Researchers Perfect the Cacio e Pepe Recipe with Scientific Precision

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Crafting the beloved creamy pasta sauce can be both enjoyable and exasperating, primarily due to cheese clumping when heated. A team of Italian researchers has introduced a new technique that is “simple yet precise.”

Margherita Bassi – Daily Correspondent

April 30, 2025 4:44 p.m.

Italian scientists have developed a systematic approach to perfecting cacio e pepe, a classic pasta sauce made from pecorino cheese and black pepper.

This dish is renowned for its simplicity, often requiring just a few ingredients. However, executing the recipe successfully can be challenging. Traditional methods recommend adding pasta water to achieve the desired creaminess, but this technique often results in clumpy cheese due to the heat of the water.

Thanks to a group of Italian researchers living abroad, home cooks now have a reliable method to overcome this challenge. The key ingredient they discovered? Extra starch.

“An authentic Italian grandmother or a seasoned cook from Rome typically relies on their intuition and extensive practice to prepare cacio e pepe,” the researchers explained in a study published in the journal Physics of Fluids. “This guide provides a practical solution for those who may not have that expertise.”

Starch plays a crucial role in merging the cheese and water, which ordinarily do not mix well, to create a smooth, creamy sauce. The heat from the water can alter the proteins in cheese, causing them to clump together.

When used in adequate amounts, “the starch binds to the cheese proteins, reducing their interactions and thereby minimizing clumping,” noted Daniel Busiello, a co-author of the research and a scholar at the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, while speaking to BBC Science Focus.

To ensure that the naturally released starch from the pasta water is effective, the researchers advise letting the water cool before adding the cheese and then gradually reheating the mixture. For those in a rush, they have provided a quicker method.

“When the starch concentration is elevated, temperature becomes less critical, allowing for a smoother sauce even with less precise heating methods,” Busiello explained in an interview with Guardian. “Our recommended ratio of starch to cheese lies between 2% and 3% by weight, which enables home chefs to easily create a smooth sauce without being overly concerned about temperature.”

For a serving catering to two individuals using approximately 11 ounces of pasta and 7 ounces of cheese, the proposed recipe suggests incorporating 0.18 ounces of starch. It’s essential that this starch is added to a different pot of water than that used for cooking the pasta. The researchers recommend using precise measurements of powdered starch, such as potato or corn starch, as outlined in a recent statement.

Specifically, 0.18 ounces of starch should be mixed into 1.8 ounces of water and heated until it transforms into a gel. Following this, another 3.5 ounces of water should be incorporated into the gel to cool the mixture before the cheese is added, along with the black pepper.

In parallel, the pasta should be cooked in a separate pot of salted water until it reaches al dente. After draining, allow the pasta to rest for up to a minute to cool before combining it with the sauce. This method, according to the researchers, offers a straightforward yet precise way to consistently create a flawless cacio e pepe.

While this approach may intrigue some traditional Italian chefs, Nathan Myhrvold, an influential figure in culinary science and co-author of the renowned cookbook Modernist Cuisine, remarked to New York Times’s Alexander Nazaryan that “the amount of research that went into this is truly commendable.” However, he cautioned that using starch could alter the cheese’s taste, suggesting the use of the anticoagulant sodium citrate as a potential alternative.

Despite differing opinions, Busiello affirmed that “we tested our method with over two kilograms of pasta, and all the guests enjoyed it!”

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www.smithsonianmag.com