Kitchen & Bar

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How to get around

The bar across the top scrolls sideways. These are the same stops, with the job of each one written out.

Emulsion

Pasta and its water

Using starchy cooking water to bind fat and cheese into a sauce that coats, instead of a sauce that pools.

What you are actually controlling

  • starch concentration
  • pasta water volume
  • heat
  • agitation
  • timing

Naming the dials is most of the difference between cooking and following. Everything below is a way of moving one of these.

How it goes wrong

  • watery
  • clumped cheese
  • scrambled egg
  • dry and claggy

If your result is on this list, the step it belongs to is named below and so is the way back.

The loop

Pasta and its water5 steps. Each step shows the cue that confirms it worked below the step, and above it the way it fails together with the correction that returns you to the same step.GOES WRONGClear water, and a saucelater that will notthicken.1Salt the water anddo not drown the…LOOKS RIGHTThe water goes visiblycloudy by the time thepasta is close.GOES WRONGYou drained it. Everyonedoes this once.2Keep a mug of itbefore drainingLOOKS RIGHTCloudy, warm, noticeablysalty.GOES WRONGSauce ladled over pasta ona plate, sliding off it.3Finish the pasta inthe sauceLOOKS RIGHTThe pasta absorbs sauceand the pan liquid dropsas it goes.GOES WRONGStringy clumps of cheese,or visible scrambled egg.4Take the pan off theheat before the…LOOKS RIGHTIt goes glossy and clingsto each strand.GOES WRONGA pool of thin liquid inthe bowl a minute afterserving.5Loosen and tossuntil it clingsLOOKS RIGHTA spoon drawn through thebottom of the pan leaves atrail that closes slowly.
Read down, not just across. Below each step is the cue that says it worked; above it, dashed, is how it fails and the correction that sends you back to the same step.

Step by step

  1. 1

    Salt the water and do not drown the pasta

    Enough water to move, not a stockpot. Less water means more starch per cup, which is the ingredient you actually want.

    Looks right
    The water goes visibly cloudy by the time the pasta is close.
    Goes wrong
    Clear water, and a sauce later that will not thicken.
    Way back
    Cook the pasta in less water next time, or stir a teaspoon of cornstarch slurry into what you have.
  2. 2

    Keep a mug of it before draining

    Always. It costs nothing and there is no substitute once it is down the sink.

    Looks right
    Cloudy, warm, noticeably salty.
    Goes wrong
    You drained it. Everyone does this once.
    Way back
    Warm water with a pinch of salt and a little starch is a poor stand-in, but it is better than nothing.
  3. 3

    Finish the pasta in the sauce

    Drain a minute early and move it into the pan. The last minute of cooking should happen where the sauce is.

    Looks right
    The pasta absorbs sauce and the pan liquid drops as it goes.
    Goes wrong
    Sauce ladled over pasta on a plate, sliding off it.
    Way back
    Tip it all back into the pan and toss over heat for a minute. It still works, later than it should have.
  4. 4

    Take the pan off the heat before the cheese or egg

    Cheese and egg both set. The residual heat of the pan and the pasta is enough and direct heat is not.

    Looks right
    It goes glossy and clings to each strand.
    Goes wrong
    Stringy clumps of cheese, or visible scrambled egg.
    Way back
    Off the heat, splash in more pasta water and toss hard. Clumped cheese sometimes comes back; cooked egg does not.
  5. 5

    Loosen and toss until it clings

    Add water a splash at a time, tossing constantly. You are looking for a sauce that coats, not one that gathers at the bottom.

    Looks right
    A spoon drawn through the bottom of the pan leaves a trail that closes slowly.
    Goes wrong
    A pool of thin liquid in the bowl a minute after serving.
    Way back
    Back on low heat for thirty seconds, tossing. Under-emulsified is fixable; broken and greasy usually is not.

Watch somebody do it

Third-party video. Opens in a new tab — nothing is embedded and nothing is fetched from a video platform until you click.

Reviewed video for this technique. Reading a cue is one thing; seeing it is faster.

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