You gotta fail a few times to figure it out and get that click in your head. I failed carbonara the first 3-4 times until I figured it out properly
Im_The_One
2 options. 1 is to add the almost cooked noodles to a pan with a bit of pasta water, blast the heat, and continuously stir in cheese until it becomes a saucy consistency.
Could be temperature control (pan too hot, melted cheese rather than emulsify it), moisture control (not enough pasta water added to create a crema), or maybe the cheese you used was pre-grated and had an anti-caking agent which can make things weird sometimes. I would suggest grating a bunch of pecorino and pepper in a large bowl. Right before your pasta is done cooking temper the grated cheese with a little pasta water, then add your pasta and add splashes of pasta water until you get a slightly looser than desired consistency. It will firm up slightly with a little time. If it isn’t emulsifying nicely, put the bowl over your boiling water like a double boiler.
Zamejski_Scum
Yeah you need to mix everything in a cold pan. And preferably shred cacio on the smallest possible grater, so that it mixes well with pasta water and pasta. Also make sure when you mix in the pasta water, that you dont use boiling hot water, but a just a little cooled. And use lots of cheese!
Crlady
Did you use pre shredded cheese? They put weird ingredients in it. It helps to use freshly grated cheese.
96dpi
All about temperature control. It was too hot when you mixed it in. Needs to be between 140F and 180F.
Greymeade
Are you going to tell us your process/recipe?
sim0of
Haha nice try. I’ve been there too. In fact, probably most of us have.
Here is how you can get the perfect result effortlessly
Using a blender, blend the cheese with the starchy pasta water
Usually blending for one or two minutes gives you an emulsified enough sauce, but it depends on the power and amount od cheese.
You can even just scoop the water out of the boiling pot as long as you start blending fast enough
It’s best if you make it _slightly_ (slightly!) more liquid than what you want as your final result
Then of course you just mix it in the cooked pasta
Works perfectlt for carbonara too!
Freakish-Potato
That looks blend a f bro.. needs sauce 😅 and some basil chopped up at the end
agmanning
This is a temperature issue. Take the pan off the heat way before you try to integrate the cheese. Don’t be discouraged. When you nail it you’ll be very happy.
Looks about as sad as the last pasta post that looked like it was already eaten twice before the picture was taken 😔
Horacolo
That’s not a cacio e pepe. Try again
vpersiana
The secret is to rinse the pasta a couple of minutes before it’s cooked, then whisk the pasta with some pasta water you kept aside, on the heat. This way you create a sort of cream made by starch, and starch prevents the cheese from lumping together like this. Also it creates a nice base for the pecorino and your pasta will be more rich and creamy.
And don’t add the pecorino till your pasta cools down a little.
22 Comments
cacio e depepression
You gotta fail a few times to figure it out and get that click in your head. I failed carbonara the first 3-4 times until I figured it out properly
2 options. 1 is to add the almost cooked noodles to a pan with a bit of pasta water, blast the heat, and continuously stir in cheese until it becomes a saucy consistency.
Option 2 is to make the cheese sauce separately and then pour and mix over heat. See this video: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBcHXnpi4yW/?igsh=OXJ2NWl6Zmg5ZnBr
High quality cheese is a requirement.
Could be temperature control (pan too hot, melted cheese rather than emulsify it), moisture control (not enough pasta water added to create a crema), or maybe the cheese you used was pre-grated and had an anti-caking agent which can make things weird sometimes. I would suggest grating a bunch of pecorino and pepper in a large bowl. Right before your pasta is done cooking temper the grated cheese with a little pasta water, then add your pasta and add splashes of pasta water until you get a slightly looser than desired consistency. It will firm up slightly with a little time. If it isn’t emulsifying nicely, put the bowl over your boiling water like a double boiler.
Yeah you need to mix everything in a cold pan. And preferably shred cacio on the smallest possible grater, so that it mixes well with pasta water and pasta. Also make sure when you mix in the pasta water, that you dont use boiling hot water, but a just a little cooled. And use lots of cheese!
Did you use pre shredded cheese? They put weird ingredients in it. It helps to use freshly grated cheese.
All about temperature control. It was too hot when you mixed it in. Needs to be between 140F and 180F.
Are you going to tell us your process/recipe?
Haha nice try. I’ve been there too. In fact, probably most of us have.
Here is how you can get the perfect result effortlessly
Using a blender, blend the cheese with the starchy pasta water
Usually blending for one or two minutes gives you an emulsified enough sauce, but it depends on the power and amount od cheese.
You can even just scoop the water out of the boiling pot as long as you start blending fast enough
It’s best if you make it _slightly_ (slightly!) more liquid than what you want as your final result
Then of course you just mix it in the cooked pasta
Works perfectlt for carbonara too!
That looks blend a f bro.. needs sauce 😅 and some basil chopped up at the end
This is a temperature issue.
Take the pan off the heat way before you try to integrate the cheese.
Don’t be discouraged. When you nail it you’ll be very happy.
Mate listen to this.
[There is my recipe on this post’s reply. ](https://www.reddit.com/r/pasta/s/sAHHJarcC7) I bet it will work well for you. [And use this technique to try my recipe. ](https://youtu.be/mlh8pAMQsOA?si=-_sog7oeFZ3mqm76) By doing it you’ll experience one of the best cacio e pepe you’ll ever experience.
For a simple meal it’s good
Looks about as sad as the last pasta post that looked like it was already eaten twice before the picture was taken 😔
That’s not a cacio e pepe.
Try again
The secret is to rinse the pasta a couple of minutes before it’s cooked, then whisk the pasta with some pasta water you kept aside, on the heat. This way you create a sort of cream made by starch, and starch prevents the cheese from lumping together like this. Also it creates a nice base for the pecorino and your pasta will be more rich and creamy.
And don’t add the pecorino till your pasta cools down a little.
Did you forget the cheese and pepper?
More like Cacio E Peepee. Looks like jizz
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10lXPzbRoU0&t=20s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10lXPzbRoU0&t=20s) even if you are not doing it like in the video, it can help with some insights.
How old was pecorino? As in the age?
You might have fake cheese. Happened to me once. Looked just like that.
https://www.italiaregina.it/the-danger-of-counterfeit-cheeses/
Dude. At least add a shit ton of pepper and cheese.
WTF is this?
add more pasta water