“Al dente” is the Italian expression for pasta cooked firm to the bite.
The phrase literally means “to the tooth.” Properly cooked al dente pasta is tender enough to eat but retains noticeable resistance when bitten. For dried pasta, cooks often test a piece near the end of the package’s suggested cooking time; the center should no longer be raw and chalky, yet the pasta should not be soft or mushy.
The ideal texture is strongly associated with modern Italian cooking, but it was not always the standard. Historical accounts describe very soft pasta being cooked for long periods, while shorter cooking times and firmer textures became increasingly common in Naples from the 17th century onward. By the mid-19th century, firm pasta had become the norm more broadly.
“Al dente” can also describe risotto and, more generally, some vegetables. “Al taglio” means cut-style food, “al forno” means baked, and “al fresco” refers to the open air, so none describes pasta texture.