Although Carbonara is a simple dish, achieving the perfect version can be surprisingly challenging. It’s difficult to get the eggs just right. I usually end up with either undercooked eggs and a soupy sauce, or a scrambled egg sauce.
Is it possible to swap out the eggs for some other ingredients, and still make a great carbonara?
The answer is yes. In this post, we’re going to explore exactly that. Carbonara science isn’t something we learn in cooking classes, but in this post we’re going to dive into the science of carbonara to understand what exactly the eggs do. Then we’ll use that understanding to replace the eggs with other ingredients that do the same thing.
But before we do any of that, let’s remind ourselves how a traditional carbonara is usually made.This post is also available in video form.
To begin, you cook the pasta in seasoned water until it reaches an al dente texture. Meanwhile, you mix a few eggs with some black pepper and grated cheese. You cook the bacon on a low heat until the fat renders, then you mix in the pasta (with the water) to form an sauce from the bacon fat and pasta water. You then turn off the heat and mix in the egg, pepper and cheese to form the carbonara sauce.
However, this method of preparing carbonara is inherently precarious. The eggs can easily scramble, turning that velvety sauce into a coagulated, starchy mess.
But this can be avoided. To do that, we first need to understand the science of the carbonara.
The eggs and egg yolks in this dish are used to coat the pasta and give it a slick, almost creamy, texture. Eggs are stirred in at the end of cook time and cook up while being twirled alongside the hot pasta.
The Science of Starch
Pasta water isn’t just “regular” water.
As we all probably know, pasta water is much cloudier than normal water.
That’s because the pasta water is full of the starch that the pasta has released into the water as it’s cooked. The reason this starch is important for us is because it thickens our sauce.
You’ve probably used cornflour before to thicken sauces or soups. Well, the starch from pasta basically does the same job. The more starch we use, the thicker our carbonara sauce will be. However, pasta can only release so much starch into the water. When you’re boiling pasta, for any given amount of pasta, the more water that you use, the more diluted its starch content will be. In other words, more water means less starch, and less starch means a thinner sauce. The key to getting as much starch as possible from your pasta is to use as little water as possible.
So that’s how a carbonara sauce is made. It’s an emulsion between pasta water and the fat from the egg, held together by the egg’s natural emulsifiers and thickened by the pasta starch.
As we’ve learnt, eggs provide two important things to a carbonara: fat and lecithin.
With that theory in mind, it is pretty straightforward to make an eggless carbonara. By substituting the egg’s fat and lecithin with alternative ingredients, we can still achieve similar results. (Obviously the taste will be different, but we will still have a creamy and rich sauce).
There are loads of combinations that we could use:
- Alternative fats: olive oil, rendered animal fat (e.g. tallow), coconut oil, etc.
- Alternative emulsifiers: tomato puree, mustard, xantham gum, guar gum, etc.
Follow the same steps outlined above (or in the recipe below) but replace the eggs with a new fat and emulsifier and viola – you’ll still have a carbonara.
How’s that for carbonara science?
Another significant variation in these recipes is the way the eggs are cooked and the sauce is prepared. Some recipes use heated bowls. Some swear by tossing in the skillet you used to cook pancetta. Others suggest mixing it all up in the pasta pot the way you did, Marcy. The difficulty is that you need enough heat to melt the cheese and thicken the egg but not enough that you scramble the egg, which will start to happen at 145°F.
Because this is a safe space well just tell it to you straight: Stringy eggs and pasta dont mix. Thankfully there is a totally easy fix and we will have you tossing carbonara like a Roman nonna in no time.
To be honest: I kind of winged my version of carbonara. I used bacon instead of proper guanciale or pancetta (it was what I had on hand), two eggs, and about ¼ cup of Parmesan. The stove heat was off when I added the mixture to the pot, and it all congealed into a stringy (bad bad bad) scrambled egg mess. I didn’t know if I could reverse it? I didn’t even know what I did wrong. Maybe I should’ve saved some pasta water, or mixed it all in a colder vessel, or added more eggs? I’m not sure. Help.
Marcy, once you have mastered the technique, feel free to add more egg for increased richness, if that’s your thing. You can also reduce your egg intake, but I wouldnt go down to fewer than two eggs. You can also add garlic or a splash of white wine to deglaze the guanciale pan for extra brightness. Now get in there. We expect to see an Instagram of this as soon as possible.
Like recipes for Sunday sauce, recipes and methods for making carbonara vary *wildly* in terms of the number of whole eggs, whites, and yolks used—ranging from as few as two eggs to as many as eight. There is only one thing on which they can all agree: the ratio of pasta to pork and cheese. For every one pound pasta, there should be a half pound of guanciale or pancetta and ½ cup to 1 cup of Pecorino Romano or Pamigiano-Reggiano.
Why I DON’T use EGGS in carbonara
FAQ
What does adding egg to carbonara do?
Why only egg yolk in carbonara?
What is the golden rule of cooking a carbonara?
Does the egg stay raw in carbonara?
Do you add eggs to Carbonara?
Others add yolks and one whole egg instead (for 4 people: 3 yolks and 1 whole egg). I personally prefer using only the yolks to adding the whole egg because it is creamier and smoother. Moreover, the temperature of the sauce could make the white eggs set where your carbonara would end up like pasta with scrambled eggs.
How to make Carbonara with egg and pecorino romano cheese?
So, in a bowl put the eggs and pecorino Romano cheese. Use the whole egg, not only the egg yolk. Pecorino Romano, the only cheese that is recommended for making carbonara, is a very salty and flavorful Italian cheese so there is no need to add salt. Step 3) – Add some freshly ground black pepper.
Can you eat eggs if you make a Carbonara sauce?
Fear not, though. Use a good recipe, avoid these common carbonara mistakes, and you’re golden. This might seem nerdy, but paying attention to the temperature of your eggs will help get your sauce smooth and light. Before you start doing anything else, take your eggs out of the fridge and leave them out on the counter.
How many eggs do you need to make Carbonara?
Like recipes for Sunday sauce, recipes and methods for making carbonara vary *wildly* in terms of the number of whole eggs, whites, and yolks used—ranging from as few as two eggs to as many as eight. There is only one thing on which they can all agree: the ratio of pasta to pork and cheese.