John Bonnett wrote:

<snip>

> And, recently <stops to wash hands before typing> Alton <hears heavenly
> choir> did
> a show called "Myth Smashers" were he actually performed an experiment
which
> demonstrated that roughly 90 % of the oil is recovered when the water is
> drained off.
>
> So, myth "Smashed" :-)

I saw that episode and, no, it actually didn't "smash" anything.

AB recovered (he guessed) 90 percent of the oil he put in the cooking water,
and from this he proposed that not enough oil could be left behind to coat
the pasta and keep it from sticking together. But he didn't do the obvious:
he didn't toss the pasta and see if it was sticking or not.
THAT would have been the smasher, had he seen it through to the end.

Brown (and others) also claim that adding oil to the water will slick up the
pasta enough to keep sauces from adhering. But wait a minute. If not enough
oil is left on the pasta to keep it from sticking to itself, how can enough
be present to keep sauces from sticking?

I like "Good Eats" too, but it and Brown are not immune to errors and
misstatements. By the way, during the 4/6/05 Gyro episode, did a segue frame
state that "Meatloaf" was born in 1969, or was I imagining it?

<that would mean he was roughly six years old when he made "The Rocky Horror
Picture Show"... hot patootie, bless my soul!>