[Egon]

Oil in pasta absolutely keeps it from sticking together. Maybe it makes no difference in the boiling pot, but once you pour it into a strainer, it makes all the difference in the world.

[ScoochDude]

It's your imagination. You're wasting your oil. Just wait until you drain the pasta then add a little oil.

Unless you emulsify it (which will break up once the water boils) the oil just floats on top because it's lighter than the water. Seriously, I'm a chef. I boil pasta daily, tonnes of it.

And adding salt to water actually gives it a higher boiling point so, things cook faster in it.

[mupcat]

Maybe it makes no difference in the boiling pot, but once you pour it into a strainer, it makes all the difference in the world.

Interesting. The only thing I found with adding oil to the pasta in the strainer or the pot after cooking is that the sauce doesn't stick to the pasta then. I just stir the pasta after cooking just as I did when it started to cook to prevent that.

Maybe it has something to do with when you introduce the sauce. If you put it into the pasta after draining it will not stick, but maybe it'll stick if you just plop it on top without incorporating it.

[discostu]

Better way to keep the pasta from sticking is to put in a ladle of the sauce it will be served with. So boil it, strain it, dump it back in the pot, add sauce, stir. Keep it from sticking together without coating it (oil keeps the noodles from sticking together, but it also keeps the sauce from sticking to the noodles) AND gives the flavor a chance to soak in.