Al dente facts for kids
In cooking, al dente describes pasta or rice that is cooked to be firm when you bite it. The phrase comes from Italian and means "to the tooth." This means the food should have a slight resistance when you chew it, not be soft or mushy.
Cooking pasta or rice al dente is considered the best way to prepare it in modern Italian cooking. It means the food is cooked just right, for a short time. Sometimes, pasta is cooked molto al dente, which means it's slightly undercooked. This is done when the pasta will be cooked again later, for example, in a baked dish like lasagna.
Eating pasta cooked al dente can also have health benefits. According to the American Diabetes Association, pasta that is firm to the bite has a lower glycemic index. This means it can affect your blood sugar levels more slowly than pasta that is cooked very soft. When you cook pasta from a package, the al dente stage happens just after the white part in the center of the pasta disappears.
See also
- Food science
- Molecular gastronomy
- Culinary art
- Q texture
