Cookery content has litigated the al dente question across wall-throw tests, bite charts and a 40-minute video essay with a timeline.
Peer review settles it. Locate your nearest pasta purist — every household keeps one — and throw a strand at them. Overcooked pasta sticks; correctly cooked pasta bounces off, along with the friendship. Our test kitchen reports a verdict inside 0.4 seconds, delivered in italics, and a purist who now dines elsewhere.