The science of cooking the tastiest pasta

Today’s Video of the Day comes thanks to the American Chemical Society’s Reactions series and features a look at how to cook the tastiest pasta.

Because pasta noodles only consist of three ingredients – flour, eggs, and water – it really all comes down to how you prepare it. By cooking the pasta, you alter the way the starches and proteins work together. Starch particles begin absorbing water and create a gel, which is what turns the pasta from stiff and hard to soft and gummy. Luckily, proteins are present to keep the starch inside the noodle, preventing them from clumping together.

For years, people have been adding olive oil to pasta to stop it from sticking together. But some famous chefs argue that you shouldn’t add oil because it prevents the sauce from sticking to the noodle. The truth is that most of the oil gets washed away in the strainer anyway. What you should definitely add, however, is salt, as it behaves as a major flavor enhancer.

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By Rory Arnold, Earth.com Staff Writer

Source: American Chemical Society