The Pasta Practice Bobby Flay Thinks Is 'Sacrilegious'

There are plenty of controversial kitchen opinions that lead to heated discussions. before you cook it? Can you ? Is pre-minced garlic really that bad? Even experienced chefs hash it out on the internet over certain food preparation practices. Celebrity chef and Food Network star Bobby Flay is no stranger to making his own rules in the kitchen, but one faux pas that he'll never agree with is breaking pasta before cooking it.

In fact, that the act is "sacrilegious." There are two categories of pasta: long and short. Short pasta types include varieties like rigatoni, which you may find in rigatoni alla vodka, and ditalini, which you'd see in a bowl of .



Long pasta includes varieties like angel hair, which might be prepared all'aglio e olio, and spaghetti, which pairs well with a classic marinara. It's not entirely uncommon for people to snap those long strands of uncooked pasta in half so that they fit into the pot more easily. While this may not scientifically change anything about the pasta, breaking the long strands is sure to break quite a few hearts.

You won't see Bobby Flay breaking pasta any time soon Despite his fiery orange hair and Irish ancestry, Bobby Flay is a massive fan and student of Italian cuisine. He's spent the past few decades making trips back and forth to Italy, specifically the Amalfi coast in southern Italy, where he fell in love with the region's cooking traditions — and even opened a restaurant in Los Angeles in its honor. Flay also spent a month exploring Italy with fellow Food Network host Giada De Laurentiis in their travel show "Bobby and Giada in Italy," where the two made their way around the country sampling every pasta dish they could get their hands on.

Flay's adoration of Italian cooking customs may be to blame for his strong dislike of breaking pasta, since Italians also find the practice blasphemous. If there's one thing , it's breaking a perfectly good strand of long pasta. Italians believe that pasta is meant to be eaten in those sometimes comically long strands because it should be long enough to tangle on the fork in a way that makes it easy to eat.

Shorter strands of pasta will fall off the fork, making a mess, while longer strands should wrap around in an even bite. Bobby Flay's official spaghetti and meatballs with tomato sauce recipe calls for whole, uninterrupted spaghetti strands — because even a celebrity chef knows it's best not to mess with tradition. Recommended.