In cooking, particularly when making pasta dishes, the relationship between starch, cheese, and water is crucial for achieving a silky sauce. Chef Carla Lalli Music points out that oversalted pasta water can detract from flavors instead of enhancing them. Scientific research suggests that while starchy pasta water has its uses, it’s not the only method for thickening sauces. Instead, a well-balanced concentration of starch, cheese, and water directly influences the creaminess of a dish, preventing undesirable textures known as the Mozzarella Phase, which leads to clumpy sauces.
Cooking with pasta water imparts the same tedious, faintly gelatinous texture to what otherwise have been fresh and lively sauces. Use it occasionally, she advises.
The keys to a silky sauce are the relationships among starch, cheese, and water... the concentration of starch relative to the amount of cheese and water directly affects the dish's creaminess.
Starch prevents what the scientists coined as the Mozzarella Phase, or what happens when heat causes the proteins in cheese to clump, creating a sauce that is wet and stringy.
It's better not to use oversalted pasta water to finish your sauce; a splash of regular water does the same trick.
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