You thought it was just for draining
The hole in a spaghetti spoon is not only for draining water. On many spoons, it also measures roughly one serving of dry spaghetti.
Quick answer
Two things. First: it drains excess water when you scoop pasta out of the pot. That part most people know. Second, and this is the one that went viral, on spoons with a single center hole, the hole is sized to hold one serving of dry spaghetti. Push a bundle of raw spaghetti through the hole until it fills the opening, and that's one adult portion. Some spoons have multiple holes purely for drainage and won't work as a measure. But if yours has one center hole, you've had a portion gauge in your drawer the whole time.
First job
Drain water when serving
Hidden job
Measure one pasta serving
Works on all spoons?
Only single-hole types
Serving size it measures
Roughly 80–100g dry
You thought it was just for draining
Two things. First: it drains excess water when you scoop pasta out of the pot. That part most people know. Second, and this is the one that went viral, on spoons with a single center hole, the hole is sized to hold one serving of dry spaghetti. Push a bundle of raw spaghetti through the hole until it fills the opening, and that's one adult portion. Some spoons have multiple holes purely for drainage and won't work as a measure. But if yours has one center hole, you've had a portion gauge in your drawer the whole time.
Myth vs Reality
Multi-hole spoons drain, they don't measure. Even on single-hole spoons, the hole size varies by manufacturer, so the portion might be slightly off. It's a useful rough guide, not a laboratory measurement.
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