0

someone says that temperature is the most reliable way to know if a food is done is or not

they say that there are various signals to know but none of these are actually that reliable

(source: How can I ensure that scrambled eggs will be fully cooked?)

they do not mention the most reliable way, they only mentioned time. the 'suggested time' given on recipes, as we know, is also not very reliable because few recipes are well-tested by the person that made that recipe, but many (a very large percentage) are not tested and or based on significant evidence

(source: How can I tell if the food inside a pressure cooker is done cooking?)

Cascabel
  • 58,065
  • 24
  • 178
  • 319
ambw
  • 111
  • 4
  • Welcome! I'm removing the second part of your question, because health is off-topic here. It's sufficient to say that you want to know when your pasta is fully cooked; that's not a weird thing to ask for. – Cascabel Jan 17 '18 at 05:38
  • I think uncooked pasta is safe to eat – paparazzo Jan 17 '18 at 07:39
  • 1
    @Paparazzi possible e. coli risk in uncooked flour. – moscafj Jan 17 '18 at 14:04
  • it's not safe, that's why it was important and needed to be mentioned, deleted part -- "also anyone with the relevant personal experience of actually eating whole wheat durum pasta raw would know that wheat can be toxic when eaten raw (source: me) (more: https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/real-reason-for-toxic-wheat-its-not-gluten/) for example, microwaving eggs and oats explode. i didnt know that until from personal experience * https://www.quora.com/Why-do-certain-foods-explode-when-microwaved – ambw Jan 23 '18 at 19:28
  • @ambw The issues *specifically with whole wheat* that you mention are not food safety issues, they're health issues, which are off-topic. If the issue were that the pasta could explode (like eggs in a microwave), sure, that'd be a safety issue - but that's not the case. – Cascabel Jan 23 '18 at 20:01
  • For reference, "food safety" is about things with really really clear effects (usually short-term effects) and scientific consensus, the sorts of things governments will make regulations about. It's pretty easy to see that the concerns you're raising are not in this category, and beyond that, there's even [a Snopes article](https://www.snopes.com/food/tainted/roundupwheat.asp) detailing how those claims are not even supported by the scientific evidence your article claims support them. So this *really* isn't the sort of thing we will ever get into here. – Cascabel Jan 23 '18 at 20:18
  • It's cooked at 212°F/100°C - it's also underdone at that temperature, before it's cooked at that temperature. if you are at high altitude, it's cooked (and underdone) at lower temperatures. If you are at very high altitude, you might need a pressure cooker (or you might choose to stick with things that are easy to cook when water boils at 85°C rather than dragging a pressure cooker up a mountain.) – Ecnerwal Jan 24 '18 at 02:08

1 Answers1

7

Unfortunately, temperature is not a good way to determine when pasta is cooked. It's great for some things that are simply done when they reach a given temperature, without time being a factor. Meat is the most common example, but it will certainly work for eggs too as noted on the question you linked.

Pasta is different - cooking involves hydrating it, not just heating it. If you're cooking it in boiling water, it will most likely all reach 100C/212F before it's done, and then still be at that same temperature when it's done. On top of that, it'd be very difficult to actually stick a thermometer into pasta to get a reliable temperature reading, and it's so small that it'd be cooling down rapidly once you take it out of the water to do that.

The most reliable way to tell if your pasta is done is to simply test it directly - bite through it and see what the texture is, or I suppose cut it with a knife if you don't want to bite possibly underdone pasta for whatever reason. If it's not done yet, you'll see an opaque, whiter bit in the middle. For far more detail, see What's the best way to tell that pasta is done (when boiling)?

The times given on packages are also fairly accurate, though there's some room for personal preference in doneness.If you cook it as instructed, it will definitely be done - but it might be either softer or more "al dente" than you prefer, depending on the brand and your preferences. (Some packages may actually give an "al dente" time and a "fully cooked" time, if you're really lucky.)

If you're looking for consistency, and not having to test every time, you can just time it once. That time will keep on working for you, if you cook it the same way. As a bonus, you can also compare that time to what's on the package. If it matches, you can probably use the time on the package for all types of pasta from that brand, and if you like it cooked 10% less, you can extrapolate a very good guess for other types, and so on.

Cascabel
  • 58,065
  • 24
  • 178
  • 319
  • please edit the answer so that it's specific to whole wheat durum pasta since it's what the question is about. also that link is to something 6 years old and i dont see any scientific evidence backing it. cited links to evidence based on updated science is better and would be helpful. please edit the answer so that it's specific to whole wheat durum pasta, and not 'pasta' in general since that isn't helpful, thanks – ambw Jan 23 '18 at 19:34
  • 1
    This is all true for whole wheat pasta as well. It's safe (from a food safety perspective) if it's fully cooked as described here. The concerns originally in your question are not food safety issues, so I haven't addressed them. – Cascabel Jan 23 '18 at 19:58