Study Provides Scientific Recipe For Perfect Cacio E Pepe Every Time — With No Clumps

The beloved pasta dish cacio e pepe is deceptively difficult to make despite containing just three ingredients, but a team of Italian scientists has developed a reliable method to produce “flawless” results every time.

Cacio e pepe contains pasta, pecorino romano cheese, and black pepper, but achieving a smooth, creamy sauce is tricky, as the cheese has a tendency to clump and break when introduced to the hot pasta water.

To understand how to master cacio e pepe, researchers from the University of Barcelona, the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, the University of Padova, and the Institute of Science and Technology Austria studied the physics of mixing cheese in water, and published their findings in the journal Physics of Fluids.

“We are Italians living abroad,” study author Ivan Di Terlizzi said in a statement. “We often have dinner together and enjoy traditional cooking. Among the dishes we have cooked was cacio e pepe, and we thought this might be an interesting physical system to study and describe. And of course, there was the practical aim to avoid wasting good pecorino.”

To make cacio e pepe, the pasta is tossed in the cheese along with a bit of hot pasta water to form a creamy sauce. The researchers first looked at the starch levels in the pasta water as a major contributor to sauce consistency. In general, fatty substances like cheese don’t mix with water, but starch acts as a stabilizer that helps bring them together.

Testing revealed a 2–3% starch-to-cheese ratio produced the smoothest sauce.

Researchers next looked at heat level. Too much heat denatures the proteins in the cheese, leading to sticky clumps. Researchers found the best method involved allowing the pasta water to cool before adding it to the cheese, then heating the sauce as slowly as possible.

The researchers provided a scientific recipe for making perfect cacio e pepe at home, but it involves making starchy water using powdered starch like potato or corn starch instead of relying on an unknown amount of starch in pasta water.

“Because starch is such an important ingredient, and the amount of starch can sharply determine where you end up, what we suggest is to use an amount of starch which is precisely measured,” said Di Terlizzi. “And this can only be done if you have the right amount of powdered starch in proportion to the amount of cheese that you’re using.”

Once the starchy water is prepared, researchers recommend blending it with the cheese for a uniform consistency. Then, add the sauce back to the pan and slowly heat it to serving temperature. Finally, mix in the pepper and the pasta just before serving.

The researchers next plan to turn their sights to other pasta recipes.

“There’s a recipe called pasta alla gricia, which is cacio e pepe plus guanciale, cured pork cheek,” said author Daniel Maria Busiello. “This recipe seems to be easier to perform, and we don’t know exactly why. This is one idea we might explore in the future.”