Latest news with #MaxPlanckInstituteforthePhysicsofComplexSystems
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.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
The perfect cacio e pepe? It comes down to science.
It's not your cooking skills that is making your cacio e pepe subpar — it's science. Fortunately, new research is here to help you master this deliciously simple dish. Cacio e pepe might be considered the Italian cousin of macaroni and cheese. The dish is deceptively simple on the surface, involving nothing more than cooked pasta (ideally, spaghetti or bucatini) combined with pecorino romano cheese and black pepper. But as anyone who has tried and failed to make it knows, getting this pasta to be as creamy and delicious as possible has everything to do with execution. Researchers (and Italian food lovers) from the University of Barcelona, the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, the University of Padua and the Institute of Science and Technology Austria say they have cracked the code to making perfect cacio e pepe. They discovered that using powdered starch — rather than just relying on the starch that comes from the pasta water — is the key ingredient to making creamy, not clumpy, cheese sauce. So, what is the ideal ratio? According to the new study, the goal is to use about 3% of starch for the amount of cheese you use — so, if you use 100 grams of pecorino romano, 3 grams of powdered starch. Measuring this out in advance is key. Get ready to taste cheesy goodness. Here's what to do. Prepare the starchy water: Measure your cheese, then see what is 3% of that in order to find the appropriate amount of powdered starch (you can use either potato or corn starch for this recipe). Then add the starch to warm water to create a solution. Cook pasta: Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook your pasta, preferably spaghetti or bucatini. Your aim is to get the pasta al dente, which means 'to the tooth' — i.e., neither too tough or soft. This may mean shaving a minute or two off your pasta box's recipe time. (Test a noodle if you're unsure.) Then drain the pasta and set aside. Prepare the sauce: In a separate pan large enough to fit your pasta, blend your pecorino romano cheese into the starchy water. Stir so you get a smooth and uniform consistency, sans pasta-ruining clumps. Reheat the sauce: Slowly heat the cheese and starch mixture back up in the pan. Don't go too high — that will cause the cheese to clump up. And this recipe is all about avoiding those dreaded clumps! Instead, slowly heat until it reaches serving temperature. Combine the pasta and sauce: Add the cooked, drained pasta into the pan with the sauce. Toss it to ensure it's properly coated with cheesy goodness. Add black pepper: Use fresh ground pepper to finish the sauce and toss again to coat the pasta. Serve immediately. Buon appetito! It's true that cacio e pepe is a classic — but as with any classic, there are always some ways to put a new spin on it for when you're feeling like something just a touch different. Here are some ideas from around the internet. Use crushed red chile peppers: Chef Jamie Oliver has a recipe for a cacio e pepe offshoot that uses red chile peppers in place of black pepper. His version also includes asparagus, which just so happens to be in season. Add lemon zest: Martha Stewart likes to make a traditional cacio e pepe recipe, but with a twist. She grates the zest of a Meyer lemon into the dish, as well as squeezes in some lemon juice for a touch of acidity. Make it vegan: A cacio e pepe recipe without cheese? It might sound impossible, but Los Angeles-based chef Matthew Kenney does just this by creating a cheese-like sauce with nutritional yeast and cashew cream. Turn it into a grilled cheese: Culinary creator Peter Som has a recipe for a cacio e pepe grilled cheese for when you can't be bothered to boil pasta. Go for a green version: Broccoli gets the cacio e pepe treatment thanks to this recipe from Chowhound.
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
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
The perfect cacio e pepe? It comes down to science.
It's not your cooking skills that is making your cacio e pepe subpar — it's science. Fortunately, new research is here to help you master this deliciously simple dish. Cacio e pepe is essentially the Italian cousin of macaroni and cheese. The dish is deceptively simple on the surface, involving nothing more than cooked pasta (ideally, spaghetti or bucatini) combined with pecorino romano cheese and black pepper. But as anyone who has tried and failed to make it knows, getting this pasta to be as creamy and delicious as possible has everything to do with execution. Researchers and Italian food lovers 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 say they have cracked the code to making perfect cacio e pepe. They've discovered that using powdered starch — rather than just relying on the starch that comes from the pasta water — is the key ingredient to making creamy, not clumpy, cheese sauce. So, what is the ideal ratio? Per the new study, the goal is to use 2-3% of starch for the amount of cheese you use — so, if you use 100 grams of pecorino romano, go for 2 or 3 grams of powdered starch. Measuring this out in advance is key. Get ready to taste cheesy goodness. Here's what to do. Prepare the starchy water: Measure your cheese, then see what is 2 to 3% of that in order to find the appropriate amount of powdered starch — you can use either potato or corn starch for this recipe. Then, add the starch to warm water to create a solution. Cook pasta: Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook your pasta, preferably spaghetti or bucatini. Your aim is to get the pasta al dente, which means 'to the tooth' — aka, it's neither too tough or soft. This may mean shaving a minute or two off your pasta box's recipe time. (Test a noodle if you're unsure.) Then, drain the pasta and set aside. Prepare the sauce: In a separate pan large enough to fit your pasta, blend your pecorino romano cheese into the starchy water. Stir so you get a smooth and uniform consistency, sans pasta-ruining clumps. Reheat the sauce: Slowly heat the cheese and starch mixture back up in the pan. Don't go too high — that will cause the cheese to clump up. And this recipe is all about avoiding those dreaded clumps! Instead, slowly heat until it reaches serving temperature. Combine the pasta and sauce: Add the cooked, drained pasta into the pan with the sauce. Toss it to ensure it's properly coated with cheesy goodness. Add black pepper: Use fresh ground pepper to finish the sauce and toss again to coat the pasta. Serve immediately. Buon appetito! It's true that cacio e pepe is a classic — but as with any classic, there are always some ways to put a new spin on it for when you're feeling like something just a touch different. Here are some ideas from around the internet. Use crushed red chile peppers: Chef Jamie Oliver has a recipe for a cacio e pepe offshoot that uses red chile peppers in place of black pepper. His version also includes asparagus, which just so happens to be in season. Add lemon zest: Martha Stewart likes to make a traditional cacio e pepe recipe, but with a zesty twist. She grates the zest of a Meyer lemon into the dish, as well as squeezes some lemon juice in for a touch of acidity. Make it vegan: A cacio e pepe recipe without cheese? It might sound impossible, but Los Angeles-based chef Matthew Kenney does just this by creating a cheese-like sauce with nutritional yeast and cashew cream. Turn it into a grilled cheese: Culinary creator Peter Som has a recipe for a cacio e pepe grilled cheese for when you can't be bothered to boil pasta. Go for a green version: Broccoli gets the cacio e pepe treatment thanks to this recipe from Chowhound.
