Olive Garden Customer Stumped After Noticing the Amount of Oil That Came With Their Pasta

Oil is a staple ingredient across the majority of food recipes and preparations. While there are several varieties of oil available in the market, only a few are healthy to be consumed regularly. It is also worth noting that the healthier the oil is, the bigger the hole burned in your pocket. Besides, repeatedly reheating some oils becomes a health hazard because of the harmful compounds formed in the process. A TikTok user, who goes by @toriitootunt on TikTok, showcased a pasta order from an Italian restaurant, Olive Garden, that had the food drenched in excessive oil. The clip with 5.2 million views sparked concerns about the right amount of oil in pasta, while others tried to guess how that may have happened. 

“Olive garden, no shade, but I need that,” an overlay note on the viral snippet read. The Olive Garden customer was on the verge of eating their pasta when they noticed the leftover oil in the container. Tilting the pasta to one side, the oil from the food spilled out and collected on the other end of the container. In the caption, the creator mused, “Oil with a side of pasta indeed,” adding, “Olive Garden, I’ll accept a lifetime supply of breadsticks and chicken gnocchi soup as compensation.” The post received 137,000 likes and several comments from people offering their two cents on the phenomenon. 

One person (@ladyiustitia) said, “The cream separated because you reheated it too high, that’s all.” While another (@rllybree) chimed in, “Nah, even homemade leftover Alfredo does this. Makes me so mad.” The popular opinion was that the creator had reheated the Alfredo pasta, which is made of heavy cream, butter, and cheese, in a microwave oven, causing the oil to separate out completely. “Oil and cream always separate when you reheat your food,” wrote @texassweetnsour. “Oh, you went to olive oil?” quipped @jokers.bsf. Meanwhile, @quintonan198 explained, “As an OG worker, the only way you can reheat it is by doing 20 to 30 second intervals, stirring after each, but also adding a bit of milk or heavy cream before heating.” 

In general, cooking oils are only healthy is used in a limited amount. Most seed oils contain omega-6 fatty acids, one of them being linoleic acid, which is converted into arachidonic acid when consumed. This serves as a building block for molecules that cause inflammation in the body, further leading to health risks and other issues. Inexpensive oils like canola and soybean are widely used in restaurants and homes. While they are feasible, reheating the unsaturated oils to high temperatures creates trans fats, which adversely affect heart health.

However, Alison Kane, a dietitian at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital, suggests that all oils are healthy if used in moderation. "Seed oils are hiding in our food supply, mainly in crunchy, salty, or sweet snack foods that come in a bag, like chips, crackers, cookies, and other baked goods," she told Harvard Health. Hence, eating excessive junk food is certainly a problem, but drizzling some oil on a salad dressing would cause no harm. 

You can follow @toriitooturnt on TikTok for more videos.