al dente
6
6.6
- adjective
- /æl ˈdɛnteɪ/
:
al dente
- For al dente lovers, whole grain pasta is definitely much more forgiving in how long you can cook it while retaining its firmness.
- al dente pasta
- al dente rice
- al dente spaghetti
Well, I mean, the spaghetti definitely wasn't al dente, so the soft with the crunchy was nice, I guess.
- Well, I mean, the spaghetti definitely wasn't al dente, so the soft with the crunchy was nice, I guess.
Examples
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This rice has the tender texture of al dente pasta; it is without a doubt the best I've ever eaten.
Academic text (1998) -
Now she favored only white rice, cooked al dente, which she spoon-fed herself grain by grain, and black olives.
Fiction book (1997) -
And this place specifically has the most perfectly al dente pasta lunch man say pulled it out of the boiling water at the perfect time.
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[Lois] The pasta will be al dente in exactly two minutes, 17 seconds.
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Learn how to boil gluten-free pasta al dente so it can be made ahead and even reheated.
Blog text (17) -
Once the rice is ready (it should be al dente), remove the pot from the hob and add some butter and the Parmigiano.
Blog text (7) -
When Frito complains that the noodles are still hard, Mac says, "They're al dente."
Fiction book (1999) -
Still, the meal had been great: al dente pasta, artery-clogging sauce, shrimp, salad, and palate-cleansing ices.
Fiction book (1999) -
Add the pasta and cook until it is al dente, following the package instructions.
-
Cook the ziti in boiling salted water until it reaches the al dente texture, about 9 minutes.
Antonyms
How Cooked
Surface Forms
Morphology
al + dente
This is a loanword phrase from Italian whose constituents ('al', 'dente') are not English lexical items in the input and thus are not interpretable by an average B1 English learner. The culinary meaning ('firm to the bite') is conventionalized and not transparently compositional for learners who only know the English lexicon (unless they specifically know Italian or the borrowed culinary usage), so it is unpredictable from the parts.
Etymology
Al dente comes from Italian and means 'to the tooth' because the word dente means 'tooth', creating the picture of pasta that still gives a little bite. So al dente today means 'firm to the bite', not too soft.