Does pasta continue to "cook" after it's cool?

[dragnlaw]

Very observant - but to give them due - you can't tell what has been edited out.

 

[pictonguy]

I can only judge what I observed from their video and what I saw wasn't good business.

 

[caseydog]

The bottom line is this, pasta water is better than plain water in this scenario. If the video cheated a bit, it doesn't change the lesson to be learned. You will get better results from that pasta water, with the pasta starch in it, than you will without it.

CD

 

[Meryl]

Depending on the recipe, starchy pasta water, alias "acqua di cottura" is necessary sometimes to create a creamy sauce with which you can amalgamate well with the pasta, like cacio e pepe, for example, or aglio e olio - it's really very easy to pronounce by the way. Never for tomato sauces.
Pasta should only be rinsed after boiling if you want to make a pasta salad. An exception when quick-boiling fresh lasagne sheets or the dry ones which haven't been pre-cooked, which are then drained, cooled in cold water ,dried on a cloth and then ready for the baking tin.

 

[caseydog]

Pasta should only be rinsed after boiling if you want to make a pasta salad. An exception when quick-boiling fresh lasagne sheets or the dry ones which haven't been pre-cooked, which are then drained, cooled in cold water ,dried on a cloth and then ready for the baking tin.

Thanks for that. I kind of knew that, but wasn't sure, so I didn't exactly say it. I have only rinsed and cooled pasta for a mayo based pasta salad. I don't recall how or from whom I learned that, but it somehow got into my head, and I always do it.

CD

 

[caseydog]

As casey has said - I think you're over thinking this.

BAPyessir6, from your posts, you seem to have pretty good cooking instincts, but perhaps don't trust them, so you overthink things. I don't want to prevent you from asking questions... I am just trying to say that ,IMHO, you are probably a much better cook than you think you are.

I am probably not as good of a cook as I think I am, but I'm about twice your age, so I have messed up in the kitchen twice as much as you have. That's how we learn.

CD

 

[pictonguy]

What CD said.

 

[thymeless]

Diffusion will drive the pasta to equalize the water in it over time.

 

[pictonguy]

Diffusion will drive the pasta to equalize the water in it over time.

Can you go into more detail, I'm not sure what your referencing.

 

[thymeless]

diffusion describes how particles that can move, move to equalize their distribution. Diffusion is accelerated with heat, because it increases movement.

Absorption is also occuring with the gelatinization of the starch.

Diffusion is why the pasta evened out in the original post over time. Water already absorbed in the pasta was shared with regions that had less water to equalize the water distribution more.

Chilling pasta changes texture too as the temperature causes the starch to "set up". This is called retrogradation.

Dried pasta will "cook"--rehydrate-- in 2 hours at room temperature. So diffusion and its relative, absorption isn't about temperature, just speed of absorption.

A Nobel Physicist Explained How to Cook Pasta And Now Everybody's Angry

Italians are notoriously – and understandably – protective of their cuisine, as regular arguments about the correct toppings for pizza or the appropriate pasta to use with a Bolognese ragu will attest.

www.sciencealert.com

So plunging it in ice water also contributed some water the pasta.

Although it is worth noting that soaking won't cook the egg or flour proteins so it's not the exact same as cooking the pasta.

 

[pictonguy]

diffusion describes how particles that can move, move to equalize their distribution. Diffusion is accelerated with heat, because it increases movement.

Absorption is also occuring with the gelatinization of the starch.

Diffusion is why the pasta evened out in the original post over time. Water already absorbed in the pasta was shared with regions that had less water to equalize the water distribution more.

Chilling pasta changes texture too as the temperature causes the starch to "set up". This is called retrogradation.

Dried pasta will "cook"--rehydrate-- in 2 hours at room temperature. So diffusion and its relative, absorption isn't about temperature, just speed of absorption.

A Nobel Physicist Explained How to Cook Pasta And Now Everybody's Angry

Italians are notoriously – and understandably – protective of their cuisine, as regular arguments about the correct toppings for pizza or the appropriate pasta to use with a Bolognese ragu will attest.

www.sciencealert.com

So plunging it in ice water also contributed some water the pasta.

Although it is worth noting that soaking won't cook the egg or flour proteins so it's not the exact same as cooking the pasta.

Ok thanks, and I agree with all of it, it's science after all.

Diffusion is basically the movement of molecules from an area of a higher concentration, and in this example it would be the movement of boiling water to a lower concentration, which would be the the interior of dry pasta and driven by a concentration gradient, I think that's right. Basically we have a high concentration being the boiling water to a low concentration of water as expressed in a dry pasta that has very little hydration, and this imbalance is the gradient, and because nature loves balance the concentration moves from higher to low concentration to equalize the whole system by increasing and driving the water inward towards the center of the pasta until the pasta is fully hydrated, that's what I believe he's saying and yeah, that's what happens and he argues that even cold water will eventually create the same thing, which is true also.

Anyway diffusion is a real scientific thing, no doubt but there's no sensory judgement to indicate when it's done, or at the al dente stage. So while his methodology is solid it really doesn't work in practice especially if you care about al dente texture, sauce adhesion, and flavor development. Parisi’s pasta method is driven by energy conservation, basically saving money but nothing to do with culinary excellence or tradition or anything associated really. It’s a physicist’s solution to a resource problem, which is a non factor in making dinner for the family for example. It describes the reason why pasta in this example continues to hydrate, Anyway thanks for posting this, cheers.

 

[BAPyessir6]

It's called retrogradation and effects starch basically. A little look should answer most of your questions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retrogradation_(starch)

Retrogradation is a reaction that takes place when the amylose and amylopectin chains in cooked, gelatinized starch realign themselves as the cooked starch cools.

For dried pasta, cooking to al dente means the starch is only partially gelatinized, leaving a firm core and then as the pasta cools or is cooled down the starch molecules begin to reorganize and continue to absorb water even from the air. Undercooking slightly by 2 minutes or so is your best bet if you plan to store or reheat.

Wow! So, because of absorption and retrogradation, there's pretty much no way to have reheated pasta have the exact same "bite" you achieved when you first cooked it?

That's why when I was younger the perfectly al dente pasta we had on spaghetti night was always softer the next day.

Makes me realize why pasta places always cook their pasta to order. That and 10 minutes of cook time is no time at all in restaurant land.

 

[pictonguy]

Wow! So, because of absorption and retrogradation, there's pretty much no way to have reheated pasta have the exact same "bite" you achieved when you first cooked it?

That's why when I was younger the perfectly al dente pasta we had on spaghetti night was always softer the next day.

Makes me realize why pasta places always cook their pasta to order. That and 10 minutes of cook time is no time at all in restaurant land.

Well, I think that's pretty well common knowledge that cooked pasta gets softer over time and the science behind it is always nice to know imo.