Phase behavior of Cacio e Pepe sauce

Date

Sep 29, 2025

Time

4:30 PM - 6:30 PM

Speaker

Ivan di Terlizzi, Matteo Ciarchi, Vincenzo Maria Schimmenti

Affiliation

MPIPKS

Series

MPI-PKS Kolloquium

Language

en

Main Topic

Physik

Other Topics

Physik

Description

Pasta alla Cacio e Pepe is a beloved Italian classic, known for its simple yet iconic combination of pasta, pecorino cheese, and pepper. However, despite its minimal ingredient list, achieving the perfect creamy sauce remains a culinary challenge. In this talk, we delve into the science of Cacio e Pepe, exploring the phase behavior of the sauce with varying proportions of cheese, water, and starch. Our findings highlight starch concentration as a critical factor for sauce stability. Specifically, we identify a threshold below which starch concentrations (less than 1\% relative to cheese mass) result in system-wide clumping, a condition we term the "Mozzarella Phase", characterized by an undesirable, separated texture. Additionally, we explore how cheese-to-water ratios at a fixed starch level affect stability, revealing a lower critical solution temperature that we rationalize using a simplified free-energy model. To make these insights actionable, we'll share some practical tips drawn from our study to help consistently achieve a perfectly creamy and stable sauce.

Last modified: Sep 29, 2025, 7:39:46 AM