Latest news with #DiTerlizzi
Fast Company
06-05-2025
- Science
- Fast Company
Scientists just designed the perfect cacio e pepe recipe
Chances are, if you're not an Italian grandma or a skilled home chef from Rome, you've probably messed up while trying to make cacio e pepe. At least, that's the thesis underpinning the scientific study ' Phase behavior of Cacio e Pepe sauce,' published on April 29 in the journal Physics of Fluids. The study—conducted by a group of scientists from the University of Barcelona, the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems in Germany, the University of Padova in Italy, and the Institute of Science and Technology Austria—is pretty much what its title suggests: a full-on scientific investigation into the most 'optimized recipe' for the creamy, peppery pasta dish. 'We're Italians living abroad, and we often get together for dinner to enjoy traditional recipes from home,' says Ivan Di Terlizzi, the study's lead author and a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute. 'Among the dishes we've cooked, cacio e pepe came up several times, and every time, we were struck by how hard it is to get the sauce right. That's when we realized it might actually be an interesting physical system to study. And of course, there was also the very practical motivation of avoiding the heartbreak of wasting good pecorino!' A very brief history of pasta-based physics experiments This isn't the first time that pasta has been used as inspiration for physicists. Probably the most famous example of 'pasta as experiment,' Di Terlizzi says, is the observation that spaghetti almost never breaks cleanly in half, tending to snap into three or more fragments instead. This fact originally puzzled renowned physicist Richard Feynman (who died in 1988) and wasn't fully explained until 2005, when a team of French physicists showed that it's caused by cascading cracks traveling along the pasta. Another example, Di Terlizzi adds, is the physics of ring-shaped polymers, which are 'notoriously hard to understand.' A study in 2014 used a type of circular pasta, which the researchers called 'anelloni,' to explain why these looped polymers behave so strangely in experiments. With cacio e pepe, the physics question of interest has to do with the sauce's unusual behavior under heat. 'The main goal of our work wasn't just culinary; it was to explore the physics of this system,' Di Terlizzi says. 'The sauce's behavior under heat shares features with many physical and biological phenomena, like phase transitions or the formation of membrane-less organelles inside cells. The recipe is, in a sense, the practical byproduct of everything we learned.' The most optimal cacio e pepe recipe, according to scientists Cacio e pepe traditionally only includes three ingredients: pasta, pecorino Romano cheese, and black pepper. While it seems like a simple enough concoction, the sauce's creamy smoothness (the backbone of the dish) can be quite finicky to achieve. When the temperature gets too high or the mixing of cheese and pasta water isn't done carefully, the cheese proteins will denature—essentially 'unfolding' and losing their normal 3D structure. In the unfolded state, the proteins then stick together and the emulsion breaks. 'Instead of a creamy consistency, you get a gooey mess, which we call salsa impazzita. . . that is, crazy sauce,' Di Terlizzi says. The physics-based solution to 'crazy sauce'? It's all about starch. It turns out that, by perfecting the ratio of starch in the pasta water to cheese mass, the cacio e pepe sauce becomes far more resistant to heat, which stabilizes the emulsion and prevents clumping. 'Without starch, the so-called 'mozzarella phase' kicks in at around 65°C, where the proteins start forming large aggregates,' Di Terlizzi says. 'But if the starch concentration is above 1% relative to the cheese mass, the clumps stay small, and temperature becomes much less critical, making it much easier to get a good result.' This is similar to using polymers to stabilize emulsions in soft matter physics, he adds. 'Phase behavior of cacio e pepe sauce' contains ultra-detailed steps to a foolproof cacio e pepe, but here are the instructions in condensed terms: Step 1: For a pasta dish for 'two hungry people,' start with 300 grams of the preferred tonnarelli pasta—or opt for spaghetti or rigatoni, if you must. From there, you'll need 200 grams of cheese. 'Traditionalists would insist on using only pecorino Romano DOP [protected designation of origin], but some argue that up to 30% parmigiano Reggiano DOP is acceptable; though this remains a point of debate,' the recipe notes. Proceed based on your own personally held cheese preferences. Step 2: To prepare the sauce, dissolve 5 grams of starch—like potato or corn starch—in 50 grams of water. Heat this mixture gently until it thickens and turns from cloudy to nearly clear. This is your starch gel. Step 3: Add 100 grams of water to the starch gel. Instead of manually grating the cheese into the resulting liquid, blend the two together to achieve a homogeneous sauce. Finish the sauce by adding black pepper to taste (for best results, toast the pepper in a pan before adding). Step 4: To prepare the pasta, cook in slightly salted water until it is al dente. Save some of the pasta cooking water before draining. Once the pasta has been drained, let it cool down for up to a minute to prevent the excessive heat from destabilizing the sauce. Finally, mix the pasta with the sauce, ensuring even coating, and adjust the consistency by gradually adding reserved pasta water as needed.
RTÉ News
30-04-2025
- Science
- RTÉ News
Science-backed method for the perfect cacio e pepe recipe
Cacio e pepe, a beloved pasta dish from Italy's Lazio region, is made with just three ingredients: pasta, ground black pepper, and, most importantly, authentic Pecorino Romano cheese. However, the simplicity of its ingredients can be misleading. Many assume it's easy to make, only to end up with a clumpy mess instead of the silky, creamy sauce they hoped for. Intrigued by the challenge, researchers from the University of Barcelona, the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, the University of Padova, and the Institute of Science and Technology Austria took it upon themselves to investigate the physics behind mixing cheese with water. Now, they believe they've cracked the code to perfecting this classic dish. Explaining the motives behind this study, which was published in Physics of Fluids, author Ivan Di Terlizzi said: "We are Italians living abroad. We often have dinner together and enjoy traditional cooking. "Among the dishes we have cooked was cacio e pepe, and we thought this might be an interesting physical system to study and describe. And of course, there was the practical aim to avoid wasting good Pecorino." After conducting tests that honed in on the quantities of these ingredients, the researchers determined that a 2 per cent to 3 per cent starch-to-cheese ratio created the smoothest and most consistent sauce. To achieve this level of precision, the team recommend using powdered starch – such as potato or corn starch – instead of depending on the unpredictable starch content of pasta water. "Because starch is such an important ingredient, and the amount of starch can sharply determine where you end up, what we suggest is to use an amount of starch which is precisely measured," advised Di Terlizzi. "And this can only be done if you have the right amount of powdered starch in proportion to the amount of cheese that you're using." Once the starch is added to the water, the authors' instructions say to blend it with the cheese for a uniform consistency, before adding the sauce back into the pan and slowly heating it up to serving temperature. If you've ever attempted to make cacio e pepe, you might have noticed that excessive heat can cause pieces of grated cheese to clump together, resulting in that dreaded, lumpy texture. To avoid this, the researchers experimented with different temperatures and recommend letting the water cool slightly before adding the cheese, and then to gradually warm up the sauce to reach the desired consistency. Then mix in the pepper and pasta, and eat. And after perfecting the cacio e pepe recipe, the team are keen to conduct further experiments on other popular Italian dishes. "There's a recipe called pasta alla gricia, which is cacio e pepe plus guanciale, cured pork cheek," said author Daniel Maria Busiello. "This recipe seems to be easier to perform, and we don't know exactly why. This is one idea we might explore in the future."
BreakingNews.ie
30-04-2025
- Science
- BreakingNews.ie
Scientists reveal top tips to perfect your cacio e pepe recipe
Cacio e pepe, a beloved pasta dish from Italy's Lazio region, is made with just three ingredients: pasta, ground black pepper, and, most importantly, authentic Pecorino Romano cheese. However, the simplicity of its ingredients can be misleading. Many assume it's easy to make, only to end up with a clumpy mess instead of the silky, creamy sauce that they hoped for. Advertisement Intrigued by the challenge, researchers from the University of Barcelona, the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, the University of Padova, and the Institute of Science and Technology Austria took it upon themselves to investigate the physics behind mixing cheese with water. Now, they believe they've cracked the code to perfecting this classic dish. All you need is pasta, Pecorino Romano cheese, pepper and some starch (Alamy/PA) Explaining the motives behind this study, which was published in Physics of Fluids, author Ivan Di Terlizzi said: 'We are Italians living abroad. We often have dinner together and enjoy traditional cooking. 'Among the dishes we have cooked was cacio e pepe, and we thought this might be an interesting physical system to study and describe. And of course, there was the practical aim to avoid wasting good Pecorino.' After conducting tests that honed in on the quantities of these ingredients, the researchers determined that a 2% to 3% starch-to-cheese ratio created the smoothest and most consistent sauce. Advertisement Use powdered starch, suggest the researchers (Alamy/PA) To achieve this level of precision, the team recommend using powdered starch – such as potato or corn starch – instead of depending on the unpredictable starch content of pasta water. 'Because starch is such an important ingredient, and the amount of starch can sharply determine where you end up, what we suggest is to use an amount of starch which is precisely measured,' advised Di Terlizzi. 'And this can only be done if you have the right amount of powdered starch in proportion to the amount of cheese that you're using.' Once the starch is added to the water, the authors' instructions say to blend it with the cheese for a uniform consistency, before adding the sauce back into the pan and slowly heating it up to serving temperature. If you've ever attempted to make cacio e pepe, you might have noticed that excessive heat can cause pieces of grated cheese to clump together, resulting in that dreaded, lumpy texture. Advertisement To avoid this, the researchers experimented with different temperatures and recommend letting the water cool slightly before adding the cheese, and then to gradually warm up the sauce to reach the desired consistency. Then mix in the pepper and pasta, and eat. And after perfecting the cacio e pepe recipe, the team are keen to conduct further experiments on other popular Italian dishes. 'There's a recipe called pasta alla gricia, which is cacio e pepe plus guanciale, cured pork cheek,' said author Daniel Maria Busiello. 'This recipe seems to be easier to perform, and we don't know exactly why. This is one idea we might explore in the future.' Advertisement
Daily Mail
29-04-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
Italian scientists reveal the 'perfect' recipe for Cacio e pepe pasta - and how to avoid the dreaded clumps
It's the beloved Italian dish that tastes delicious but is frustratingly difficult to cook. At first glance Cacio e pepe looks like a simple recipe containing only three ingredients – pasta, Pecorino Romano cheese and black pepper. Professional pasta chefs and Italian grandmothers have the ability to turn out a smooth, creamy sauce time and time again. But as anyone who has tried to make it will know, the cheese will often clump when added to hot pasta water, turning it into a stringy, sticky mess. Now, Italian scientists reveal how to make the perfect Cacio e pepe – without any of the dreaded clumps. 'We are Italians living abroad,' said Dr Ivan Di Terlizzi, from the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems in Germany, said. 'We often have dinner together and enjoy traditional cooking. 'Among the dishes we have cooked was Cacio e pepe, and we thought this might be an interesting physical system to study and describe. And of course, there was the practical aim to avoid wasting good pecorino.' So, will you give their recipe a try? Most people attempting to create the dish will collect their drained pasta water before stirring in the cheese. While fatty substances like cheese cannot mix with water, the starch from the pasta helps bridge that gap. In tests, the researchers discovered that a 2-3 per cent starch-to-cheese ratio produced the smoothest, most uniform sauce. And the best way to ensure this proportion is to make your own starchy water, rather than relying on drained water from pasta, they said. They recommend using powdered starch like potato or corn starch, and weighing out a quantity that is 2-3 per cent of the amount of cheese being used. 'Because starch is such an important ingredient, and the amount of starch can sharply determine where you end up, what we suggest is to use an amount of starch which is precisely measured,' Dr Di Terlizzi said. 'And this can only be done if you have the right amount of powdered starch in proportion to the amount of cheese that you're using.' Once the starch is added to the water, the authors' instructions say to blend it with the cheese for a uniform consistency, before adding the sauce back into the pan and slowly heating it up to serving temperature. How to make the perfect Cacio e pepe For two hungry people: Ingredients - 300g pasta (tonnarelli is preferred, though spaghetti or rigatoni also works well) - 200g cheese (traditionalists would insist on using Pecorino Romano DOP) - 5g powdered starch (potato starch or corn starch) - 150g water - Black pepper (toasted whole black peppercorns, which are then grounded, are best) Step 1: Dissolve the powdered starch in 50g water, heating the mixture gently until it thickens and turns from cloudy to nearly clear. Step 2: Add 100g cold water to this mixture to cool it down. Step 3: Using a blender, add the cheese to the starchy sauce. Step 4: Add a generous amount of black pepper to the mixture. Step 5: Meanwhile, cook the pasta in slightly salted water until it is al dente and leave to cool for a minute. Save some of the pasta cooking water before draining. Step 6: Add the sauce back into the pan, stir in the pasta and heat it up very slowly to serving temperature. Step 7: You can adjust the consistency by gradually adding the saved pasta water as needed. Step 8: Garnish with grated cheese and pepper before serving. This brings the researchers to another key element of the perfect Cacio e pepe sauce – heat, or rather, a lack of it. They warned too much heat denatures the proteins inside the cheese, causing it to stick together and leading to the dreaded clumps. Instead, the authors advise letting the starchy water cool before mixing in the cheese and bringing the sauce up to temperature as slowly as possible. Then, the final steps are to mix in the pepper and pasta, and eat. Writing in the journal Physics of Fluids the team said: 'A true Italian grandmother or a skilled home chef from Rome would never need a scientific recipe for Cacio e pepe, relying instead on instinct and years of experience. 'For everyone else, this guide offers a practical way to master the dish. 'Preparing Cacio e pepe successfully depends on getting the balance just right, particularly the ratio of starch to cheese. 'The concentration of starch plays a crucial role in keeping the sauce creamy and smooth, without clumps or separation.' They said their method is 'particularly useful for cooking large batches of pasta, where heat control can be challenging and requires extra care'. The team also included researchers from the University of Barcelona, the University of Padova and the Institute of Science and Technology in Austria. For future work they plan to look at other recipes including pasta alla gricia, which is Cacio e pepe plus cured pork cheek. 'This recipe seems to be easier to perform, and we don't know exactly why,' co-author Daniel Maria Busiello said. 'This is one idea we might explore in the future.' HOW CAN YOU MAKE SPAGHETTI SNAP IN TWO? Spaghetti's unusual shattering process has stumped science's best brains for years, including Nobel Prize winning physicist Richard Feynman. However, researchers from MIT have finally shown how and why it can be done. Two MIT students, Ronald Heisser and Vishal Patil, built a mechanical fracture device to uncontrollably twist and bend sticks of spaghetti. Two clamps on either end of the device held a stick of spaghetti in place. A clamp at one end could be rotated to twist the dry noodle by various degrees, while the other clamp slid toward the twisting clamp to bring the two ends of the spaghetti together, bending the stick. They used the device to bend and twist hundreds of spaghetti sticks and recorded the entire fragmentation process with a camera, at up to a million frames per second. They found that by first twisting the spaghetti at almost 360 degrees, then slowly bringing the two clamps together to bend it, the stick snapped exactly in two. They found that if a 10-inch-long spaghetti stick is first twisted by about 270 degrees and then bent it will snap in two. The snap-back, in which the stick will spring back in the opposite direction from which it was bent, is weakened in the presence of twist. And, the twist-back, where the stick will essentially unwind to its original straightened configuration, releases energy from the rod, preventing additional fractures.
