Newsgroup: it.cultura
Titolo: when is it "al dente" ?

Anyone have any opinions or knowledge about when pasta is "al dente" ?
I presume that the answer is something like, "when xx grams of uncooked
pasta have picked up an extra yy percent of weight of water".
I'd make some measurements myself, but I don't have a precise scale. Maybe
someone who does wopuld care to make some measurements? Uh oh, I hope I
haven't started a quarrel.
Besides, I'd like to get a lot of opinions, to see if there's a general
consensus.
I'd be grateful if answers are in English
-- 
Alan Horowitz  
al...@wilma.widomaker.com

 wrote:

'Al dente' means, literally, 'to the tooth'. Pasta is tender but still
firm to the bite. The answer is in your jaws. Since neither pasta (of
any kind), nor even water it is boiled in is standardized, it would be
ridiculous to expect any exact measurements or scales to exist.
Victor

 Alan Horowitz  
al...@wilma.widomaker.com
Al dente is when you slap it against the wall and it don't fall off.
(we're talking about pasta here)

Since "al dente" refers to "to the tooth" it's just a matter of learning
when pasta is done and not "al mush".  
Madeline

 Victor
if i want al dente i cook my pasta till its rubbery soft to me thats it
Anti=D

On Fri, 14 Nov 1997 16:12:13 GMT, 
Ray...@worldnet.att.net
 wrote:
Abbiamo  sfondato le frontiere ?
Anche in inglese , adesso?
WOW siamo  cosi' interessanti?
O è merito della pasta ?
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
Per rispondere con una mail
mettere   tin   al posto di 
  under
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

This is MY method, and it's objective, not subjective.  
Yes, it is right !!
Very well
Ciao


 I'd be grateful if answers are in English
The truth is that we actually dive our hands in boiling water, gather
the pasta and, with a nuclear propelled scale we measure the EXACT
quantity of air bubbles left in the pasta cells...
Oh please! Evere heard of *feelings*? That's what cooking's alla bout,
isn't it?
So, try not to get your pasta too soft (i.e. it does NOT have to stick
to the wall) - I actually like it a little bit hard, not that you can
still see the white pin inside, but just a nanosecond (measured on the
famous Italian sincroton accelerator watch) after...
Anna

 (we're talking about pasta here)
Nah, that is mushy pasta. Yucky. 
Nathalie Chiva
Informatique administrative UNIL
Switzerland

 general consensus.
no no no!
S&G represent in their manual the actual consensus about these themes
you should definitely seek no longer other different, confusing,
troublesome answers
ciao Alan
								g
ps: :-) (but the story abut the change in the sound of boiling water
    is pure truth)

Alan Horowitz  
al...@wilma.widomaker.com
This is MY method, and it's objective, not subjective.  Easiest to
learn on round spaghetti, but applicable to all pastas.  After it has
cooked for a few minutes, I remove a piece from the water and bite the
end off.  I look at the end.  There will be a small round white circle
in the center of a translucent ring.  The translucent ring is cooked,
the white circle is still raw.  I sample every half-minute or so, even
less as the white circle gets very small .  The instant the white
circle is gone, indicating the pasta is cooked all the way to the
center, I quickly sample one or two more pieces to make sure the batch
is consistent.  If there are no more white circles I remove the pasta
from the water, because it's done.  When cooking flat pastas, like
fetuccini, the white part is a very thin streak within a translucent
border.  Whatever it's shape, once the white is gone there is no
reason to continue cooking any pasta, because it's done and will, from
that point on, start to turn to mush.

Alan Horowitz  
al...@wilma.widomaker.com
"Al dente" means that pasta is quit hard to eat. In order to make
pasta al dente, you should cook it a bit less than what the box of the
pasta says.
Love
Francesco
md4...@mclink.it

with checkup! Thanx.
Not even homemade checkup?
--
There are three kinds of people in the world: those who understand
mathematics, and those who don't.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
e-mail: moc.suiris@enegreve <--- Read it this way.

Nah, that is mushy pasta. Yucky. 
Possibly,  but when you move out, you can frame the chosen spot. At
least that's what some friends of mine claim they did.
Helle

against plastic (specifically my spaghetti fork).
Ouch, come on! How can you eat spaghetti al dente with a plastic fork!
How can you EAT anything with a plastic fork! To eat a good dish of
spaghetti (or pasta) the first feeling is in your fingers holding a
right weight metal fork. 
You can use plastic fork to survive, not to eat!
Pasta al dente is not matter of 1/2 minute more or less. Is question
of seconds. But the trick it's not only on how long you cook it. It's
the kind and quantity of water, the temperature of the boiling water
and MAINLY on what you do when you think the pasta is ready.
Really want to learn? You've one choice (so, no choice). Look for a
really Italian friend or come over to meet us. Ask him and specially
LOOK at him.
marco


 and MAINLY on what you do when you think the pasta is ready.
Not only is it a matter of seconds, but you have to remember that it
keeps on cooking even after you take it out of the water, so it's better
to take it out when you have the feeling it's a bit harder than you'd 
like it to be.  And, you're right, it depends on what you're going to do
with it...I always use raw noodles for lasagne, for example.
Reka
huk...@pegasus.it

 (we're talking about pasta here)
I've heard that the wall test is not the best...throwing the pasta at the
ceiling is more indicative of doneness.RHW

 
Dear Alan, the question is quite simple:
1) On the packet of pasta there is nearly always the cooking time:
follow it or
2) Just eat a little piece of pasta: when it is "cooked", but not
"overcooked", then it is "al dente". Ciao, buon appetito.
-- 
Don't "look for" yourself. Just ride yourself.
Non "cercare" te stesso. Cavąlcati e basta.
AdaNčk, Italy/EU.

(yeah, I know I know... I'm late again. Sorry if I'm reviving a dead 
thread...).
marco zabot (
zabot....@nospam.polito.it
) wrote:
: On 15 Nov 1997 03:56:30 GMT, 
anti...@ucs.indiana.edu
 (Mimi W. Tzeng)
: wrote:
: >I haven't seen my method yet. I tell by feeling how the pasta slaps
: >against plastic (specifically my spaghetti fork).
: Ouch, come on! How can you eat spaghetti al dente with a plastic fork!
*chuckle* I meant the plastic cooking utensil that I use to stir the
spaghetti while it's boiling in the pot. (Well, actually I use a wooden
spoon for most of it and just the spaghetti fork when I'm testing).
When it comes to eating it, yes, I use a metal dinner fork. ;)
: Really want to learn? You've one choice (so, no choice). Look for a
: really Italian friend or come over to meet us. Ask him and specially
: LOOK at him.
Hah! I *wish* I could afford to go to Italy, for a lot of reasons
other than learning to cook pasta properly. ;) 
On the other hand, both my husband and I like the results of what I
do now, so I'll stick with it. 
: PS. If you learn to cook spaghetti al dente, PLEASE don't dress it
: with checkup! Thanx.
We use Ragu, actually. Not much better but my husband isn't a foodie...
--
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