(Associated Press) They twirled, they sniffed, they slurped, they chewed.
The dozen housewives who gathered in a Rome hotel on a recent afternoon took their work terribly seriously, rating plates of pasta for chewiness, saltiness, gumminess or done-ness – that perfect balance known as “al dente,” or firm to the bite.
Pasta is serious business in Italy, and the recent blind taste test organized by the world’s biggest pasta maker drove home that an awful lot of thought goes into making the simple combination of durum wheat semolina and water from which Italy’s national dish is made.
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