The pasta water thing I overheard at my neighbor's BBQ
Was at a cookout last Saturday and this guy starts bragging that he never salts his pasta water, said it's just a waste of salt. I almost choked on my burger. Salted water is the only chance your noodles have before the sauce hits them. Tried it once without salt to prove him wrong and ended up with bland spaghetti that no amount of sauce could fix. Has anyone else run into someone who skips the salt and then wonders why their pasta tastes flat?
My old roommate pulled that same crap and his spaghetti always tasted like wet cardboard. The salt goes in the water, that's just how it works, no way around it.