A nutritionist has shone a light on a pasta predicament – a mistake many chefs make when cooking the popular food staple.
Julia Farré says that Italians do one key thing different that other nationalities don’t when it comes to getting the best out of culininary product.
Farré recommended imitating the Italians when it came to making pasta and only cook the dish until it is ‘al dente’. Italian pasta is highly appreciated by people worldwide – a type of food that has always sparked great interest – especially considering that Italy has one of the lowest obesity rates in Europe, despite 44% of its inhabitants eating pasta daily.
The literal translation for al dente means “to the tooth” but many people intrepet this to mean – to your liking. It basically means that when biting into the pasta, the consistency is still firm – not limp, but also not crunchy. The pasta shouldn’t be hard, but have a tiny amount of resistance when you bite into it.
For decades, carbohydrates have been demonised and blamed for weight gain. But for Italians, who master its cooking perfectly, it’s not a problem.
The nutritionist emphasised how al dente, which means reaching a point that is slightly undercooked means the carbohydrates in the pasta are not absorbed as much compared to if the pasta was overcooked. To achieve al dente pasta, use plenty of salted water and follow the package instructions, reducing the cooking time by one or two minutes. Before draining the pasta, taste it to ensure it’s firm inside but not hard to ensure it has achieved the desired point.
Farré revealed that most Italians eat pasta daily without gaining weight, something they achieve by avoiding a habit deeply rooted in Spain. The key lies in portion sizes. Italians place great importance on this and eat a maximum of 80 grams per person – whereas in Spain, both at home and outside, more than 100 grams per serving are typically consumed.
However, the nutritionist also said that the key is not only in the portions but also in the sauce chosen to accompany the dish when serving. Italians typically avoid using fried tomatoes or other cream-based sauces and instead look to use fresh, natural ingredients – based on vegetables cooked without frying or adding sugar.
Júlia highlighted that in Spain there is a habit of cooking pasta with processed fried tomatos. This doesn’t mean this ingredient can’t be eaten occasionally – but if pasta is consumed more than once a week, it’s not advisable to include these types of sauces.
Farré also stresses that you shouldn’t rinse the pasta with cold water to preserve its starch and it should be mixed quickly with the sauce to absorb flavours better. Beyond these tips, she added that none will be effective if pasta is accompanied by bread—a common practice in Spain but not Italy – this is due to the carbohydrates present in the popular side dish. Therefore, if you don’t want to gain weight, it’s the first thing to avoid – since combining two sources of carbohydrates in one meal leads to excess calories and increased blood sugar spikes. Doing this can cause greater fatigue after eating.
If you want to enjoy pasta healthily, she recommends you avoid pancetta, bacon and sausages as well as “white” sauces like béchamel or any cream-based sauce with large amounts of cheese. Use ingredients like mussels, chicken breast or turkey, tuna or seafood instead. Depending on your preferences, you can also choose different ingredients to create flavourful pasta dishes – which doesn’t mean you can’t finish your pasta dish with a small amount of grated cheese.
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
