Over at Vox, a virtual water cooler for the world’s most pressing problems, Matt Yglesias tells us that Darden is fighting back against charges that it has mismanaged Olive Garden. But he’s unimpressed with their PowerPoint deck:
The entire Darden counter-presentation has nothing to say about salting the water. And to be clear, this is a 22 slide presentation. They had plenty of opportunity to explain themselves, apologize, or deny it. Instead, they’re just keeping quiet.
Here at MoJo, an entirely different virtual water cooler for the world’s most pressing problems, I don’t know anything about cooking pasta. However, one of my readers claims he does. So here’s the defense that Darden has declined to offer on its own:
I acknowledge that salting the water is a common and recommended practice for both pasta and dried beans, but this practice has the effect of toughening the outer surface of both pasta and beans during the cooking process. If you wait to add salt until after the cooking is completed the texture of the boiled food will be more tender. This does not mean it can’t be “al dente,” which refers to the structure of the complete noodle (or bean), just that the skin or surface is not tough. Try it.
So there you have it. Feel free to discuss this critical issue in comments.
