The One Trick That Keeps Pots From Boiling Over (It Actually Works)

I don’t know what it is about boiling pasta , but it only ever threatens to spill over the second I walk away. You know how it goes—a watched pot never boils. But the minute I check my phone, help with a homework question, or continue with more involved dinner prep, it betrays me with a cleaning project I didn't ask for.

I’m familiar with the wooden spoon trick, but I only seem to remember to use it when I’m making dahl . So, after seeing a  viral video from Delish  that called for rubbing butter around the rim of a pot to stop the foam, I got really curious. Could a tiny bit of fat outperform the lore of the spoon? I decided to try them both side by side on my weekly pasta night to see which one truly deserved its reputation. ​

I Put Two Viral Boil Over Tricks to the Test

The wooden spoon trick is one most of us have heard about. It’s incredibly simple and doesn't require any planning. Once your pot comes to a boil, lay a dry wooden spoon across the top so it rests on both sides of the rim, and let it do its thing. When the bubbles come into contact with the wood, they pop, and the spoon’s slightly cooler temperature also helps collapse the foam.

It worked—but only up to a point. When the spoon heated up, it lost its “magic,” so I still felt I had to keep an eye on it. ​ The fat rim method requires a bit more forethought because you do it before you even turn on the burner.

In this case, you rub a small dab of butter or oil in a thin ring around the inside top edge of the pot. I find it easiest to use the butter packaging or blot a paper towel with oil . This also worked well. When the rising bubbles reached the greasy rim, they collapsed and slid back down. ​

Why the Fat Rim Method Is the Better Trick

The biggest difference between the two is that the wooden spoon needs you to be nearby during longer boils, while the butter rim does its job whether you're watching or not. For busy weeknight cooking , that matters.

From a science-y perspective, the wooden spoon works by physically popping the bubbles and using "temperature shock" to collapse them. But once the spoon gets hot, it loses its effectiveness. The fat rim method relies on a bit of chemistry. Because fat is a natural bubble-breaker, when the starchy bubbles hit the oily barrier, it weakens the bubble’s "skin" right away and causes them to break down.

This is more reliable, but it also comes with a couple of small caveats. Namely, that it can add a trace amount of fat to your water. It's a negligible amount, but worth keeping in mind if you're cooking something delicate. It also leaves a slightly greasy ring on the pot, which requires more effort to clean up . ​

What I Learned From Testing Both Tricks

The honest truth is that neither trick can fully replace the other clear-and-obvious solution: Turning the heat down a notch once your water reaches a boil is still the most reliable thing you can do. Once the water reaches a boil, it doesn’t need to be at full blast.

Lowering it just slightly keeps the bubbles in check and prevents the whole situation from getting out of hand in the first place. Opting for a lively (not raging) boil will make both tricks work even better. But if you’re like me and can easily get distracted, a quick swipe of butter around the rim is a helpful backup.

Read the original article on Simply Recipes