Posted on 10/10/2025 7:25:28 AM PDT by Red Badger
Physicists discovered the secret to flawlessly creamy cacio e pepe, and it earned them the Ig Nobel Prize. Shutterstock A team of physicists won the Ig Nobel Prize for cracking the code to perfect cacio e pepe.
Their clever study revealed how starch and temperature control can transform a lumpy sauce into creamy perfection, proving that great science sometimes starts with dinner.
The Struggle for the Perfect Cacio e Pepe
Cacio e pepe ranks among Italy’s most beloved pasta dishes, yet even (Italian) scientists struggle to achieve the smooth, creamy sauce it’s famous for. Fabrizio Olmeda, a physicist at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), faced the same problem until he decided to stop relying on chance and start relying on science. Partnering with colleagues (all Italian) from the Max Planck Institute in Dresden, the University of Padua, and the University of Barcelona, he set out to uncover the precise formula for a sauce that would come out perfectly every time.
Their work paid off. Recently in Boston, the team was honored with the Ig Physics Nobel Prize in Physics for their flavorful and creative findings. This lighthearted award recognizes scientific discoveries that first amuse and then inspire reflection, encouraging curiosity about science, medicine, and technology by celebrating the unexpected and imaginative.
Curiosity Beyond the Lab: Fabrizio Olmeda’s Philosophy
As a postdoctoral researcher at ISTA, Fabrizio Olmeda focuses on statistical physics and complex systems, using theoretical tools that can be applied across many disciplines, from biology to sociology.
“My motivation will always be to investigate phenomena that fascinate me, even if they lie outside my field of expertise, which is the physics of single-cell genomics,” says the newly awarded Ig Nobel Prize winner. “Despite increasing specialization, I believe that even in my usual field of research, it can be beneficial to take some time to explore something unusual. I think this award reflects this idea, because its motto, ‘First laugh, then think,’ can inspire people to take an interest in science.”
Martin Hetzer, president of ISTA, emphasizes this: “A mentor once told me: As long as you’re having fun, you’re doing it right. The Ig Nobel Prize is a wonderful tribute to this credo. At first, the question of how to prepare the perfect Caio e Pepe pasta may sound funny. But real curiosity-driven research brings together creativity, perseverance, precision, and fun. And it always leads to discoveries that have the potential to improve our world a little bit—on a large scale with innovations or on a small scale on our plates.”
Fabrizio Olmeda With Cacio e Pepe Pasta
Fabrizio Olmeda, postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), and colleagues have now been awarded the Ig Nobel Prize for their research into the perfect cacio e pepe pasta. Credit: © ISTA
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What’s Simmering in the Lab? The Recipe for Delicious Research
And that is the essence of the peer-reviewed study published in the scientific journal Physics of Fluids and now honored with the award: Simply mixing the usual ingredients – Pecorino cheese, pasta water, pepper, and pasta – often results in a lumpy, mozzarella-like sauce. Why? The starch in the pasta water is supposed to help emulsify and stabilize the sauce, but it is rarely enough on its own. When the temperature rises above 65 degrees Celsius, the cheese proteins denature and clump together, causing the mixture to break down.
The researchers found that the key to the perfect sauce is the right amount of starch. Simply stir starch powder (2–3% of the cheese mass) into the water until the water becomes clear and thickens. Now mix this gel with the cheese at a low temperature so that the starch binds with the proteins and prevents lumps. Then season with pepper as usual. Mix the pasta with the sauce in the pan and add a little pasta water if necessary to achieve the right consistency.
Cacio e Pepe
Tasty science: The perfect Cacio e Pepe Pasta, here prepared at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA). Credit: © ISTA
Ingredients:
4 g starch (potato or corn starch)
40 ml water (to mix the starch)
160 g Pecorino Romano
240 g pasta (ideally tonnarelli)
Pasta cooking water
Black pepper and salt (to taste)
Also at the VISTA Science Experience Center
The research question about the perfect pasta is just one of countless questions and topics that have been and continue to be pursued at ISTA in Klosterneuburg by outstanding scientists from around 80 countries. Visitors will soon be able to learn about a selection of these topics—including the now award-winning pasta research—at the VISTA Science Experience Center.
Reference:
“Phase behavior of Cacio e Pepe sauce”
by G. Bartolucci, D. M. Busiello, M. Ciarchi, A. Corticelli, I. Di Terlizzi, F. Olmeda, D. Revignas and V. M. Schimmenti, 29 April 2025, Physics of Fluids.
DOI: 10.1063/5.0255841
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How come he is not the first author then?
Too many cooks spoil the sauce................
Is this the Bee mocking the Nobel Peace Prize committee?
The link looks legit.
Sounds like he got the prize for “discovering” corn flour, as some Asian call it, is a thickener.
It continues to undermine the Nobel Prize for giving an award for something that is common knowledge.
I’d call it a plagiarism, but obviously such a basic process cannot be patented.
Betty Crocker deserves like 200 prizes for her cookbook.
Hey, I can make paste! (Glue) You can eat it! I wouldn’t let it sit overnight though....stinks.
Soooooo ......
... make a bechamel cheese sauce with water, instead of learning how to cook the recipe. Got it.
Heck. Based on this winning “discovery” why not just make a regular bechamel with milk, as in homemade mac and cheese?
I mean, any pasta with cheese sauce is mac and cheese, yeah?
Back in the 60’s when I was a kid, the school lunches were made from scratch by old ladies in a huge kitchen.
They had a mac and cheese recipe that was fantastically delicious!
I have never had any mac and cheese since then that compares with it!.....................
The “Ig Nobel Prize” is not the real Nobel Prize. See the wikipedia link posted above.
This is the best research idea I’ve heard.
I hope this revolutionizes my frozen food choices at the market.
Pasta La Vista, Bay-Be!................
That’s a great memory. What part of the country? I wonder if it was regional recipe.
I thought I made the best mac and cheese for decades until I saw, and tried, the recipe from America’s Test Kitchen. Hands down, the best and I’ll probably never make it another way again. (I’ll go find it if you want)
And it lends itself to endless variations.
Boil yer elbows in water and milk til al dente.
IIRC, it’s 1 pound of pasta, 2-3 cups of milk, 2-4 cups water.
Don’t drain it.
ADD 1/2 pound American cheese on heat
Off heat, add dried mustard, salt and pepper, whatever spices.
ADD another 1/2 - 1 pound whatever cheese you want.
Add in whatever else you like, bacon, broccoli, etc.
Season to taste.
If you want crumb topping, I have found buttered and pan-browned Ritz crackers are incomparable.
It’s also amazing with diced pepperoni and broccoli added, with mozzarella being one of the cheeses.
Cheers!
Great science or a friggn decent chef!
I’ve downloaded the PDF, plan to share it with local restaurant.
Second place by better than two weeks.
2025 Ig Physics Nobel Prize goes to perfect pasta sauce
09/21/2025 11:12:10 AM PDT · by Eleutheria5 · 19 replies
Phys Org ^ | 19/9/25
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4341933/posts
Search function works fine.
I have to butt in here on the type of pasta used.
Yes, elbowsare traditional BUT! try Cavatappi.
I was reviewing recipes and used cavatappi andyou would be surprised at the difference
If I recall the pros do this recipe with only the starch from the pasta. Adding starch is cheating.
Oh, agreed, totally!!! Nice to meet you :)
Cavatappi is 3 or 4 Next Levels. I use them most often, elbows for the picky kids.
I’ve started making pasta with Caputo 00 flour, now I need a pasta machine to make tube things.
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