If You're Making Spaghetti Carbonara Like This, You're Doing It Wrong

It's rich, creamy, and absolutely delicious. Spaghetti carbonara is second to none in the pasta game. Most people know it as a spaghetti dish, served in a creamy, Parmigiano Reggiano based sauce. The sauce is seasoned only with salt, pepper, and bits of pancetta that give the dish a meaty bite. Its an Italian restaurant staple, but don't be intimidated. It's also easy to make at home. However, there is one error that seems to trip up many home cooks: cream. Yes, many a Carbonara novice has made the grave error of adding cream to a carbonara. From the perspective of those uninitiated in the world of Roman pasta sauces, it makes sense that cream would be used for this sauce. After all, it is really, really creamy. But therein lies the rub. 

The creaminess of this pasta comes not from actually dairy cream, but from the emulsion of egg yolks with Parmigiano Reggiano and pasta water (not fresh water), which comes together to form the creamy, dreamy, velvety sauce so beloved by diners the world over. This is similar to the Italian version of Alfredo sauce, which uses only three ingredients to achieve a thick, cheesy sauce.

The origins of this dish are rather muddled, but the version of carbonara we now know and love likely comes from the early to mid-twentieth century. One theory posits that the dish developed by way of American soldiers, who, during their service in Italy during World War II, would bring their daily dollops of eggs (food rations) to local Italian restaurants for use. So perhaps it was an Italian variation of the American breakfast staple, eggs and bacon (a dish that has a surprising connection to one Sigmund Freud), or perhaps it was just a great way to make a rich, hearty sauce with the supplies available. Regardless of its origins, the dish has more than proven its place at any Italian dinner table worth its Parmigiano Reggiano. However, this still raises the question — how can eggs and cheese make a creamy sauce?

After all, it stands to reason that eggs, when added to something hot, like freshly boiled pasta, would simply scramble. However, the trick to this pasta sauce is the emulsion of the eggs and the pasta water, which contains starches that bind well with the fat in egg yolks creating a smooth sauce. It is important to add your pasta water in slowly, however, to fully temper your eggs before adding the pasta. This will create an almost custard-like, creamy sauce that is absolutely irresistible.