SantoPalato
“Mantecare”—often inadequately translated into English as “creaming,” but more accurately “emulsifying”—is a fundamental technique in Italian cuisine, essential for a wide array of pasta and risotto dishes throughout Italy—including aglio e olio, carbonara, all'amatriciana, alla gricia, cacio e pepe, alle vongole, alla Nerano, burro e parmigiano, and all risottos.
Mantecare is the process of finishing pasta or risotto by creating a sauce through emulsifying a fat—typically cheese, extra virgin olive oil, butter, and/or rendered fat from meat (e.g. guanciale)—with the starch-rich pasta cooking water, wherein the starch from the pasta water or rice acts as a natural emulsifier. For pastas, this is accomplished by placing and finishing slightly undercooked pasta (“al chiodo”) in a pan with the sauce and gradually adding the fat, typically grated cheese, while tossing vigorously over some or no heat. This creates a texturally creamy, emulsified sauce (“mantecatura”) without the use of any actual cream.
The five components necessary for achieving a stable mantecatura are: fat, water, agitation, starch, and heat (or lack thereof).
Fat. The choice of fat or fats will depend on the dish, and, as mentioned above, can be cheese, butter, oil, and/or rendered animal fat. When using cheese, avoid any pre-grated cheeses that contain cellulose, which can strongly inhibit emulsification.
Water. The amount of water used needs to be just enough to cover the pasta so that the starch concentration of the water is sufficient.

Agitation. Tossing instead of mixing is critical to achieving emulsification. The optimal pan for mantecare is known as a saltapasta—a lightweight, high-walled, aluminum sauté pan specifically designed for making a mantecatura. The aluminum surface provides more friction compared to, say, non-stick pans, aiding in gently agitating the sauce during tossing. The aluminum construction also makes it quite lightweight, which along with its tall sides eases the act of tossing.
Starch. To master mantecare and understand the role of starch, it is first necessary to understand the significant differences between fresh and dry pastas.
Contrary to popular belief, neither dry nor fresh pasta is superior to the other, nor are they interchangeable—they are different and used differently, and for different dishes. Fresh soft wheat egg pasta contains and releases much less starch than dry pasta and is thus often unsuitable for dishes that require a high starch content for emulsification. This is just one of the reasons why fresh and dry pastas are not interchangeable, the others being texture and firmness—fresh pasta cannot, by its nature, be cooked al dente as it never possesses the necessary firm white core of ungelatinized starch.
To understand the food science behind this a bit more, dry pasta is made from durum wheat semola (“semola di grano duro” or semolina in English), which has a higher starch content and more gluten compared to the soft wheat flour (0 or 00 flour) typically used in fresh pasta. Dry pasta, as the name implies, has a reduced water content compared to fresh pasta and thus a higher concentration of tightly packed starch granules within an outer protein (gluten) matrix. Therefore, dry pasta has a higher concentration of starch than fresh pasta. As those starch granules absorb water during cooking, they swell (causing the pasta to enlarge) and gelatinize, releasing the starch (mainly amylose as it is linear and diffuses more easily than amylopectin) into the cooking water. This increases the water's viscosity, which will later help to stabilize the emulsion. For carbonara, for example, the starch released from the pasta, along with the lecithin from the egg yolks, act as the emulsifier, binding the fats from the rendered guanciale and cheese with the pasta water through vigorous tossing.
Heat. There are several different ways to use heat with mantecare, depending on the dish and the ingredients used:
Hot Mantecare (Over Flame): Suitable for most dried pasta dishes where the starch from the pasta cooking water serves as the main emulsifier (e.g. aglio e olio). The pasta is removed 2 to 3 minutes ahead of the designated cooking time and added to a hot pan with the sauce components. The fat is added incrementally while tossing the pasta vigorously for 30 to 40 seconds. The heat helps evaporate excess water and draws additional starch out of the pasta. When the desired consistency is reached, the pan is removed from the flame and tossed further, allowing the contents to cool slightly, the starches to stabilize the emulsion, and the sauce to thicken slightly.
Warm Mantecare (Double Boiler): Suitable for sauces that require gentle heat for emulsification but can over-thicken or curdle at higher temperatures (e.g. carbonara, wherein the egg yolks need to remain below 65°C / 149°F to avoid solidifying). The pasta is removed 30 to 40 seconds ahead of its designated cooking time and added to a pan with the sauce components. Instead of using a direct flame, the pan is placed above the pasta cooking pot to create a double boiler. The pasta is then tossed vigorously for 30 to 40 seconds, slowly adding in any additional fats as necessary. The pan is then removed from the double boiler and allowed to rest without heat for 20 to 30 seconds before finishing by tossing again off the heat. If the consistency is too thick, a small amount of additional pasta cooking water can be used to dilute and thin the sauce as necessary.
Cold Mantecare (Over No Heat): Suitable for more delicate sauces that can break with heat (e.g. cacio e pepe) and for risotti. The pasta is cooked to its designated cooking time and added to a cold pan, where it is tossed vigorously while slowly adding in the fat. As above, if the consistency is too thick, a small amount of additional pasta cooking water can be used to dilute and thin the sauce as necessary. For risotti, the risotto all’onda or ‘wave rice’ technique is used, wherein cold butter is added to the warm rice while over no heat, and the pan is then quickly moved back and forth to create waves in the rice.
Risottatura (In Liquid): Suitable for pastas cooked “risotto-style,” meaning that the pasta is cooked completely within a flavorful liquid, typically a broth (e.g. pasta e fagiole, spaghetti all'assassina). In this technique, the pasta is not boiled separately but is instead added directly to the cooking liquid, such as a fish or vegetable broth, where it slowly absorbs the flavors while cooking. The pasta can be tossed towards the end of cooking, once much of the liquid has been absorbed or evaporated. In some cases, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil at the end can provide additional fat to aid in emulsification.
As mentioned at the beginning, for the first three methods, tossing instead of stirring is very important. Tossing gently coats the pasta with the sauce and allows the starches released from the pasta to gradually combine with the liquid in a way that creates a smooth, creamy sauce. Unlike stirring, tossing helps to prevent over-agitation, which can cause the sauce to break or become too thick. As the pasta is plated for serving and cools, the stabilized emulsion begins to thicken, enhancing the final texture. The dish needs to be served immediately, as the longer it sits, the more viscous the sauce will become.
Mantecare is a defining characteristic of Italian gastronomy that sets true Italian pasta dishes apart. In the United States, many Italian-American interpretations—most notably carbonara and Alfredo—have replaced emulsified sauces with heavy cream, completely altering the essence, taste, and texture of the original dishes. This substitution seems to perpetuate confusion among Americans between a sauce with a creamy texture and a sauce made with actual dairy cream—an ingredient uncommon in Italian pasta recipes. However, cream itself is no match for the depth, richness, and creaminess of a true emulsified mantecatura.
For those learning to speak Italian, mantecare is actually the infinitive form of the verb (i.e. to emulsify), whereas mantecando is the gerund form (i.e. emulsifying), and mantecatura is the noun form.
Updated on February 2, 2025.