Spoiler alert: it's the alcohol.
| Channel | Publish Date | Thumbnail & View Count | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
 Ethan Chlebowski | 2023-01-26 21:30:03 |  1,658,390 Views |
Does vodka really make pasta taste better?
Noel Christmas was a professional chef for 12 years and worked as a food writer for Allrecipes.com for another 10 years where he translated professional techniques and recipes into accessible household standards.
I’m not sure when it happened but at some point every restaurant put Pasta alla Vodka on the menu. It’s like the powers that be in the pasta world suddenly decided that this was the best way to make tomato sauce. And honestly these restaurateurs had a point: tomato sauce cooked with a dash of vodka is delicious. You don’t taste any alcohol at all but it somehow elevates the dish. So what’s going on there?
That’s the funny thing! We understand wine in Italian food whether it’s a big bold red wine in tomato sauce or balsamic vinegar (which starts out as wine) over tomatoes. But vodka? It’s counterintuitive but it absolutely transforms the sauce. It starts off peppery and then has herbal flavors you just don’t expect.
