While the world worries about the cost-of-living crisis, the energy crisis, the global- warming crisis and every other crisis that journalists scare us with daily, Italians have been having a heated argument on the subject they all know best: the cooking of food, particularly pasta, of which they eat more than 20 kg per person each year.
And a celebrated Nobel prize-winning Italian physicist has found himself in in hot water for giving advice on how to cook pasta – and save gas.
Giorgio Parisi’s advice: put the pasta in a pan of boiling water, bring it back to the boil, then turn the gas off (or at least turn it down as far as possible).
It will certainly save on energy consumption, but it will make the spaghetti all gooey, says one leading chef, Antonello Colonna, while another, Luigi Pomata, says the method would be ‘a disaster’ and advises the physicist to keep out of the kitchen.
But while the chefs throw up their hands in horror, Tom Kington reports in The Times today, Giorgio Parisi has the support of fellow scientists, and of the pasta industry itself. A chemistry professor from Como, Dario Bressanini, points out: “Key processes that occur during pasta cooking, including the absorption of water by starch and the coagulation of gluten, all happen at 80C, so it doesn’t depend on the water boiling.†He adds: “As long as you cover the pan after turning off the gas, the water temperature can still be above 85C after 15 minutes. The pasta doesn’t stick if you use quality pasta with 13 per cent gluten content.â€
Unione Italiana Food, which represents the industry, is supportive, suggesting that using Parisi’s method could save as much as 47% of the energy normally used. And as an analogy they bring in another subject dear to Italians’ hearts: football. If the whole country followed Giorgio Parisi’s advice for a year, enough energy would be saved to power the lights of every football stadium in Europe for 24 years.
*While our blogs tend to concentrate on the activities of the Watermill and on great art, it is good today to be able to bring another subject, which Italians are passionate and remind you that, as well as inspiring teaching, warm hospitality, a beautiful setting and the convivial company of like-minded people, our creative courses offer outstanding and delicious Italian food. (Click here for all the Watermill’s activities)
I’ll talk to our chefs, including Lois, about the Parisi method, although I will leave them to be in charge in their own kitchen.
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