The Reason People Love To Hate Angel Hair Pasta

Angel hair pasta gets a bad rap. Although it has been around since the 17th century, many modern folks have developed a real disdain for the thin, hair-like strands. The reason self-proclaimed pasta snobs harbor not-so-quiet contempt for the innocuous noodle boils down to its delicate nature.

Angel hair, or capelli d'angelo, is characterized by its long but supremely thin noodles (each one between 0.78 and 0.88 millimeters in diameter). For reference, spaghetti is often upwards of double the thickness of your typical angel hair noodle. As such, angel hair cooks far faster than other pastas. In fact, it cooks so quickly that people tend to miss the window for the perfect texture, leaving them with a mushy glob of too-soft noodles. While that's enough to send some people running, the sogginess factor isn't the only thing that folks don't like about angel hair. 

Overcooked noodles may be the key to the perfect pasta salad, but there is no room for them in a hearty, meat-filled dish like ragù. The same is true for delicate angel hair pasta, which seemingly rejects thick, luxurious sauces. Where angel hair pasta really shines is in recipes that utilize olive oil or butter-based sauces. Lighter in nature, these types of sauces won't bog down the delicate noodles. A classic aglio e olio recipe is perfect for this kind of pasta.

Overcooking is the biggest mistake people make with angel hair pasta, leading to too-soft noodles that are undesirable for most recipes. However, it was actually designed to be rather soft. Italian nuns served angel hair in broth to newly postpartum mothers and infants, providing them with easily digestible nourishment. It's still used as a transitionary food for babies entering the exciting world of solid food! Armed with this knowledge, we can find ways to serve angel hair which play to its strengths rather than try to make it something it's not.

Soggy noodles hurt the ego a little bit, making even adept home-cooks feel like the clock just struck amateur hour. But that's nothing a little olive oil can't fix. (Olive oil is key to saving overcooked pasta!) If you ever cook your angel hair just a bit too long, sauteing it in olive oil restores it to its former glory. For future reference though, try keeping your cooking time between three and five minutes to minimize the mush. If you intend to have angel hair pasta as the nuns designed — in a tasty chicken bone broth — just don't store leftover broth and noodles together in the fridge or you'll be left with a congealed ball of starches.