View source for Al dente

{{Short description|Cooking method}}
{{For|the 1998 short film|Al Dente (film)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}

[[Image:Spaghetti-cooking.jpg|thumb|250px|A pot of cooking [[spaghetti]]]]
In [[cooking]], '''al dente''' ({{IPAc-en|æ|l|ˈ|d|ɛ|n|t|eɪ}}, {{IPA|it|al ˈdɛnte|lang}}; {{literally|to the tooth}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=al+dente |title=Online Etymology Dictionary |publisher=Etymonline.com |access-date=2014-08-18}}</ref>) [[pasta]] or [[risotto|rice]] is cooked to be firm to the bite.<ref name="google1">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1FVLv7WS4C4C&q=al+dente |title=Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan - Google Books |date=2011-07-20 |isbn=9780307958303 |access-date=2014-08-18|last1=Hazan |first1=Marcella }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/al-dente |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223183759/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/al-dente |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 23, 2014 |title=Al dente: definition of al dente in Oxford dictionary (American English) (US) |publisher=Oxforddictionaries.com |date=2014-08-11 |access-date=2014-08-18}}</ref><ref name="google2">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mdwm7jI9J10C&q=al+dente&pg=PT3 |title=Dictionary of Food: International Food and Cooking Terms from A to Z - Charles Sinclair - Google Books |date= January 2009|isbn=9781408102183 |access-date=2014-08-18|last1=Sinclair |first1=Charles }}</ref> The term also extends to firmly-cooked vegetables.<ref>[https://www.waitrose.com/content/waitrose/en/home/recipes/cooking_glossary/al_dente.html Cooking glossary: Al dente]. ''Waitrose''. Retrieved 24 December 2023.</ref>

In contemporary Italian cooking, it is considered to be the ideal consistency for pasta and involves a brief cooking time.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4wOGAgAAQBAJ&q=encyclopedia+culinary+terms+al+dente&pg=PA599 |title=Encyclopedia of Contemporary Italian Culture - Google Books |date= 11 September 2002|isbn=9781134758777 |access-date=2014-08-18|last1=Moliterno |first1=Gino }}</ref><ref name="google3">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C5axRXlLOlAC&q=al+dente+italian+cooking+history&pg=PA54 |title=Italian Cuisine: A Cultural History - Alberto Capatti, Massimo Montanari - Google Books |date=2013-08-13 |isbn=9780231509046 |access-date=2014-08-18|last1=Capatti |first1=Alberto |last2=Montanari |first2=Massimo }}</ref> ''Molto al dente'' is the Italian term for slightly undercooked pasta.<ref name="google1"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://rouxbe.com/recipes/568-penne-a-la-vodka/text |title=Penne a la vodka Recipe Text &#124; Rouxbe Cooking School |publisher=Rouxbe.com |access-date=2014-08-18 |url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100416163608/http://rouxbe.com/recipes/568-penne-a-la-vodka/text | archive-date=April 16, 2010}}</ref>

When cooking commercial pasta, the al dente phase occurs right before the white of the pasta center disappears.<ref name="google2"/>

==Nutrition==
The [[American Diabetes Association]] says that al dente pasta has a lower [[glycemic index]] than pasta that is cooked soft.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/planning-meals/glycemic-index-and-diabetes.html |title=Glycemic Index and Diabetes: American Diabetes Association® |publisher=Diabetes.org |access-date=2014-08-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131031001729/http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/planning-meals/glycemic-index-and-diabetes.html |archive-date=2013-10-31 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Wiktionary-inline}}
{{Portal|Italy|Food}}
* [[Culinary arts]]
* [[Food science]]
* [[Molecular gastronomy]]
* [[Q texture]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Pasta}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Al Dente}}
[[Category:Cooking]]
[[Category:Pasta]]
[[Category:Italian cuisine]]
[[Category:Italian words and phrases]]