Having been born and raised in a Southern Italian family and having worked as an Italian chef for many years, I’ve been eating and cooking pasta for a very long time.
Whether it’s fresh or dry, homemade or shop-bought, there really is an art to the perfect pasta dish. It’s one of the most famous Italian foods all around the world and in Italy it’s a very important part of the diet because in a plate of pasta you can get all the nutrients you need by simply changing the sauces, toppings and ingredients each time.
But the quality is very important and a question I get asked a lot is “which one is the best dried pasta?”. There are so many great companies that make incredible dried pasta out there, so instead I’m sharing with you a few key points for you to recognise and choose the best pasta you can find when you go shopping.
Remember these 3 key things:
☝️Colour
☝️Texture
☝️The cooking process
I hope this will help you next time you are stuck in front of a massive shelf of pasta and don’t have any idea which one to choose!
And if you want to learn even more about pasta, you can find my blog “All You Need To Know About Pasta” in the link below 👇
https://www.ourcookingjourney.com/blog-articles/all-you-need-to-know-about-pasta
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45 Comments
Pasta should have brighter color, so it was heated at a lesser temperature and longer time. In that way pasta keeps more ingredients in it. If you’re looking to buy one, look for size of protein in it, typically 14g and more is a very good pasta.
Good brands are: De Cecco, Rummo, Liguori, etc.
PS: Barilla is trash 🗑️
Thank you so much! The explanation was so easy to pick 🍝
I wonder if anyone can tell once it has a sauce on it.
When this guy speaks about food – I listen
Thank you dear 👌
Look for Garafalo, La Molisana, De Cecco.
I need a tour of this guy's home. I bet it's awesome
Thank you! This was a very useful information!
Excellent information Chef💯❤️😉👍🏼
Thank You!!!!
Excellent information, thank you!
La Molisana, De Cecdo, Garofalo… it wasn't that hard, was it?? LOL But best price? LA MOLISANA
Great info! What about Olive oil? I have tried loads, some ridiculously expensive that taste… okay. and some that seem too cheap to taste as good as they do. I generally use olive oil in my cooking, but will sometimes have it as a dipping oil. Is there such an oil that can do both well, or should I be buying one for each application?
Here in the UK I always choose De Cecco or Rummo, Marks is decent & I quite like Napolina Spaghetti because it's thin, imho!
So de cecco then 😉
He soo purrrdy
La Molisana Pastificio.
Watch out for mustard if you’re allergic
Allora, we all hopefully know what the best pasta for everyday use should be, right?? 😄🤌🏼 🍝 🔵🟡
The brand he couldn’t say: De Cecco. In the blue packet. Looks very similar to what he’s recommending.
Grazi ❤❤❤
His accent ❤
They taste the same to the average person
I am confused, honestly, can anyone help please which ones we should pick? The bright yellow or the dark yellow?
De cecco in the US NOT Barilla
So stay away from Barilla
Liguori or Rummo, you will never buy any other pasta again.
If you come across Rummo Fettucine or Pappardelle BOX, it's your lucky day. Bring it home and make the best pasta of your life!
Also the contain much more proteins then the fast dried pasta
FRANCESCO, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THIS INFORMATION.
WHAT'S THE REASON, THEY DO THIS SHORT TIME FAST DRYING ON CERTAIN PASTA??
IS THERE ANY HEALTH BENEFITS EATING THE LIGHTER COLOURED PASTA, TO THE BRIGHT ORANGE/YELLOWISH PASTA?
HERE IN AUSTRALIA, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT A HUGE PRICE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO TYPES.
MANY JUST CAN'T AFFORD A $8/$10 PACKET OF 500g LIGHTER COLOURED PASTA.
ANY MORE INFORMATION REGARDING WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED…
KEEP IT UP PLEASE, YOUR DOING A FINE JOB…MY FRIEND….. IVE TRIED MANY OF YOUR DISHES, AND ARE ALL SO SO GOOD., SO SO YUMMY.
THANK YOU.
CIAO CIAO. MAURO.
To put it simple: Stay away from Barilla.
If the ingredients are just semolina and water, why wouldn't I just choose the cheaper pasta and add a tsp of semolina into the water to make the 'pasta water', in stead of buying the more expensive one with a rough surface?
These italians 😂😂😂 overrated… Pasta pasta and…. Pasta
OVERRATED
De Cecco Pasta my favorite brand here in California 💋
So don’t buy the $2 box of pasta? Got it!
Thank you chef. Made a lot of sense
Why is his beard made out of TV static?
Thank you Francesco.
Good advise. Thank you. It’s funny I would’ve avoided the drier pale one and assumed the brighter one was better lol I will look for the pale past from now on.
Rummi is good
Thank you so much. My father is a truck driver, and always go in Italy. Shopping pasta, wine, pesto and lot of things. This is a big help, like extra virgin olive oil tips from Vincenzo's plate chanel. <3
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(I'm from Hungary. Test it once, if you can.)
Old reel.
I didn't find that pasta trafilata al bronzo created more starch in the pasta water tbh. But that rough texture for sure holds on the sauce much better.
What about the length of the boiling times? I always look for long times, is that relevant?
Rummo
In other words, don't buy Barilla.