Cooking and Saucing Pasta

Al dente, which means “to the tooth,” describes a point in the cooking process when the pasta gives slightly when one bites into it. It is used primarily in reference to dry pasta, or pasta secca. (Dry pasta will be chewier than fresh when fully cooked because hard-wheat flour does not absorb water as effectively as soft-wheat flour.) The exact point of al dente differs among regions in Italy; however, it is always recommended that the finished pasta should still have texture, without any raw taste. Many chefs believe that the only foolproof method of testing for doneness is to pull a strand out of the boiling water and bite into it.