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Controversy in Italy
Not everyone agrees. Italian Nobel Laureate for physics, Giorgio Parisi, recently vouched for the passive cooking method, saying the water only needs to remain at 80°C for pasta to cook, and turning off the heat with the lid on achieves this.
Shortly thereafter, One Michelin-starred Chef Antonello Colonna responded in an interview with the Italian newspaper Repubblica, "This solution cannot be used in high-level restaurants, because if cooked like this, the pasta takes on a rubbery texture."
Chef Wasfi Mesieha of Sabatino (once visited by former US President Bill Clinton) agreed telling Euronews that he agrees that pasta can cook by itself when the flame is cooked off, but "it will cook really badly."
Meanwhile, Italian pasta brand Barilla begs to differ...