Phase Behavior and Stabilization of Cacio e Pepe Sauce
A soft-matter study mapping when a cheese-water-starch sauce stays smooth versus collapsing into system-wide clumps (the 'Mozzarella Phase'). Students learn that starch concentration relative to cheese mass is the control parameter (a threshold near 1% separates stable from separated sauce), that the mixture exhibits a lower critical solution temperature captured by a minimal effective free-energy model, and how a chelating stabilizer (trisodium citrate) produces a sharper stabilization than starch.
Phase behavior of Cacio e Pepe sauce
``Pasta alla Cacio e pepe'' is a traditional Italian dish made with pasta, pecorino cheese, and pepper. Despite its simple ingredient list, achieving the perfect texture and creaminess of the sauce c…