One of those things is the passion of the Italian people. A trait which is beautifully displayed in this TikTok video, which has been liked by over 2.4 million people.
Upon further investigation it seems that Italians really do take a strong stance on breaking pasta before putting it in the pot.
As Italian baker Carolina Garofani says to Slate, “Let me explain this from the double viewpoint of being both Italian and a cook … the reason why you should not break pasta is that it’s supposed to wrap around your fork.
“That’s how long pasta is supposed to be eaten. You rotate your fork, and it should be long enough to both stick to itself and get entangled in a way that it doesn’t slip off or lets sauce drip from it. The pasta must be cooked right to allow the sauce to stick to it, and the sauce should be thick enough to both stick to the pasta and not drip, splatter, or dribble.
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“In most Asian cultures, noodles are slurped right off the bowl and cut with our teeth. Not in this case. Long pasta needs to be completely secure and rolled around the fork.
“It’s the least messy way to eat it. If you break your long pasta in half, you’ll have shorter strands that are a pain to be eaten and then you get the people who [shudder] use a knife to eat spaghetti.”
It’s a point that is reiterated by An American in Rome, who writes, in her article ‘The ten commandments of cooking pasta like an Italian’:
“Thou shalt not break thine pasta. Ever. I don’t care if it’s long, that just means you did not put enough water in the pot. If you hold up a packet of spaghetti and break it over the pot, that cracking sound you hear is the sound of 1000 Italian grandmother’s hearts breaking. (Just kidding, you would probably get straight up smacked for being so ridiculous).
“Let me repeat: you do not break the pasta. The pasta is produced in that size for a reason, and all you need is a tall pot and a bit of practice swirling it around your fork.”
To get over the wave of guilt and embarrassment we’re having for the times we’ve broken pasta before boiling it, here are some other aspects of Italy we are missing, courtesy of TikTok.
The pizza:
The coastline:
The breakfasts:
The countryside:
The swimming:
