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The Ig Nobel Prize honors research that first makes people laugh, then makes them think. Its 35th award ceremony possibly also makes people hungry: ISTA physicist Fabrizio Olmeda and colleagues researched the secret of a perfect cacio e pepe pasta sauce. They received the popular award for their findings on Thursday evening in Boston.
Cacio e pepe is one of Italy’s most popular pasta dishes, but even (Italian) scientists often fail to prepare the perfect creamy sauce. Fabrizio Olmeda, a physicist at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), also struggled with this — until he had had enough of random trial and error and approached the problem scientifically. Together with colleagues (all Italian) from the Max Planck Institute in Dresden, the University of Padua, and the University of Barcelona, he set out to uncover the secret of the perfect sauce so that it would turn out right every time.
On Thursday evening in Boston, USA, the team received the Ig Physics Nobel Prize for their groundbreaking and delicious insight. The prize honors surprising research achievements that first make people laugh, then make them think. It celebrates the unusual and imaginative in order to spark fascination with science, medicine, and technology.
“Investigating phenomena that fascinate me”
ISTA postdoc Fabrizio Olmeda chose statistical physics in the field of complex systems as his research area because it allowed him to apply theoretical physics to a wide range of disciplines, from biology to sociology. “My motivation will always be to investigate phenomena that fascinate me, even if they lie outside my field of expertise, which is the physics of single-cell genomics,” says the newly awarded Ig Nobel Prize winner. “Despite increasing specialization, I believe that even in my usual field of research, it can be beneficial to take some time to explore something unusual. I think this award reflects this idea, because its motto, ‘First laugh, then think,’ can inspire people to take an interest in science.”
Martin Hetzer, president of ISTA, emphasizes this: “A mentor once told me: As long as you’re having fun, you’re doing it right. The Ig Nobel Prize is a wonderful tribute to this credo. At first, the question of how to prepare the perfect Caio e Pepe pasta may sound funny. But real curiosity-driven research brings together creativity, perseverance, precision, and fun. And it always leads to discoveries that have the potential to improve our world a little bit — on a large scale with innovations or on a small scale on our plates.”
What’s simmering in the lab? The recipe for delicious research
And that is the essence of the peer-reviewed study published in the scientific journal Physics of Fluids and now honored with the award: Simply mixing the usual ingredients — Pecorino cheese, pasta water, pepper, and pasta — often results in a lumpy, mozzarella-like sauce. Why? The starch in the pasta water is supposed to help emulsify and stabilize the sauce, but it is rarely enough on its own. When the temperature rises above 65 degrees Celsius, the cheese proteins denature and clump together, causing the mixture to break down.
The researchers found that the key to the perfect sauce is the right amount of starch. Simply stir starch powder (2-3% of the cheese mass) into the water until the water becomes clear and thickens. Now mix this gel with the cheese at a low temperature so that the starch binds with the proteins and prevents lumps. Then season with pepper as usual. Mix the pasta with the sauce in the pan and add a little pasta water if necessary to achieve the right consistency.
Ingredients:
- 4 g starch (potato or corn starch)
- 40 ml water (to mix the starch)
- 160 g Pecorino Romano
- 240 g pasta (ideally tonnarelli)
- Pasta cooking water
- Black pepper and salt (to taste)
Also at the VISTA Science Experience Center
The research question about the perfect pasta is just one of countless questions and topics that have been and continue to be pursued at ISTA in Klosterneuburg by outstanding scientists from around 80 countries. Visitors will soon be able to learn about a selection of these topics — including the now award-winning pasta research — at the VISTA Science Experience Center. The center will open in the heart of the ISTA campus with a festival from October 3 to 5, 2025. Admission is free.
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