Pasta serves as the structure that holds a dish together, so choosing the right type and cooking it correctly affects overall quality. Many people cook pasta al dente so sauce can cling while the pasta stays firm and avoids becoming mushy. Some sauces, however, may not benefit from extra toothiness. When a sauce contains many strong, overpowering ingredients, cooking pasta slightly less al dente can reduce distraction. A sauce with fewer textures, such as a simple lemon butter sauce, can pair well with an al dente noodle because there is less competing texture. Al dente can be checked by tasting for toothiness rather than relying on the wall-throwing method, since pasta stickiness varies.
"“I find that when a sauce has a lot of ingredients that are very overpowering, whether it be a really hearty Bolognese sauce or something, I find that doing a less al dente cook to the pasta sort of creates less distraction,” she said."
"“In other words, if your pasta sauce is already well textured, you may not need to add any more toothsomeness with your pasta. On the other hand, Hayden offered the example of a simple lemon butter sauce, which can pair well with an al dente noodle because there aren't many existing textures at play.”"
"“One of the easiest ways you can tell when pasta is al dente is to taste it and see if it has some toothiness to it. Unfortunately, the throwing pasta at the wall trick is a farce because some pasta is stickier than others.”"
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