This new trick for cooking pasta, proposed by a Nobel Prize in physics, has not gone unnoticed. It promises energy savings, but risks annoying the Italians.
Cooking pasta is within everyone’s reach… Except that some techniques do not seem to be approved by everyone. By focusing on energy savings, the Italian Nobel Prize winner in physics Giorgio Parisi has found a solution to reduce household electricity bills. Problem: it goes against the cooking cherished by the Italians. Indeed, the physicist shared his tip on his Facebook page on September 1, here it is: once your pasta has been poured into the boiling water, lower the cooking plate. A heresy for some of our transalpine neighbors.
“When the pasta boils, I put the gas on minimum, minimum, so that it does not consume too much gas. You can also try to disable it, as suggested by this post, which is not mine, but that of Alessandro Busiri Vici that I share“, details Giorgio Parisi. This method aims to save at least “eight minutes” on energy consumption, according to calculations by the scientist from La Sapienza University in Rome.
Cook the pasta over low heat and with a lid
A technique hailed by other researchers who have themselves looked into daily energy savings, especially in the kitchen. Thus, the Italian chemist Dario Bressanini explains that the continuous bubbling of water has nothing to do with cooking: “We have known for 200 years that it is not boiling water, seeing it bubbling, that cooks, but the temperature of the water, which transfers heat to pasta, rice or an egg“, he explains to the Italian press agency Ansa.
A technique that is far from unanimous. Many Internet users are crying foul in the face of this cooking of pasta, a far cry from that taught by the nonna. “We can really say that Parisi is a theoretical physicist…“, “Come on, if a sacrifice has to be made, let’s eat raw pasta straight away…“, one can read on Twitter. Others argue that cooking pasta at low temperatures is a no-brainer: “Fortunately, Giorgio Parisi says so. My mother will believe me now“.
Another technique to save energy: make cook pasta with the lid on the pan, which would reduce energy and CO2 emissions by 6%, according to the Unione Italiana Food association. So ready to lower your plates, even if it means shocking your Italian friends?