Salting Pasta Water Actually Matters
Pasta only absorbs seasoning while it's cooking, not after — salting the water generously (it should taste noticeably salty, close to seawater) is one of the few chances to season the noodles from the inside rather than just the sauce on top. Adding oil to the water, on the other hand, mostly just floats on the surface and does little to stop sticking — stirring in the first minute of cooking is what actually prevents that.
Sources & methodology: These tips draw on established food-science references —
Harold McGee's food-science writing, America's Test Kitchen /
Cook's Illustrated testing, Serious Eats'
technique reporting, USDA food safety guidance,
and peer-reviewed food-safety research (including UC Davis
cutting-board studies) — not reworded recipe-blog consensus.