So what exactly is so wrong about not salting the water? Curious because I have grown up not salting the water and have aldo salted the water before, but it doesn't seem to make any noticeable difference to me?

I never thought of ranch powder as being regional, but maybe. It's most commonly sold in packets in the salad dressing aisle. But when sprinkled on pasta (or sourdough toast!) with some butter, it gives a tangier flavor than premixed ranch dressing would, which I love.

I believe the salt thing is so your water don't overboil because pasta makes water foam up and salt water will not boil over

Hidden valley ranch has the powder form it's good shaken on potatoe chunks and oven cooked also making dips

I've never had my pasta boil over though. And that's without salt.

Mine does because I'm a bad cook and I forget to watch it maybe I put too much water ??? Idk but I saw the salt thing on a cooking show

I see the salt thing all the time (and also supposedly adding olive oil to the water to prevent pasta from sticking together), but honestly, those aren't really issues that I've had with it.

I've never had it stick together unless it's overcooked or like if I put plain noodles in a bowl without sauce or something (I don't combine my spaghetti noodles with sauce I pour mine on top of my plate)

i thought salt was just for taste. the pasta absorbs the flavor while it boils, and the saltiness will compliment the sweet tomato sauce.

Yeah you have to salt the pasta... like, to season it.

Idk, I don't like super salty stuff, so if my pasta is so salty that it makes difference to the resulting taste of the overall dish, it's probably too salty.

my mom says adding salt helps things boil faster, and i'm like suuuuuure

Mine boils over even with salt. I never add oil though, because I never had problems with it sticking together. In my personal opinion salt does affect the taste of pasta (which is why I decide for or against salt based on what sauce I plan to serve it with), but I never noticed any difference in boiling time.

yeah just to balance with the pasta, not to become too salty

When I was a child I also loved sweet pasta. With breadcrumbs, sugar and applesauce. Haven't had that in a looong time, but now that I think of it, it was surprisingly delicious.

applesauce... is that an european thing?

I’M STILL ALIVE

holy shit this took off

Applesauce is a hella US thing if anything

Applesauce with pork chops

Welcome back! ^^

mdom: I always thought applesauce was a pretty international thing to be honest... because it's cheap, sweet yet not too sweet, and works well anywhere from cake batter to a butter substitution on Germknödel (which is a steamed yeast dumpling filled with plum jam, usually served with molten butter, sugar and ground poppyseed - I think applesauce instead of butter gives it a fresher taste while still providing the neccessary poppy moisture)

Is it really? Things you learn...

I meant applesauce on pasta xD

I've heard about it.

I've never tried it, but it could be okay. I generally don't think of pasta for sweet dishes.

Chocolate I think it'd work xD

It just sounds too weird to me. Pasta is savory, not sweet!

I don't know if sweet pasta is an european thing. It's something I grew up with and so it always seemed normal to me, but now that I think about it, I haven't seen anything similar offered in restaurants.

I, uh... That's, erm, interesting.

hey don't look at me that way!
It's a Death by Mirrors thing!

I mean, it sounds like it could be good under certain circumstances. I just have not yet come across those certain circumstances.

Circumstances like... being a kid? XD
I really loved sweet meals when I was little. Nowadays I'm more for savory stuff.

...Yes, I sprung fully-grown from the top of a CRT.

That's pretty cool actually. You got to skip the nasty stuff. Like puberty. Or high school.

Reminds me of how my mom always thinks rice should be made with sugar. Really kind of grosses me out. I mean sure, actual rice pudding, but plain boiled rice with sugar? Yuck.

The only time I add sugar to plain boiled rice is when making sushi. Or actually I don't add sugar to the rice there but the vinegar. Other than that I can't really see it working. Goulash with peppers, pickles and sweet rice? Uh... no, thanks.

but she won't eat that rice with like, beans and steak, right?

Oh no, she just wants it for breakfast or dessert and what not. She's actually developed a bit of a passion for the Knorr's Rice Sides, especially the Chicken and Broccoli flavor.

those are pretty good, tbph.

I really like the mushroom. I liked the mushroom ramen too, but I haven't been able to find it in years.
Also I just had to teach spell check that ramen is a real word.

Tbh, most of those taste too bland to me, but I like the broccoli cheese ones.

The broccoli and cheese one is my favorite.

I haven't bought any in so long....I should pick up a few.
And the pasta-roni sour cream and chive....

So I realized a few weeks ago (after seeing how empty my kitchen is), that omlettes are interesting and easy things to make. My housemate left several boxes of Rice-A-Roni, and turns out, an omlette with wild rice and chopped-up string cheese actually tastes pretty damn good.

...to a broke college robot with low expectations.

eggs and cheese is a winning combination