As often as we treat pasta as nothing other than a vehicle for what we point out whether it is a chunky tomato sauce, basilicumpesto or creamy Alfredo. What is easy to forget is that no sauce can hide the disappointing texture of these noodles if it is not cooked perfectly.
Nobody wants mushy macaroni or crispy cava pappi, so I turned to Barilla’s experts to give advice, as you know when pasta is finished.
What it means to be “al dente”
The throwing of spaghetti against the wall may sound funny, but despite what your grandmother or great uncle may have told you, it is not the right way to see if your pasta is finished.
Barilla’s advice in every box is to cook al dente pasta, which is Italian for “to the tooth”. The best way to test this is to take a bite of the noodle. But what kind of texture does pasta that al dente actually cooked?
Barilla explains in one YouTube video This pasta that is cooked al dente is firm when you bite in; It is tender, but has texture. If the noodles are thrown with other ingredients, it should also hold their shape under the weight of a fleshy Bolognese sauce or mixtures such as vegetables.
How solid is to Company? The pasta company says in its video that if you take a bite and see a white line within the pasta, this means that it is not cooked enough. Before you see the white line, however, you will already know that something is not over. The pasta will have a crispy or uncomfortable tough texture.
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How is it done for pasta?
Overcooked pasta is not fun either. Barilla tells the video that too long pasta will be limp and informal on the plate. This means that it has no chance of supporting sauce, meatballs or other ingredients. Covered pasta will fall apart when stirring, and large shapes like mussels will tear when they try to fill them.
With regard to the texture, boiled pasta is so soft that it almost dissolves on the tongue. Everyone who has eaten a noodle soup in cans knows exactly what I mean.
Tips for the perfect cooking of pasta
Following the instructions on the box is a good beginning, but not stopped there. Do test bites of your pasta a few minutes earlier. As soon as it has this Al -Dente texture, throw the pasta out of the water and into a colander.
Another good tip? For noodles that finish a few minutes in a sauce for cooking, let it out a minute or two morning. It is undercote, but in this case it is a good thing – it will end cooking in the boiling sauce and absorb some of the flavors.
