Why are my spaghetti afflicted so?
August 24, 2005 12:40 PM Subscribe
What has happened to my noodles!? Recently, all the boxes of dry spaghetti in my cupboard have suffered a strange affliction...
Many of the noodles have hairlines running diagonally across them. They are not broken, but they are definitely weaker and will break along these lines if bent. They also fall apart along the lines when I cook them, leaving me with too-short, too-thin noodle bits that get overcooked and limp. The noodle to either side of the hairline is visibly lighter in color. Sometimes there are more than one on the same noodle, and when there are they tend to run parallel to each other.
These are San Giorgio spaghetti — the same brand I've always bought, and I've never seen this before. They're not especially old, are still in their original sealed boxes, and haven't been stepped on or rattled around or anything. What's going on? And how do I put a stop to it?
Many of the noodles have hairlines running diagonally across them. They are not broken, but they are definitely weaker and will break along these lines if bent. They also fall apart along the lines when I cook them, leaving me with too-short, too-thin noodle bits that get overcooked and limp. The noodle to either side of the hairline is visibly lighter in color. Sometimes there are more than one on the same noodle, and when there are they tend to run parallel to each other.
These are San Giorgio spaghetti — the same brand I've always bought, and I've never seen this before. They're not especially old, are still in their original sealed boxes, and haven't been stepped on or rattled around or anything. What's going on? And how do I put a stop to it?
All bought at the same time? Bought at different times? (i.e. are you sure that it's your cabinets and not a poorly prepared batch of pasta?)
Under what kind of conditions is it being stored? Hot or humid or dry? Any big changes in indoor climate, like not using A/C until it's unbearable, then blasting cool dry air?
posted by desuetude at 12:58 PM on August 24, 2005
Under what kind of conditions is it being stored? Hot or humid or dry? Any big changes in indoor climate, like not using A/C until it's unbearable, then blasting cool dry air?
posted by desuetude at 12:58 PM on August 24, 2005
This happens to me from time to time. I assumed it was age.
posted by surferboy at 1:48 PM on August 24, 2005
posted by surferboy at 1:48 PM on August 24, 2005
Response by poster: We have no A/C. It's been consistently warm and humid in here all summer.
posted by nebulawindphone at 2:30 PM on August 24, 2005
posted by nebulawindphone at 2:30 PM on August 24, 2005
Best answer: Bad batch. It happened when the noodles were made. If pasta is dried too fast or unevenly it will show "checking", just like improperly dried wood. Checks are small cracks, apparent in pasta as tiny white lines; they'll cause the pasta to break up and fall apart as it cooks.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 2:37 PM on August 24, 2005
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 2:37 PM on August 24, 2005
I would suspect the involvement of the Flying Spaghetti Monsterism.
posted by jmccorm at 8:12 PM on August 24, 2005
posted by jmccorm at 8:12 PM on August 24, 2005
Yes, I was going to post earlier today that the spaghetti has probably been touched by His Noodly Appendage. What you have is a geniune relic of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. You should put the spaghetti up on eBay; perhaps a casino will buy it from you.
(As it is a bad batch, and a name brand, the manufacturer will almost certainly send you a coupon for a new one if you call them to report the problem.)
posted by kindall at 12:19 AM on August 25, 2005
(As it is a bad batch, and a name brand, the manufacturer will almost certainly send you a coupon for a new one if you call them to report the problem.)
posted by kindall at 12:19 AM on August 25, 2005
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by me3dia at 12:51 PM on August 24, 2005