What Happens To Spaghetti When We Break It, And Why It Is Better Not To Do It

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The results of an interesting experiment that will come in handy in the kitchen.

You've probably noticed that one strand of spaghetti does not break in half, but into three pieces. This has long occupied scientists, including the Nobel laureate. Usually, all rod-shaped objects break into two parts when bent. But that's not the case with spaghetti.

Destin Sandlin, an American engineer who hosts the YouTube education channel Smarter Every Day, decided to investigate this phenomenon. First, he filmed spaghetti breaking at 18,000 frames per second. However, it seemed that both faults were occurring simultaneously. Sandlin slowed down even further. At 40,000 frames per second, he was able to notice where the thread broke first.

“The piece of spaghetti near the first rift begins to straighten out, curling upward,” explains Sandlin. - The second part is still bent at this time. As a result, almost immediately the pasta breaks down elsewhere. And with each break, the process starts anew."

The theory applies to a single strand of spaghetti held at opposite ends and bent.

So spaghetti breaks are like a chain reaction of unwinding. It is because of this that the thread breaks into several small pieces, and not in half.

Of course, the chemical composition and taste of the paste do not change after breaking. But it is better to cook whole spaghetti. And it's not just about the traditions of Italian cuisine. Chef Caroline Garofani says it's much more convenient to eat this way.

Spaghetti is eaten by screwing it onto a fork. And for this they must be long enough.

Otherwise, the pasta will simply not hold on to the fork or the sauce will drip from it.

If in Asian cuisine it is customary to scoop noodles straight from a bowl, then you cannot handle spaghetti like that. Long types of pasta are wrapped tightly around a fork. If you break the pasta in half before cooking, then it will be simply inconvenient to eat. There are, of course, people who cut ready-made spaghetti with a knife. But this is the same as fork rolls.

If you don't want to bother with winding on a fork, cook not spaghetti, but a short one.