start like always, then my roommate asked why I do that. I said it seasons the water, she said the salt just sits at the bottom of the pot until it dissolves and barely touches the pasta anyway. I looked it up and found out salting after the boil gets the same result with less waste, and I've been doing it wrong for about 12 years. Does anyone else salt at the start out of pure habit, or is there a real reason to do it that way?

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Am I the only one who never questioned why I boil pasta water before adding salt? | Ask Anything - The Community Guide