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Yep, It Actually Matters How Much Salt You Add To Pasta Water By Joe Hoeffner Aug. 14, 2025 4:00 pm EST

Have you ever been in the position as a kid where your parents would tell you to do something and you constantly refused — until they explained why, and then you happily went along with it? That's how it goes when you're cooking, too, especially if you're making something like pasta. The pasta-making process has become so ritualized — even sacred — that for some, the reason why they salt pasta water is simply because they've always salted it.

But there actually is a reason behind it, as a certified Italian Nonna happily shared exclusively with us at The Takeout. We talked to Ginny Ferrara (nee Pascullo), the 96-year-old grandmother of PR strategist and stylist To

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