It might just be pasta, pecorino and black pepper, but Cacio e Pepe isn't as easy to make as some people think.

But the researchers came up with a scientific recipe that avoided the blocky sauce every time—but it all became more complicated.

Cacio e Pepe is made by cooking pasta and uses the resulting starchy water to make sauces and grated cheese and pepper.

Now, researchers suggest a perfect recipe for two or two involves dissolving 5 grams of powdered starch in 50 grams of water instead of using reserved pasta water - Just like traditional recipes. Then, heat the mixture gently until thickened and cleared.

Next, add 100 grams of water to cool the mixture, then mix it with 200 grams of cheese and add roasted black pepper.

The resulting sauce should then be mixed with 300 grams of pasta, and the pasta is cooked in slightly brine until coated with dentin, drained and cooled slightly.

This step helps prevent excessive heat from destroying the stability of the sauce. Finally, they say some retained starch water can be used to adjust consistency as needed.

"A true Italian grandmother or a skilled home cook in Rome never needs scientific recipes, but relies on instinct and years of experience," the researchers wrote. "For everyone else, this guide provides a practical way to master the dish."

Dr. Ivan Di Terlizzi, one of the co-authors of the study, said the team would take about 6 kilograms of cheese to study, "mostly they were eaten with bread."

"Although we are still not tired of this delicious dish, one of the authors' blood tests showed high cholesterol levels," he added. "It's the price of science!"

"After heating, casein changes its configuration, and therefore changes its configuration," said Dr. Daniel Busiello, another study co-author at the Max Planck Institute in Germany. He said starch reduces their direct interaction by binding to casein, thus reducing the effect, thus reducing clump formation.

To explore the secrets of smooth and creamy sauce, the researchers conducted many experiments using fixed cheese to water ratios, but with different starch concentrations. The latter is controlled by dissolving a known amount of dried corn starch in water.

The results showed that fewer clumps occurred at lower temperatures regardless of starch concentration, and the team added that the protein did not start with components below 65c. As the temperature rises, higher starch concentrations are needed to avoid clumps and prevent the "mozzarella phase" - huge cheeses appear.

"At higher starch concentrations, the temperature becomes unobtrusive because the sauce remains smooth even if the sauce is less controlled," Busiello said.

Busiello only adds pasta water to too little starch to reliably prevent clumping, creating a smooth sauce only under careful temperature control.

"Our recommended scientific method uses a starch to cheese ratio between 2% and 3% by weight, allowing home cooks to reliably produce smooth seasoning without having to worry too much about temperature," he said.