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Sarah recently posted about the fact that sales of spaghetti are down at the leading supermarket chain in England because "younger British diners lack the same culinary skills their parents have." That doesn't hold true in the US, where long, thin spaghetti is still the best selling pasta shape. Since most people buy their spaghetti premade and dried (even restaurants, according to Waiter), Real Simple magazine took the opportunity to taste test fifteen common store brands and pick out their favorites. They judged the pasta on flavor and texture, looking for a slight nuttiness and noodles that didn't get mushy after cooking. Dressed in simply olive oil and salt, the spaghetti went to a tasting panel and they picked out their top three: (1) De Cecco 12, (2) Barilla, (3) Colavita. De Cecco is twice as expensive ($2/pound vs. $1/pound) as the other brands, but tasters thought it was clearly the best choice, with great flavor and texture.
Maybe if they switched to one of these brands, the spaghetti-challenged diners wouldn't mind a chance to practice their fork-twirling skills.
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5-10-2006 @10:21AM Dmnkly said... Waiter's revelation that restaurants use factory-made pasta is completely accurate, but the assertion that it's due to cost issues is only partially correct. The very first sign of a poser Italian restaurant is one that crows about how all of their pastas are made fresh daily on the premises. If they really know what they're doing, they'll know that some pastas should be made fresh daily, and others shouldn't be made on the premises at all. The fact is that even if you're working with unlimited funds, there are many dishes for which factory-made pasta is BETTER than something made freshly on the premises that day. It's a common and unfortunate misconception that fresh = better when it comes to pasta. If you're doing a light tagliatelle with fresh fish and herbs, yeah, something you just rolled out by hand is going to work the best. But if you're making a Bucatini all'Amatriciana, there is absolutely no substitute for the bite that a dense, factory-made pasta provides.
I'm right with Real Simple on the top two, though I reverse them... the flavor of De Cecco is a touch better, but Barilla has a great toothsome bite that I adore.
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