"Al dente" means "to the tooth" in Italian. (Like "terroir", it's one of those concepts that poorly translates into English.) The phrase refers to the desired texture of cooked pasta, which should be soft but still slightly firm at the core of the noodle (or shell or spiral or alphabet letter). Some cooks define "al dente" as "not hard and not soft."
Pasta cooked "al dente" should require some chewing but not crunch or stick to the teeth when chewed. The firm texture should allow you to taste some of the pasta's flavor. Overcooked pasta tends to be mushy and flavorless.
So how do you know when your pasta is "al dente"? In my house growing up, we threw a strand of spaghetti at the wall -- as soon as it sticks, it's done. The problem with that test is that overcooked pasta sticks to the wall, too. So now I just use my teeth: Before I think it's ready, I draw a piece of pasta from the pot, let it cool a few seconds and take a bite. If it's ready, my mouth knows.
Related: What's the point of putting oil in my pasta water?
Related: How to cook garlic for pasta
Béchamel is a creamy, white sauce made with scalded milk plus equal parts butter and flour. A foundational French sauce, béchamel is the starting point for a number of other sauces.
By adding grated cheese, béchamel becomes a mornay. With tomato, it is transformed into an aurore. The Italians use becciamella to hold their lasagne together, and the Greeks use besamel to bind their pastitsio and moussaka. We Americans use it to add gratuitous calories to our macaroni and cheese.
In Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Julia Child writes that in the days of Louis XIV, béchamel was a "simmering of milk, veal, and seasonings with an enrichment of cream." She was referring to the apparent inventor of the original crème fraîche-laden sauce, Louis de Béchamel (1630-1703), maître d'hôtel for the Sun King.
Recipe: Macaroni And Cheese
What's the point of letting a casserole rest before cutting into it?
What's the point of letting a casserole rest before cutting into it?
If you spend time baking a casserole, be it macaroni and cheese, lasagna, meatloaf or anything else, be sure to let it rest for a few minutes before cutting into it. (Don't worry that it will get cold; it's been sizzling away in a hot oven for quite some time, and there is plenty of heat circulating in the pan to keep it warm.)
Letting a casserole rest for 10 minutes or so means that the proteins and starches will have time to set, making for a more stable mixture before you cut it into portions. If the casserole is too hot, it will be harder to manage, fall apart more easily, and won't taste as good.
What makes cheddar cheese sharp?
What makes cheddar cheese sharp?
Cheddar cheese is branded as sharp or extra-sharp when it is aged and its flavors become more concentrated and biting.
Generally, the older the cheese, the sharper it will be, as enzyme-producing bacteria break down the protein and fat of the cheese and give it what we metaphorically call a sharp flavor.
The taste difference between mild and sharp cheddar is startling, but it's not an exact science and depends as much on the way a cheese is produced as how long it has been aged.
What does it mean to let the butter's foam subside?
What does it mean to let the butter's foam subside?
Certain phrases have become part of the recipe vernacular despite giving little in the way of good guidance. Most of us, for example, have seen something like this in recipes that call for cooking with butter:
“Melt the butter over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan. When the foam subsides, add the vegetables and stir.”
Why does the butter's foam need to subside?
It’s an indicator of temperature. Adding vegetables or meat to cold fat is a fast way to mess up a good dish. The ingredients soak up the butter rather than cook in it, and the finished dish can turn out excessively buttery and too moist on the surface. Hot fat, on the other hand, prevents sticking and encourages browning.
Letting the butter's foam subside before adding ingredients ensures a hot cooking environment and adds a rich flavor to the dish. Of course, butter is hot well before its foam subsides. In some dishes like soups, where you're sweating vegetables, you may not want that extra richness. In these cases, you're looking for the point at which the butter begins to foam.
But if a recipe does call for you to let the butter's foam subside, here's a rough guide:
Heat 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat. Swirl the butter around in the pan. The milk solids will begin to separate out. The butter will sizzle and foam.
After another minute or so the foam subsides. The butter looks more like oil now, and it’s hot. At this point you might add eggs for an omelette.
For something like a sage butter sauce, let the butter go another 30 seconds or so to let it brown and take on a slightly nutty flavor. Like olive oil, butter has a low smoke point, so watch it closely. You don't want it to burn and smoke. If it does, rinse and dry the pan, then start over.
Recipe: Tortellini With Sage, Brown Butter, And Parmesan (Cookthink)
Related: Root Source: Unsalted Butter (Cookthink)
