Newsgroup: it.hobby.cucina
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

 I'd be grateful if answers are in English
We do our very best, on IHC... (but even so, cross-posting is not very
well welcome... ;'>)
take care
Giorgio
-- 
E Dio disse:"Non e' bene per l'uomo che resti solo...". 
E, fattolo cadere in un sonno profondo, 
trasse una costola dal suo costato. 
Guardandolo dormire beatamente, 
Dio, nella sua infinita saggezza e bonta', disse:
"... pero', meglio che male accompagnato...". 
E rimise la costola al suo posto.
E fu sera e fu mattina. Sesto giorno.
--------------------------------------------------
Giorgio Capuani
Dipartimento di Chimica   -   Universita' "La Sapienza"
Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5     -   00185 Roma
voice: ++39-6-4991 ext. 3708/3576   fax: ++39-6-4455278 
E-mail: 
cap...@axrma.uniroma1.it
 
man...@nmrserv.chem.uniroma1.it

 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

 identification of the critical time
Questa e' bellissima, la mettiamo nelle FAQ?
flavia

     is pure truth)
Sono sordo ad un orecchio e porto la protesi acustica all'altro... pensa se
dovessi davvero affidarmi al 'sound of boiling water' :-(((  (...and this
too).
Non so cosa ne pensa il Gatti, ma a me e' piaciuta 'sta cosa... si, si...
proprio niente male...
Prosit
-- 
Augusto Stefanelli
stefan...@ilsole24ore.it
THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE

 
That's what I said, slap it against the wall.

 discussion...
Simply taste it after 6 minutes. And again 1 minute later. And again, and
again... stop. Is it OK? It's al dente!!!
P.S. I highly appreciate the quotation of my and Stefanelli's handbook:
I'm still rolling on the floor, laughing as a madman. What a wonderful day
is today!!!
0=:-D
marco

 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


     is pure truth)
I confirm.  this is a universal constant parameter, independent from any
brand and format you're cooking.
  Anyway, my doctoral colleague cav. Boffi forgot to cite a little hint in
chapter 12 of S&G manual:  in Italy (unfortunately this isn't true all
over the world) the word PASTA is referred ONLY to durum wheat pasta.  
  May be this "hysteresis effect" in boiling water doesn't work if you're
cooking other non durum wheat pasta.  If the latter is you're situation,
my personal opinion is: "don't approach an italian woman... may be you're
health will collapse soon!"
Paolo

 
Of course !!!  (trad: di corsa!! :'D  )


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.

with checkup! Thanx.
PS anche tu sei di quelli che si fanno il Ketchup medico annuale,
vero? ;-)

(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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vero? ;-)
Eh la miseria !? Vedessi le colte che devo battere backspace per
scrivere il mio nome non saresti cosi' sarcastico per un piccolo,
piccolissimo errore. E poi con gli americani non si sa mai cosa
mettono nella pasta....
mz

 vero? ;-)
PS. Perche' no? E la mostarda annuale non ti sembra importante per la
prevenzione?

quella normale)
NE SEI PROPRIO SICURO ???????????????????
Jas

 Jas
si'
Pietro

prevenzione?
Ti diro': prevenzione per prevenzione, vada anche per la mensile!

mz
Niente sarcasmo, Mark: I was joking, wiht you, you know, nothing less,
nothing more! >;-)
Ciao,
Antonio Tombolini

nothing more! >;-)
Bien sure !
mz

Jas
ora anche io ... + o - 80% ....
...
...
...
...
...
Avevo sbagliato direzione ...
Alto -
Basso +
Sotto ++
Sottosotto +++
Claudio

grado + grado -, ma sempre quella e'! Se alzi il fuoco, bolle di piu',
approfitto della dotta digressione per fare un paio di domande.
generalmente quando faccio bollire l'acqua per la pasta metto subito
il sale.  questo perché sono molto distratto, quindi ho fatto in modo
di prendere questo riflesso condizionato.  mi dicono però che l'acqua
salata ci mette di più a bollire.  sarà vero?  io comunque continuerò
a mettere il sale prima.
allora, ho riempito la pentola, se possibile di acqua già calda di
scaldabagno (anche se pure qui non so se si spende di meno di gas o di
elettricità).  la metto sul fornello a tutta callara, dopo un po'
l'acqua bolle vivacemente, ci butto la pasta, approfitto per un po'
della vivacità del bollore per fare in modo che la pasta si mescoli e
non si attacchi, poi abbasso il gas, non tanto per non far schiumare,
ma perché sono spilorcio.
tanto, mi dico, la temperatura di ebollizione è costante, non ha senso
dire "bolle molto" o "bolle poco".  o bolle o non bolle, quindi anche
se lascio il gas al minimo per fare le bollicine va bene lo stesso.
faccio bene?  faccio male?
(oh, poi tanto viene bene lo stesso, per cui... però mi resta la
curiosità...)
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scaldabagno (anche se pure qui non so se si spende di meno di gas o di
Mio marito dice che fa male usare l'acqua calda, ma io me ne frego.

curiosità...)
Ti trovi bene? Allora fai benissimo.  In fondo la cucina puo' essere
un hobby, una necessita', una curiosita', sicuramente non e' una
scienza esatta e' solo una questione di gusto!
Buon appetito!  :-))
				Pulecenella
   /\/\
 /      \  
.......(       
............... 
stefano[NOSPAM]@
asisud.net
 - Togli le quadre e il loro contenuto!
 

macchioline che non si levano piu'.
Vero. Concordo. Approvo. Ben detto. Bravo.
mz

 per cui... per=F2 mi resta la curiosit=E0...)
Allora prova...
Giorgio
-- =
Dice che questo parco sarebbe un bellissimo ritrovo per l'estate,
se ci fosse una tassa d'entrata.
Ritrovo: un'altra sua invenzione....
Parole, parole e parole, senza significato.
Che cos'e' un ritrovo per l'estate?
Ma e' meglio non chiederglielo: ha una tale frenesia di dare
spiegazioni!
("Il diario di Adamo ed Eva", M. Twain)
--------------------------------------------------
Giorgio Capuani
Dipartimento di Chimica   -   Universita' "La Sapienza"
Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5     -   00185 Roma
voice: ++39-6-4991 ext. 3708/3576   fax: ++39-6-4455278 =
E-mail: 
cap...@axrma.uniroma1.it
 
man...@nmrserv.chem.uniroma1.it

sciacquarla e asciugarla.
Ma favorisci la formazione di quelle schifosissime macchioline biancastre sul
fondo della pentola (e chi se ... )
Jas

...che ragionamenti del c**** stiamo facendo ;)))
scherzi?
io mi domando se costa di piů il detersivo per i piatti e il tempo per
lavarli o i piatti di plastica... e quale inquini di piů...
finora ho risolto pensando che tanto le pentole e le padelle le devo
lavare per forza, quindi tanto vale lavare anche i piatti, perň da
quando un amico si detrae piatti e bicchieri di plastica e tovaglioli
di carta come materiali di consumo il dubbio mi č tornato...
:-)
comunque sull'inquinamento me l'ero chiesto davvero.



Un po' di paglietta? ...secondo me aggiusta tutto.