Adding Salt to Water Improves Pasta’s Flavor

Question: Why do we salt the water when cooking pasta?

Answer: Simply to improve the flavor of the pasta, according to chemist Robert L. Wolke, author of “What Einstein Told His Cook.”

The small amount of salt added does not change the boiling point of the water or affect its properties in any other way, he said.

And it doesn’t make any difference when the salt is added, as long as it is before the pasta is placed in the pot.