Utensils
Essential for the emulsification technique of moving pasta straight from the pot to the pan without draining it. Silicone tips won't damage the strands.
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Cacio e pepe comes down to cheese and black pepper, yet almost every failure has one cause — a pan that's too hot when the cheese goes in. Eight chefs split into three schools for that moment.
On camera, Kenji López-Alt says measurements don't need to be precise. In print, Serious Eats gives grams and milliliters, and a bowl set clear of the water — same school, two levels of precision.
J. Kenji López-Alt makes cacio e pepe without a big pot: noodles boil in a 12-inch frying pan with barely enough water to cover them, then go straight to the sauce with tongs, no draining.
Moving pasta from pot to pan comes down to two tools. That how much pasta water rides along changes the finish is the editors' read, not a relationship our sources tested.
Ryuji's vongole bianco includes a half-teaspoon of kombu tea. Seven takes split on one real question — does the pasta drink clam liquor straight, or get tossed with a pasta-water emulsion?
Chef profiles
