Sunday, November 02, 2025

What are some common ingredients people mistakenly add to carbonara that end up ruining the dish?

Pasta carbonara is made from these ingredients:

  1. durum wheat pasta without eggs, made in bronze forms and cooked al dente
  2. guanciale (may be substituted with pancetta or bacon)
  3. egg yolks for a luxury version or a mix of eggs and an extra yolk
  4. pecorino romana
  5. black pepper
  6. cooking water

Nothing else. Every other ingredient dilutes and distracts, e.g.

  • cream: is not necessary for a creamy sauce, dilutes the taste and adds an unwanted milky taste
  • onions: also a distraction
  • garlic: never ever in carbonara
  • peas: carbonara is an egg sauce, not a vegetable sauce
  • herbs: why on Earth herbs?
  • any other spices: freshly ground black pepper has a flavour that complements the egg-guanciale mixture perfectly; any other spice distracts
  • mushrooms: same as with peas
  • parmesan: take pecorino, not parmesan - an not too much of it

You want to ruin this?


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