On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1089

center40–60%(somewhatmoisterthan
freshlybakedbread).Pastaissometimes
cookedjustshortofthispointandthen
finishedinthesaucethatwilldressit.
Cooking Water It’s generally recommended
that pasta be cooked in 10 or more times its
weight of vigorously boiling water (around 5
quartsorliterswaterperpound/500gm).This
allows for the pasta’s absorption of 1.6–1.8
times its weight, and leaves plenty to dilute
thestarchthatescapesduringcooking,andto
separate the noodles from each other so that
they cook evenly and without sticking. Hard
water — water that is alkaline and contains
calcium and magnesium ions — increases
bothcookinglossesandstickinessinnoodles
(itprobablyweakenstheprotein-starchfilmat
thenoodlesurface,andtheionsactasaglue
to bond noodle surfaces to each other). Most
city tap water has been made alkaline to
reducepipecorrosion,sopastacookingwater


can often be improved by adding some form
of acid (lemon juice, cream of tartar, citric
acid)toadjustthepHtoaslightlyacidic6.

Cooking pasta. Left:Uncooked pasta dough
consistsofrawstarchgranulesembeddedina
matrixofglutenprotein.Right:Whenpastais
cooked in water, starch granules at and near

thenoodlesurfaceabsorbwater,swell,soften,
and release some dissolved starch into the
cooking water. In pasta done al dente,hot
water has penetrated to the center of the
noodle, but the starch granules there have
absorbed relatively little, and the starchglutenmatrixremainsfirm.
StickinessNoodlessticktoeachotherduring
cookingwhenthey’reallowedtorestcloseto