Pasta, a dish beloved for its simplicity and versatility, has earned a special place in hearts around the world. At some point, most of us have found ourselves breaking long spaghetti strands in half just to make them fit into the pot. While this may seem like a practical solution, for Italians, breaking pasta before cooking is almost considered disrespectful. Not only does it stray from tradition, but it also affects the authenticity of the dish.
Chef Andy Hearnden, popularly known as Andy Cooks, explains why Italians never break their spaghetti before cooking. In a video shared on Instagram, Andy outlined the reasons behind this practice and why it's important to cook spaghetti whole.
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Watch the full video below:
He explains that, first and foremost, pasta is traditionally meant to be long. The long strands give the dish a better aesthetic, a better texture, and make it far easier to twirl the pasta on your fork. Breaking it in half makes it harder to eat. While some people claim that they break pasta to fit it into the pot more easily, Andy believes "that excuse doesn't make sense." When you put pasta in water, it softens very quickly, and the pasta is fully submerged in under a minute. Furthermore, longer strands help the sauce or ragù stick to the pasta.
"In Italian cooking, it's very important to share food with friends and family. It's all about tradition and history. The right ingredients and doing things the right way are very important," says Andy. The side note reads, "Why do Italians never break spaghetti?"
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To sum up, longer strands of pasta enhance the taste, texture, and preserve tradition.