UK | Few foods spark debate quite like pasta. Scroll through social media, and pasta purists and rule-breakers alike are divided.
Is snapping spaghetti in half before cooking sensible or a step too far? Is topping it with ketchup a guilty pleasure or just personal taste? The comment sections are split, and nobody is backing down.
New research from Dolmio found that, when it comes to enjoying pasta at home, Britain is far less traditional than it seems.
More than nine in ten pasta eaters admit to at least one habit a purist might question, from swapping Italian cheese for cheddar and snapping spaghetti before cooking, to mixing different pasta types in the same pot or reaching for less traditional toppings such as ketchup, mayo, salad cream or brown sauce.
While 71 percent of Brits believed Italians have the best pasta expertise, most have their own way of doing things in the kitchen.
Nearly half of pasta eaters have swapped Italian cheese for cheddar, while 44 percent have snapped spaghetti before cooking it and 38 percent have mixed different pasta types in the same pot. Taken together, the findings revealed just how readily Brits have rewritten the traditional pasta rulebook.
Social media has fuelled both sides of the debate and continues to encourage experimentation. 89 percent of Brits turn to social media weekly for food inspiration. Almost six in ten Gen Z pasta eaters have recreated a pasta dish after spotting it online. Four in ten would try one-pan pasta and 30 percent would give baked feta pasta a go.
The pasta debate also looked very different across the country, with research revealing the regional habits around the dinner table:
- Wales: 63 percent swap Italian cheese for cheddar
- North West: 47 percent admit to breaking spaghetti before cooking
- South West: 47 percent skip adding salt to their pasta water
- West Midlands: 20 percent say a bad pasta habit could be a dating dealbreaker
- Scotland: 20 percent admit to adding ketchup to their pasta
- London: 37 percent of Londoners have debated with someone about the right way to cook pasta
Hana Hutchinson, Brand Director, Dolmio UK, said pasta comes with plenty of traditions. Still, in people's own kitchens and at their own tables, everyone has little quirks, touches, and preferences that make it their own.
“Dolmio has one too: we put cream in our carbonara. We know pasta purists might have something to say about that, but for Dolmio, enjoying dinner isn’t about getting every rule right,” said Hutchinson.
“Whether you snap your spaghetti, reach for cheddar or have a pasta combination that’s completely your own, we want people to enjoy meals that work for them. Dinner should be tasty, accessible and healthy, without worrying about getting every pasta rule right.”
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