It's a physics study with the most tangible of applications: a better recipe. Italian scientists say they've figured out how to make a tricky Italian dish—cacio e pepe—come out great every time, reports the BBC. The trick is adding starch to the water. The name of the dish translates to "cheese and pepper," and while that may sound simple, it often ends up a clumpy, unappetizing mess. "Our recommended scientific approach uses a starch-to-cheese ratio between 2% and 3% by weight, allowing home cooks to reliably create a smooth sauce without worrying too much about temperature," study co-author Daniel Busiello of the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems tells the Guardian.
How that translates to the kitchen:
- "The first step is creating some starchy water, and for this, they recommended using powdered starch like potato or cornstarch, rather than relying on an unknown amount of starch in pasta water," per Phys.org.
- If making a meal for two, with about 11 ounces of pasta and 7 ounces of cheese, that would mean adding 0.18 ounces of starch, per Smithsonian Magazine.
- After the starch is added to the water, the researchers 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."
The study was published in the Physics of Fluids journal, and the researchers offer a self-deprecating nod to the true masters: "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," they write. "For everyone else, this guide offers a practical way to master the dish." (More discoveries stories.)
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