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Culinary Arts & Cooking vocabulary · Cooking Methods & Techniques

Al dente

Meaning in culinary arts & cooking, with examples

/æl ˈdenteɪ/adjectiveCommon term

In culinary arts & cooking, al dente means: Cooked so that it is soft but still slightly firm when you bite it, especially pasta, rice and vegetables. From Italian, meaning "to the tooth".

In Turkish: al dente, dişe gelir kıvamda

How it is used

Used for pasta, risotto and vegetables. Restaurant kitchens often cook pasta slightly less than al dente and finish it in the sauce. Chefs test it by biting a piece.

Example sentences

  1. Cook the linguine until just al dente, then finish it in the pan with the clams.

  2. This risotto is overcooked. It should be al dente in the middle.

Common collocations

  • cook until al dente
  • just al dente
  • al dente pasta
  • slightly under al dente
  • boilTo heat a liquid until it bubbles strongly, or to cook food in such a liquid. Water boils at 100°C at sea level.
  • blanchTo put food briefly into boiling water and then usually straight into iced water to stop the cooking, fixing the colour and partly cooking it.
  • simmerTo cook food gently in liquid kept just below boiling point, so that only small bubbles rise slowly to the surface.
  • main courseThe largest and most important dish of a meal, usually served after the starter and before dessert. Often shortened to main.

More terms: Cooking Methods & Techniques

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