I’ve been told for as long as I can remember that Al Dente is a way cooking pasta. I was watching a cooking show the other night and the host said that contrary to popular belief Al Dente is form of Italian Cooking.
What is Al Dente?
Just means that the pasta is still a little firm.
Literally translated, the term means “to the tooth.” It’s basically cooking a given pasta so that the center is still chewy, not soft throughout.
It loosely translates to chewy. Basically it means to not overcook your pasta so it doesn’t have any more texture.
Al dente is cooking pasta so that it is still a little firm and not completely droopy. Italians often cook their pasta that way while Americans tend to cook it fully. Al dente also refers to vegetables and other foods cooked that way but it most often refers to pasta.
Al Dente is a way of cooking pasta. Specifically, it means reducing the amount of time that you cook the pasta so that the inside of the pasta is still a little dry and crunchy.
If the instructions on the box say “cook 11 to 13 minutes”, you cook it for 10 minutes so the inside.
I was told by an Italian friend that “Al Dente” roughly translates as “to the teeth.”
It’s Italian for “let it cook for 5 more minutes”.
I’m pretty sure it means chewy…
I think it was mentioned in Rio, by Duran Duran…
I actually have a sincere question I’d like to add to the OP’s… I once read the directions to one pasta package that said to properly prepare it al dente, to boil the pasta with the pot lid off. Why? How could that possibly make a difference, other than add a bit of time to the cooking?
The Dente family were famous Italian cooks, and Al used to do a talk radio show where people would call in with their cooking questions-same format as Car Talk. So Al Dente became associated with, “Don’t cook like my brother.” Leo Dente and Pauly Dente were well respected, but never developed the following of their older brother.
Pasta water will foam up and rise out of the pan with the lid on.
I thought I knew what Al dente meant while I lived in the US. Now that Im living in Italy Ive realized what al dente really tastes/feels like. It seems the pastas (dried) that we get in the states are either less fresh or just not as good as the stuff here, go figure right. Theres a chewiness to the pasta here that is almost impossible not to achive, no matter how long you cook it. Its actually quite enjoyable and I was never able to achieve this when I used american pasta. Its not a dry crispy thing…more like a chewy resilient feel. Hope this helps?
I find that pasta is almost always inedible when I order it in the US, so I don’t anymore (not that it’s a big problem, since I haven’t visited since '99). Anyway, it’s just too mushy, saturated, wet.
To get good pasta, it’s absolutely essential to use pasta made from durum wheat.
Next point - undercook dry pasta about ten per cent. If you pick up a piece (a spaghetto?) it should stick to the fridge door, without sliding off (wipe clean after). With fresh pasta, boil for about half the time indicated on the package. It will retain the heat and keep cooking. 4 minute fresh fettucini will turn into an inedible lump of dough, if actually boiled for four minutes.
Cooking pasta with the lid on? Huh?
No. Pasta is overcooked already if it passes that test. Just keep biting until the raw t
aste is gone, but it’s still a little tough – quickly remove from heat, dump the water, and add sauce, or plate, or whatever it is you’re doing. DON’T RINSE!
Alright this is the deal. If your using US bought dry pasta there isnt much, if anything, you can do to achieve true al dente. I dont care how long or how short you cook it, whether you rinse it, or whatever you decide to add to the water. The pasta I get here in Italy is dry but manages to come out al dente a lot easier. I dont even pay attention to the cooking time. I cook it for awhile (however long that is) and its still al dente. My point is, the quality of the product plays a bigger role, in this case, than cooking time.
I don’t agree with the first part of this statement. A wide variety of pasta is available in the US and you can certainly get one which will cook properly.
If you want to try a little experiment get some Prince brand pasta and another like say Racconto or Barilla and cook them side by side to see just how much difference there is.
And, no, al dente doesn’t mean "the way they serve it at Denny’s. 
Duh! Its the way they serve it at Dente’s!
My husband always jokes that he likes his pasta cooked “al Boyardee”.