My sous keeps telling new hires to salt pasta water 'until it tastes like the sea' and I think that advice is garbage

Elliot Grant · 2026-10-10T23:40:03.299716+00:00

I watched a kid dump about a third of a box of kosher salt into a 12 quart pot last Friday because my sous told him that old line, and the pasta came out flat out inedible. Here is the thing, 'like the sea' means nothing when some seas are saltier than others and nobody actually tastes the water before they dump more in. I say you season the water with a set amount per quart, like 1 tablespoon, and taste it once, done. So which side are you on, eyeball it til it tastes like the ocean, or measure it out and stop guessing? I want to hear from people who run high volume pasta stations.

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My sous keeps telling new hires to salt pasta water 'until it tastes like the sea' and I think that advice is garbage | Chefs - Discusd