Celebrated actor Stanley Tucci's third act as a food influencer seems to be going well. He hosted Emmy-winning food and culture series "Searching for Italy" and now has his own cookware collection with GreenPan. In fact, it was while feeding his hilarious mom some risotto in exchange for a review of his four-quart sauté pan that Tucci dropped a pro-level risotto tip he learned in Italy.
After lightly toasting (but not really toasting because it wasn't brown, as his mom pointed out) what looks like a pound of arborio rice, Tucci tipped in some white wine. While his mom stirred, Tucci said the Costardi Brothers, an Italian team of chef-siblings who specialize in the rice-based dish, taught him that now is the time to season the rice, and he proceeded to add two pinches of kosher salt. A post shared by Stanley Tucci (@stanleytucci) For the same reason you salt pasta water, salting your risotto rice upfront ensures the grain absorbs maximum seasoning, layering in flavor and setting the scene for a flavorful and perfectly balanced dish.
Why salting the rice changes everything When it comes to seasoning your food, the conventional wisdom is to salt as you go. That's why it seems strange that so many chefs insist you don't salt risotto until it's halfway or more through cooking. Seems like a major salt mistake .
It's true that adding salt so early breaks down the starch molecules, but to achieve creamy risotto, isn't that what you're trying to do using heat? And waiting until the .
