To be honest, I never bother to salt the pasta cooking water.

Holy cow! Why not add a truckload of salt and be done with it? You wouldn't really notice the difference! For me, even 2 teaspoons would be too salty. I use the veriest pinch, and then only to help the water heat up a little higher than the boiling point of water.

Four quarts equals one gallon of water which is quite a lot but I'd still use 2 teaspoons of salt rather than 2 tablespoons.
I think it's a matter of your own taste.

SharonCb

I'd say thats right....I always heavily salt my pasta water...usually to taste it would kinda be like sea water

I think one Tbsp per gallon is the general standard. Attached is a great recipe, but the reviews are even better.

Here is a link that might be useful: salted water

I always put a heavy t. salt and about 2 T. EVOO in my pasta water.

Michelle

It is my understanding that this is the only time that pasta will absorb salt/seasoning. One of those long ago tips I no longer remember where from.

I use the same method as Michelle :)

I've always been told no oil because it keeps your sauce from sticking to the pasta.

I'm on a low salt diet, abd I find I don't even miss the salt. I do grate parmesan cheese on top of pasta, and it provides plenty of taste.

Salt is about right. You want it to be just about like sea water.

Goodness, who measures. I just throw a big pinch of sea salt from my salt pig into the water.

When our church fed the 1000 bike riders, we got a truck load of pasta donated by Barilla. Their instructions were to not put oil in the water, salt to taste ( whatever that means) and don't rinse the pasta because you want the starch on it to make the sauce stick.
What they didn't take into account was we were cooking huge vats of pasta that stayed hot on the inside a long time and putting on a simple oil and balsamic dressing which would have stuck better if the pasta had been rinsed.
How heavily I salt my pasta water depends on the sauce I am using. I find that pesto often tastes lacking in salt to me....so I salt more.
Linda C

momj47 - So I guess 2T sounds like too much to you?

Two tablespoons sure sounds like a lot of salt, but "they" might be right. I probably don't add more than a teaspoon or two. I have had pasta from unsalted water and it tastes pretty bland, so I think adding some salt is important. I usally add oil or butter after I drain the pasta.

According to Cooks Illustrated - add 1 tablespoon of table salt or two tablespoons of kosher salt to 4 quarts of boiling water when you add the pasta.

Guess I wasn't using enough!

There is no right or wrong answer here. Saltiness is very much a preferred taste. Some people would say food without salt tastes "flat" but to those not accustomed to foods with much salt, food just tastes over salty.

I gave up salting most food a decade ago (unless it is critical, as in baking) and now am highly aware of the salt content of nearly everything I eat. I think its made me more aware of the taste of food itself.
I do make changes for guests though.

Pasta water is the only water I salt. I stopped using salt in veggies etc along time ago. For some reason pasta is the only thing, cooked in water, I find I must salt or it tastes flat.

Having said that I sure don't use 2 TBSP, maybe 2 tsp.

Hmmm, I think it's time for an experiment. The more I think about it, any pasta dish that I make probably already has enough "other stuff" on it to where I probably wouldn't even notice a difference in the taste. I throw salt in the water out of habit, but probably don't even need it. (I know my heart def doesn't need it!)