The culinary innovation of Giorgio Parisi, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist, has sparked controversy in his home country. Italians are fiercely protective of their cuisine and have little tolerance for frivolous interpretations of traditional recipes, especially when it comes to pasta.
The professor justified his intervention in the classic pasta-making process by citing rising gas and electricity prices. However, not everyone appreciated his approach.
It’s All About the Lid
Giorgio Parisi suggested turning off the burner midway through cooking pasta, then covering the pot with a lid. After that, he recommended waiting for the hot water and steam to do their work, allowing the dish to reach the desired consistency.
This method reportedly cuts gas or electricity consumption for cooking pasta by about half, according to ScienceAlert.
As the scientist noted, the lid plays a crucial role in this process, while traditional Italian cooking does not require covering the pot when cooking pasta.
This unconventional interpretation of culinary classics has outraged conservative chefs. They argue that the professor’s energy-saving proposal infringes on sacred standards that Italians have adhered to for centuries. Chef Antonello Colonna, a Michelin-starred chef, stated that pasta cooked this way becomes rubbery and should never be served in a respectable restaurant like his own.
Critics and Followers of Parisi
Is Parisi’s method truly effective in an era of rising electricity and gas prices? And do pasta cooked this way really taste that bad?
The debate quickly spilled over into the media, with renowned scientists and chefs discussing the controversial technique. Meanwhile, students Mia London and Ross Broadhurst from Nottingham Trent University in the UK decided to investigate this complex issue for themselves.
They reasoned that during the boiling process, about 60 percent of the energy is used to maintain the water at a rolling boil. Parisi’s suggestion is to turn off the heat halfway through and allow the pasta to cook in the residual heat. Simple calculations confirmed that this method cuts cooking costs for pasta in half. It is even more effective on ceramic stoves, which cool down more slowly compared to gas and induction cooktops.
The students believe that the cost of cooking pasta can be reduced even further. They propose soaking the pasta in cold water for two hours beforehand (a process that requires no energy and saves money). Then, the pasta should be immersed in boiling water for just one to two minutes. Although this method takes longer overall (considering the soaking time), it guarantees significant energy savings and a delicious final dish.
The researchers also found that using half the amount of water for cooking does not affect the final taste of the pasta. However, reducing the water volume by three times would ruin the dish.
The young scientists also explored using a microwave to heat pre-soaked pasta. While the microwave effectively heated the water, the pasta turned out unappetizing and tasteless—definitely not something to be proud of in Italian cuisine.
As the researchers concluded, you don’t need to be a renowned chef or a Nobel laureate to reduce your gas and electricity bills while still preparing delicious meals.
By the way, Giorgio Parisi, a professor at the University of Rome La Sapienza, received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2021 “for the discovery of the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems from atomic to planetary scales.”