The literal translation is “to the bite” (or “to the tooth”) but that’s not really a definition, is it? Al dente is descriptive of that cooked state of the pasta where it is firm (but not hard) so that it needs to be chewed. Well cooked pasta should be al dente, but what the heck does al dente mean? Now, that term that we hear a lot but for which there is no exact definition - al dente. Check the pasta packaging for the recommended cooking time. Spaghettini, for instance, will cook much faster than fettuccine. Pasta thickness varies depending on the shape. I find that at that setting, the water continues to boil. So, if you lower the heat, lower it to medium. Not low heat as that will bring the water down to a simmer. If you cover the pan, you can lower the heat a bit. Worse, the water will evaporate faster and that’s not good for the pasta because it needs to swim in plenty of water. Leaving the pan uncovered will make it harder for the water to maintain the required boiling point. But, in one of the episodes of her cooking show, Biba Caggiano said it was alright to cover the pan. I used to think it was a bad idea to cover the pan. Oil and water never the twain will mix, the oil will always stay above the water so it really won’t do anything to the pasta in terms of separating the noodles. I thought that oil would help keep the noodles separate. Adding salt to the water raises the boiling point. The second advantage has to do with boiling point elevation. When you think about layering flavors (seasoning a dish at various stages of cooking), it’s the first step. Is it necessary to add salt to the water to cook the pasta? No, but adding salt has two advantages.įirst, you add flavor to the pasta during the first stage of cooking your pasta dish. Some say it isn’t necessary I find it useful. I also prefer to stir the noodles midway through the cooking time. When the pasta hits the boiling water, it will start to soften at once. Yes, I stir the pasta during cooking but not for the entire cooking time. Whereas, dropping them vertically will give each noodle enough space away from the others. If the noodles are all stacked together (as when they are dropped into the water in a horizontal position), they will clamp together. The moment the pasta comes in contact with water, the starch is released. ![]() Pasta is starch and, again, wet starch is sticky. The better way is to hold the pasta vertically above the water and dropping the noodles so that they separate from one another as they hit the pan. The bad way is to hold the pasta horizontally and dropping the noodles into the water in that position. Is there a right way of doing this? Yes, actually for long pasta shapes like spaghetti, fettuccine and linguine. When the water is boiling, it’s time to drop in the pasta. Hold the pasta vertically then drop into the water And when we say “boil” it means bring the water to a rolling boil - not simmering, not starting to boil but a rolling boil. We boil the water before we add the pasta. So, we have a utensil and the amount of water. I just make sure that there’s plenty of water for whatever amount of pasta I’m cooking. ![]() How much water for a specific amount of pasta?Ĭhefs say it’s a gallon of water for every half pound of pasta. How do you think that will affect the noodles? Why? The starch will thicken the water too much. If you cook pasta in too little water or if the water isn’t hot enough, the pasta will turn soggy. Do we really need something like that?Īll that is necessary is a cooking pan with a thick bottom (because the noodles may stick to the bottom if it is thin) that’s large and deep enough to allow the noodles to swim freely while cooking. Pasta pan? You know, the pot that’s as tall as the length of a spaghetti noodle? Some are even equipped with strainers. It starts with the right utensil, a little knowledge about how to tell when water is boiling and a few little tricks that you may think unimportant but which really spell the difference between so-so pasta and pasta that’s worthy of a gourmet. To cook great pasta, al denteas the Italians say, we have to discard the myths and hype. ![]() ![]() And cooking great pasta takes more than dropping the noodles in boiling water. There’s this hype going around that we’ve all been cooking pasta the wrong way - that we should just use a minimal amount of water and keep the heat low etcetera, etcetera.
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