What is al dente?

In most pasta recipes, not so much attention is paid to the actual preparation of pasta – as a rule, they are advised to boil them to a state of al dente and do not return to this issue anymore. Slightly experienced chefs, of course, know what it is, so such a description does not create problems, but it saves a lot of time. However, what about those who are not familiar with Italian pasta and see the phrase “al dente” for the first time? I will try to explain – and I apologize in advance to all those for whom this small note will be useless due to their sufficient awareness.

Al dente (al dente) translated from Italian means “to the tooth” and describes the state of the pasta when it is ready, but still hard enough and did not have time to boil. If you are cooking, for example, spaghetti, then when biting through a properly prepared pasta, your tooth should feel resistance – as if a solid string is hidden in the core of each spaghetti. In order to achieve such a state, it is not enough to follow exactly the time indicated on the paste package, you also need to constantly try – the count goes by seconds.

However, you may not be able to get pasta al dente the first time, it requires some experience. According to the reviews of people living in Italy, outside of their homeland they do not know how to cook pasta and are constantly digested, which means that at first glance, pasta cooked al dente will seem undercooked to you. This is normal, and not all pasta can be cooked this way. The term al dente was born in Italy, where durum wheat flour is used to make pasta.

Unlike soft wheat flour (most domestic pasta, not “disguised” as Italy, are made from it), solid varieties contain more protein and gluten and less starch, and the flour itself has a denser structure. As a result, during the cooking process, starch passes into water, and less dense pasta swells from water, becomes too soft and sticky, therefore, only durum wheat pasta is suitable for making al dente pasta.

By the way, I have heard more than once that it is the traditions of cooking al dente pasta that Italians owe to the fact that they do not get fat. I dare say that this is not the case. Firstly, starch itself does not come from anywhere in the cooking process and does not go anywhere, and secondly, fat people are still found among the inhabitants of Italy – and the fact that their number is less than in any America, Italians owe the Mediterranean diet in general and olive oil in particular. In addition to pasta, al dente can also mean the degree of readiness of rice in risotto, and even vegetables.

With rice, everything is clear – every rice, soft on the outside, on the inside should be hard enough to crunch pleasantly when bitten. In the case of vegetables, it also takes some experience to cook them properly – vegetables (like carrots) must be completely cooked, al dente does not mean that they remain undercooked on the inside. I suppose my explanation is more than exhaustive of what al is. dente – and at the same time explains why pasta should be cooked this way and not otherwise. As mentioned above, excess weight has nothing to do with it; it just tastes better! PS: I accidentally found a short cartoon called Al dente. It’s small, dramatic and cute, so if you have five minutes – look, you won’t regret it: