On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1088

up with a glossier, smoother surface, with fewer pores and cracks through which hot water can leak in and dissolved starch can leak out They generally lose less starch to the cooking water, absorb less cooking water, and therefore have a firmer texture than the same noodle extruded through a traditional bronze die Proponents of traditional dies prefer the rougher surface, which they say better retains the sauce in the finished dish Drying Durum Pasta Before the invention of mechanical driers, manufacturers held the new pasta at ambient temperatures and humidities for days or weeks Early industrial driers operated at 100–140ºF/ 40–60ºC and took about a day Modern drying takes only two to five hours and involves rapid predrying at or above 185ºF/84ºC, and then a more extended phase of drying and resting periods The modern high-temperature method rapidly inactivates enzymes that can destroy the yellow xanthophyll pigments and cause brown discoloration, and it cross-links some of the gluten protein and produces a firmer, less sticky cooked noodle However, proponents of slow drying say that high heat also damages flavor Cooking Pasta and Noodles When pasta is cooked in water, the protein network and starch granules absorb water and expand, the outer protein layer is ruptured, and the dissolving starch escapes into the cooking water Deeper within the noodle there’s less water available, so the starch granules aren’t completely disrupted: the center of the noodle therefore stays more intact than the surface Cooking pasta al dente means stopping the cooking when the center of the noodle still remains slightly underdone and offers some resistance to chewing; at this point, the noodle surface is 80–90% water, the ... Cooking Pasta and Noodles When pasta is cooked in water, the protein network and starch granules absorb water and expand, the outer protein layer is ruptured, and the dissolving starch escapes into the. .. means stopping the cooking when the center of the noodle still remains slightly underdone and offers some resistance to chewing; at this point, the noodle surface is 80–90% water, the ... cooking water Deeper within the noodle there’s less water available, so the starch granules aren’t completely disrupted: the center of the noodle therefore stays more intact than the surface Cooking pasta al dente