Whether it’s spaghetti and meatballs, pesto pasta or a classic pasta al olio, there’s no denying that a perfectly-crafted spaghetti recipe can warm your stomach and your heart. The Italians got it right with this comfort food that spans the seasons and simply makes many a meal significantly better.

Not content with just eating it, researchers at Lund University in Sweden wanted to truly understand spaghetti – way beyond what makes it so darn delicious.

In their study, which as been recently published in the journal Food Hydrocolloids, the researchers sought to understand how exactly spaghetti stays solid even in boiling water.

And their results explain exactly why gluten free pasta can sometimes turn out perfectly, and sometimes be a complete disaster.

To truly understand the intricacies of this classic comfort food, the researchers delved into the structure of spaghetti, examining both regular and gluten-free strands using both X-rays and a process called small-angle neutron scattering.

By putting spaghetti under the microscope, they saw something highly significant: the structure of the spaghetti is fundamental to preventing the spaghetti from disintegrating in boiling water.

And it’s the gluten in regular spaghetti that’s doing most of the work, which also explains why gluten-free spaghetti can be a little temperamental, as Andrea Scotti explained in a statement:

“We were able to show that the gluten in regular spaghetti acts as a safety net that preserves the starch. The gluten-free pasta, which contains an artificial matrix, only works optimally under exactly the right cooking conditions – otherwise the structure easily falls apart.”

But there’s more to cooking the perfect, non-disintegrated spaghetti, as the study continued.

And as many chefs will tell you, the correct conditions and the perfect amount of seasoning play a huge role in the end result, Scotti clarified:

“Our results show that regular pasta has higher tolerance, or better structural resistance, to less optimal cooking conditions such as being cooked for too long or too much salt being added to the water. So, cooking pasta with the right amount of salt is not just a matter of taste – it also affects the microstructure of the pasta and thus the whole dining experience.”

It’s not just what you cook, it’s how you cook it that counts.

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