Expert's Guide to Italian Pasta

Testing expert Jack Bishop breaks down everything you need to know when shopping for your next pasta at the supermarket.
Buy our winning spaghetti: cooks.io/3TeFeN1
Buy our winning angel hair: cooks.io/3cmUsyr
Make our recipe for Spaghetti with Garlic and Olive Oil: cooks.io/3AHGHDd
Make our recipe for Angel Hair Pasta with Basil, Caper, and Lemon Sauce: cooks.io/3R3moqo
ABOUT US: Located in Boston’s Seaport District in the historic Innovation and Design Building, America's Test Kitchen features 15,000 square feet of kitchen space including multiple photography and video studios. It is the home of Cook’s Illustrated magazine and Cook’s Country magazine and is the workday destination for more than 60 test cooks, editors, and cookware specialists. Our mission is to test recipes over and over again until we understand how and why they work and until we arrive at the best version.
If you like us, follow us:
americastestkitchen.com
/ americastestkitchen
/ testkitchen
/ testkitchen
/ testkitchen

[@javaskull88]

I sure like Jack. He just radiates kindness.

[@Berkana]

1:35 There's one thing I would dispute from this video: this notion that you need to boil pasta in a lot of water. In a lot of the dishes that I make, some of the pasta water is used in the sauce, and the starch in that water helps the sauce thicken. When I make aglio e olio, I use one pan, barely enough water to cook the pasta in, and only as much salt as I intend to eat in the dish. 100% of the starch from the pasta is retained, and it makes a fantastic smooth emulsion with the garlic flavored oil. You can't get as smooth an emulsion without using the starchy pasta water. But if you cook the pasta in a massive amount of water, the water simply will not be as starchy because the starch would be diluted.

[@stimpy1226]

Very wise of you to make this comment. You know a lot about how to cook pasta properly so I assume that you are a very high-quality chef or at least a home chef. Keep up the good work. I love pasta!

[@morrismonet3554]

Not how most pasta is done. Maybe for your one or two specific dishes, but for most sauces, millions of Nonna's would laugh at you.

[@stimpy1226]

@@morrismonet3554 Have you ever made Pizzoccheri from the Lombardy Region? You cook the pasta with boiling potatoes and savoy cabbage all at the same time. There is more to the recipe but I wanted to point out how crazy things can get in different regions of Italy.

[@imallfordabulls]

I do the same because I don’t feel like using a huge pot every time I want pasta. I tried it once and it turned out just like a huge pot would.

[@Berkana]

@@morrismonet3554 Here are the pastas that I make where the starch helps (even if I don't exactly use the method I described, these all benefit from cooking the pasta in minimal water so the starch is much more concentrated, so that the starch water can be used): • Aglio e olio- the starch emulsifies the olive oil to make a silky starch • Cacio e pepe- the starch helps emulsify the cheese. • Carbonara- the starch, especially when in higher concentration stabilizes the egg, rendered pork fat, and cheese mixture so the egg doesn't scramble as heat is applied • alla Gricia-once again, the starch helps emulsify the cheese, but also the rendered pork fat • all'Amatriciana- olive oil and fat rendered from guanciale would make this greasy unless the starch emulsifies it into a creamy sauce • Spaghetti alla Maradona- this is basically aglio e olio with pan-toasted seasoned bread crumbs. Same thing applies; without starch, all the oil just makes it greasy. • Spaghetti allo Scammaro-another oil based sauce somewhat like aglio e olio, but with pine nuts, rasins, olives, and bread crumbs. When I think of the pastas I make, the majority benefit from the judicious use of pasta water. Those that do not are the exceptions. The pastas I listed above are not Nonna's Sunday dinner multi-hour ragus. These all have fat that does well as an emulsion rather than making the dish greasy. The only pastas that don't seem to benefit from this are egg fresh pastas, which do not shed as much starch and are not typically served with oil-emulsion sauces. But even with egg pastas, which cook quickly, I have not found a benefit to boiling a large amount of water to cook pasta for only a couple minutes (the cook-time for egg fresh pastas) when a small quantity of water will suffice.

[@Mainecoonlady.]

Perfection…. Both my Nonnas would be proud. One from Naples, the other from Calabria made homemade pasta. Naples made heavier meat and cheese ravioli and potato gnocchi; while Calabria made long spaghetti, linguini and fettuccine. They moved from NY to Florida when I was a child. On visits, grandma was always drying the long pastas out in the sun on a little twig tree. My grandpa made her a mandolin pasta maker out of wood and guitar strings. She would stretch the dough over the strings and run the rolling pin over it. The pasta just fell through. Then out to the spaghetti tree, as we called it. Great video. Great memories. 👍🏻❤️👍🏻

[@kaiju_k5042]

Aww so sweet, thank you for sharing that!

[@couchpoet1]

That’s sounds awesome! Cherished family memories. Thx

[@agmin2098]

Wowza…that is wonderful..

[@galaxy_mosaic3587]

that is wonderful. I gave up pasta during the low carb/no carb craze. then I discovered Lidia Bastianich and her recipes. and I fell in love with Italian cooking again and how comforting pasta is. thanks for the tip about gemelli (sp).

[@ratlips4363]

Thanks Jack. A great lesson for those of us that love our pasta!

[@retabates3799]

this was very helpful thank you

[@melissastokes5885]

I learned several new tips to use when buying pasta, thank you!!

[@sushg4067]

Thank you so much for this video

[@kathrinlancelle3304]

La Molisana is better than De Cecco, widely available at grocery stores and affordable. Every time it goes on sale I buy a few packs.

[@doc7440]

My choice ( i'm italian ) is 1° : Rummo ; 2° La Molisana ; 3° De Cecco. But all 3 brands is good pasta , and i use Mutti for tomato sauce

[@Lilpiktdude]

@@doc7440Mutti ❤

[@cisium1184]

I like DeCecco better.

[@wink9970]

Jack does such a nice job informing....

[@stimpy1226]

Always loved DeCecco but when I found out about Rummo I was floored by the texture (chew) and taste which other people are not that fond of. Now I use both depending on what shape pasta it is.

[@ssatva]

I've been very surprised by Garofalo, which I assumed was a discount brand as it's available in bulk at Costco. Turns out it's bronze cut, I think semolina, and it cooks and sauces very nicely in my experiments with it. Strongly absorbs the flavors when you finish it in a sauce, even if left very al dente.

[@_o_-I-_o_]

Seconding this!

[@steven.l.patterson]

I’ll have to look for it at Costco.

[@kgeorg1979]

Garofalo is a real Italian brand and well-respected there. I always buy it at Costco as well. Hidden gem.

[@planetfabulous5833]

La Molisana is better but Garofalo is good as you said. No matter what, please cook your drained pasta in the sauce for a few minutes, adding reserved pasta water if needed. That's the true Italian way!

[@kgeorg1979]

@@ericbwertz interesting--our Costco cycles through different varieties. There's a six 1lb bags package with three different short pasta shapes, a similar package with tricolor pastas, a 3 1 kg bag package of penne, a mega pack of spaghetti.

[@vjohnson2400]

Nice explanation Jack.

[@thedracophile]

It was your Ligurian green bean, potato, pesto pasta that introduced me to gemelli. Been in pasta love ever since!

[@michaelvaladez6570]

De Cecco..spaghetti #12 is my favorite..i love everything about it..its versatile and i find this brand is the best foe my needs !

[@Tadrjbs]

Jack is the best...

[@pizzapie08]

I used to watch this show as a kid on PBS good to see it going strong on the internet

[@agmin2098]

I still watch on PBS

[@pizzapie08]

@@agmin2098 Oh that's awesome

[@Jana-oj7zq]

Since the shortage of De Cecco bucatini in the US in 2020, I have come to covet and hoard it. It’s just the best shape for any kind of red sauce.

[@marilynsnider8183]

Thanks for the information.

[@AnonymousSam]

My personal favorite brand is Rustichella D Abruzzo, not as common as DeCecco but I've found it at more "higher end" grocery stores like Fresh Market and Whole Foods.

[@foxfreeman1672]

An excellent pasta.

[@marcberm]

Gemeli is easily top for me also. My favorite Italian restaurant in Providence has a white ragu with veal and sweet peas over gemeli that is to die for!!! 😋

[@gbfreighttrain]

How about a name? Looking for a place to go in PVD

[@marcberm]

@@gbfreighttrain Rosalina on Aborn street.

[@laurreneberry3480]

Thankyou

[@mq46312]

Rigatoni is my favorite. Parpadelle is also very nice.

[@JoeZasada]

The slow-dried/low-temp factor is huge. Rapidly-dried/high-temp pasta does not hold up well. Example: rigatoni, where the rapid-dried stuff will break apart in the pot before it is al dente. Also the high temperatures used in rapid drying causes darkening of the pasta and changes the flavour. To be fair, there really isn't a whole lot of bronze-die extruded pasta that is rapidly-dried at high temperatures. Usually, if a producer goes to the trouble of using bronze dies, they will go to the trouble of slow-drying and they will also go to the trouble of using premium wheat.

[@pepperjohn2]

I love bucatini. Double thick spaghetti!

[@Leguminator]

De Cecco is my go-to, $2.39/lb USD at my local market and consistently good. One of my favorite characteristics of De Cecco is when I put it in soup and have leftovers it doesn't swell up and disintegrate like cheap pastas, though generally I try to keep the pasta separate from the soup until I'm ready to eat it. I've come to realize I'm not one of those people with a palate fine enough to appreciate pastas pricing in at $8.00+ per pound and I'm okay with that. I grew up on Creamette spaghetti, so I really had nowhere to go but up as an adult.

[@nancysiciliana3387]

It is one of the best widely available mass-produced pastas you will find at a really good price. One of my favourites is LA molisana, which is like an artisanal pasta that is usually on sale for much less than inferior pastas like Barilla.

[@richardl.993]

I keep going back to prince spaghetti probably because that's what I grew up with, maybe it's a mind thing more than a taste thing. I always believed if you like something stick with it.

[@joelnelson1174]

I really like making macaroni and cheese with cavatappi instead of macaroni. The shape is more whimsical and my favorite macaroni and cheese recipe calls for vegetables that make it look amazing with that shape.

[@catothecensor]

You are correct. Cheesy sauces are for short pasta, especilly fusilly, gemelli and penne, while long pasta is always for running sauces. And the proper way to cook linguine is NOT with a ticker sauce than spaghetti but with a lighter one such as clamps sautè.

[@catothecensor]

You are correct. Cheesy sauces are for short pasta, especilly fusilli, gemelli and penne, while long pasta is always for running sauces. And the proper way to cook linguine is NOT with a ticker sauce than spaghetti but with a lighter one such as clamps sautè.

[@catylynch7909]

De Cecco appears to be the most prominent brand of pasta on the shelves in San Francisco. Barilla is also popular. We have a large Italian community, here ... and, it's among the top favorite cuisines. Thanks for the advice, as usual.

[@stimpy1226]

That’s because DeCecco is that good and at the right price. I remember the first time I tried Barilla and I almost choked. This is supposedly the biggest selling pasta in the world?? A lot of people’s taste buds must’ve been shot off.

[@UrDoinItWrong]

I tried to buy pasta today in Sanfran but I couldn't get by all the poop piles, addicts, and the armed robbers at the store all living consequence free.

[@catothecensor]

In Italy we deem De Cecco is good, Barilla is average. The price also reflects that.

[@stimpy1226]

Perhaps Barilla tastes better than it did when it first came into our country. It was the worst pasta I ever tasted in those years.

[@barbaracholak5204]

MMMMM ATK Salutations from California 😋

[@melissarey2973]

I am definitely using enough salt. occasionally I use too much, this is how I know I usually use enough. =)

[@Zipfei_Kloatscher]

"The wider the noodle, the chunkier the sauce." 😉😅 🤣

[@josephlacorte-jd9wu]

Good video

[@AmeriFanPicker]

Dececco is absolutely the best.

[@phil4208]

Good pasta makes a difference, I grabbed some new pasta because of the price , yuk, maybe if I was 3 it'd be good

[@xericwit]

“use teflon coated…” to help with your daily intake of PFAS. Put it on a t-shirt: The wider the noodle, the chunkier the sauce.

[@Soxruleyanksdrool]

Love me some DeChico pasta.

[@johnwilde164]

I'm of Scandinavian descent, so Barilla is good enough for me. :-) It's apparently the best selling brand in Italy. I will give De Cecco a try though. Italians would say that I over-sauce my pasta, but that's the way I like it.

[@foxfreeman1672]

😱

[@swerves]

# TEAM NEVER BARILLA!!! Love De Cecco.

[@jeannehinote3173]

Please sample Entimio pasta. Let me know what you think

[@shinracorpable]

Pastificio di martino, rummo and than de cecco.

[@marcberm]

What does it really mean when the box says "bronze die texture" though? There's something suspicious about that wording (like "100% grated parmesan") that makes me wonder what kind of faux bronze die process they might be using.

[@doc7440]

It means that the pasta machine has an extruder made of bronze which gives the pasta the porous and opaque texture to which the sauce sticks best. It is perfectly safe.

[@marcberm]

@@doc7440 I get that. It's the fact that it says "bronze die textured." Many other brands simply say "bronze die" or "bronze cut," but by phrasing it the way they do, they leave open the possibility that it's not actually extruded through bronze, but rather something else that by their own definition results in a similar texture (or at least a "not as smooth as PTFE" texture). Like the grated cheese example... There's a difference between "grated, 100% parmesan" and "100% grated parmesan."

[@doc7440]

@@marcberm " I get that. It's the fact that it says "bronze die textured." Many other brands simply say "bronze die" or "bronze cut," but by phrasing it the way they do, they leave open the possibility that it's not actually extruded through bronze" Oh , now I understand. Forgive me, I'm not a English native speaker. Now that you point this out, it's an interesting detail.

[@marcberm]

@@doc7440 Completely understand! I'm not sure if it's an explicitly American/United States thing, but big companies use creative wording to get away with things all the time. 😀

[@mikecarson9045]

Have you done a segment on margarine? I would like to know, because I want to cut back on all that fat, but I can’t find anything that even tastes close to real butter

[@senior_ranger]

Thanks, no nonsense. Would love to be able to afford your choice, but it's not in my budget.

[@NolaDeb]

My grocer began carrying the De Cecco brand a couple of years ago. I love it, and some of the different style pastas have very short cooking times. I always look for and purchase the De Cecco brand when I can. Runner up only to our local Luxury brand of pasta in New Orleans, LA. Also, don't drain away all that starchy pasta water There is a lot of flavor in that water. I save and add a half cup or so (of the starchy pasta water) and blend it in with whatever dish I'm making, be it tomato, cheese or otherwise. That starchy water really improves the flavor of the dish. I also learned (from watching Kenji) you really don't need to boil pasta in a lot of water.

[@joearrow1767]

I disagree with him saying slow dried is not important. Heat dried pasta has a slightly scorched taste and dark yellow, sometimes almost orange cast. It's almost slippery. A good pasta should be a pale straw color, almost off-white. De Cecco, if you can find it at your local supermarket, they don't always have a good variety of shapes. It is by far the best brand that is readily available in places like Walmart and such. Not everybody can afford to go to specialty groceries. I also don't like gamelli. Barilla has a huge variety but it's heat dried and low quality. It's cheap tho.

[@robinsimpson7301]

Hmm

[@davidfoxrn]

If you want to use the starchy water to emulsify your sauce, then you should use less water. I use just barely enough water to cook the spaghetti.

[@promx96]

slow dried helps with gluten and digestion

[@piapadmore430]

DeCecco is the best.

[@terrybanet3330]

Gemelli has gotten much harder to find in the grocery stores around me. Frustrating. It’s my favorite as well

[@countygraybeal6901]

Well.....Hello!😊

[@littlestar5737]

My fav is Penne. I couldn't care less for other shapes. De cecco is way to go.

[@barcham]

I'll stick with Molisana or Del Verde for my pasta, both are bronze extruded.

[@planetfabulous5833]

Yes, La Molisana is the best!! Delicious!

[@catothecensor]

Those are two good italian brands, confirmed

[@catothecensor]

Those are two good italian brands, confirmed

[@doc7440]

Rummo too

[@tba1879]

DeCecco is good pasta. I break mine in half, boil in a small pot with just as much water as it takes to cover it, and definitely no salt. There's more than enough salt in the sauce and cheese and I want my dish to taste like food, not a mouthful of sodium.

[@buckybarnes3803]

next do a video on egg noodles

[@yvonnefarrell1029]

How about bow ties which cook up unevenly whatever one does?

[@ckalnicki]

Barilla for me.

[@doc7440]

In Italy Barilla Is well know , cheap but decent pasta. But Is not the best option for quality pasta.Try Rummo , La Molisana or De Cecco.

[@ckalnicki]

@@doc7440 I have tried De Cecco. Not for me.

[@jerrydifiore6623]

Not a fan of De Cecco. The semolina they use (course ground) does indeed make it Al Dente but in my opinion it does not cook completely even when boiled for a long time. I cooked a rigatoni and checked it after 12 minutes and it had a ring of uncooked starch in the middle. I let it boil for 14 minutes and checked it again, and it still had a ring of uncooked starch. I let it cook for a full 18 minutes and it still had a ring of uncooked starch in the center of the pasta. Any other pasta would be mush after 18 minutes. I know how to cook pasta; I use adequate water, salt and I live at sea level. I like al Dente pasta but I don't like undercooked pasta.

[@stevemcdaniel4893]

How much water and salt should I use?

[@cisium1184]

Enough.

[@catothecensor]

Just enough. Too much is too much, he is wrong about water. But use the salt. He is right on that.

[@Augustus_Imperator]

how can not make any difference slow dried? for me it makes a world of difference, great video anyway

[@Katie-hb8iq]

Slow dried matters because if they are drying the pasta quicky, they are doing it at high temperatures and are burning it, which is why cheap pasta is brown or orange. The dough starts out nearly white, so you want your pasta to be as close to the start product as possible. Artisan pastas not tested (most likely) tend to be pretty much off-white while good grocery brands tend to look beige. Cheap grocery store pasta looks brown or orange. I'd stick to artisan pastas from Italy because we have some Artisan pasta made with wheat in Canada (like Italipasta), but they are not the same as the semolina ones from Italy. At the end of the day, pasta is a big part of a pasta dish and spending $10 for a package of 500g of pasta is still cheap - it's $2 per serving instead of $1. These pastas tend to have a little more fiber and protein in them due to slow drying process as well. Stay away from orange pasta - it's not good for you, takes 25 minutes to cook, and tastes much worse.

[@johnhpalmer6098]

I do find some of that not one hundred percent true. Almost all pasta that I can see in the store, be it Barilla or Dececco or some artisan pasta will be slightly beige, the differences are in their dried texture, most pastas that are not bronze die cue will have a smoother surface, with bronze dies, they are rougher,but the overall color is similar, with perhaps a slight differences. Egg pastas, or noodles will be different, but are also labeled as noodles instead of pasta. As one that has made my own pasta, though not in quite a while, and it's eaten while still fresh will have a slight beige tinge to it, and that is due to the egg yolk, and perhaps the semolina flour, which is itself yellow. The old adage of plenty of water and salt like it's the sea has been proven to not be true. When it comes to linguini, fettuccine, or spaghetti, I now often use my saute pan for cooking the pasta, and add enough water to cover, plus a touch more and perhaps a teaspoon or 3 of regular table salt (minus the iodine) and in the end, the super starchy water of about a half cup at best is often reserved for use at the end to help with any emulsion of the sauce. Works quite well and does not impart too much salt to the dish as you don't need to taste it per se, but it'll help with the overall flavor of the dish as a whole.

[@Katie-hb8iq]

@@johnhpalmer6098 I'm not talking about egg pasta. I'm talking about semolina pasta. The best quality drying method produces color closest to white. Artisan pasta is very light beige - almost white. I have some in my pantry. A crap brand like italipasta is brown. I would not expect to find close to white pasta in a grocery store - it's either beige or brown/orange and it's not due to the eggs, it's due to the heat. If you're buying dry pasta in a grocery store, buy the lighter color ones. And I wasn't commenting on the texture. I wasn't saying they weren't important. I just didn't mention it at all. I have no idea where that came from. I was only commenting on the drying technique because the video said it doesn't matter, but it does. If you can find the lighter color with the correct texture, then buy that one. If you're buying artisan pasta, it's going to be difficult to find one without a good texture though.

[@johnhpalmer6098]

@@Katie-hb8iq Did a bit more digging here and feel you are still not totally correct. According to Epicurious, who referred to someone who knows a thing or three about pasta for the article and basically, dried pasta should be either pale yellow, or almost white, opaque, and if bronze extruded, will have a rougher texture to hold the sauce better. Lesser made pasta will not be made with bronze dies and can be darker yellow and have almost a plastic appearance, and can cook up stickier and gummier (assuming over cooked), and will largely have way more ingredients outside of the durham wheat. Barilla uses durham wheat, does not list the water, and several vitamins added, but nothing else. I just looked at a box of Rigetoni that is in my pantry. Best to use it within 6 months, but I almost never make that long. For the fresh stuff, it'll be used right way, or nearly. Epicurious does not state any brown or orange pasta, unless it's made with other flours for gluten free etc as that is where it takes on color, or they add things like carrot or spinach etc for flavorings for specialty pastas. Like I said, I have made it fresh, and it's a light golden yellow color as the recipe I use has an egg in it, uses semolina and regular flour mixed in it. I have added lemon juice/zest and pepper to my pasta and it's quite good I might add but that does not change the color much if at all though.

[@Katie-hb8iq]

@@johnhpalmer6098 I'm literally getting my information from Italian chefs. While the die can change the color of the pasta, the HEAT has a major factor in this. How can it not? Heat changes the colors of things, especially when some of these brands are trying to dry pasta in just 3 hours. The heats are incredible. A slow dried pasta takes 24 hours and even a few days, which is why the pasta is more expensive. This affects taste, cooking times and nutrition. This is well documented. I don't understand why you are arguing with heat changing the color of things - it's asinine and is getting annoying. My entire point is that the slow and low drying is important, which the video said it was not. This is wrong. That is my point. Do you agree or not? That's a yes or no question btw - not another essay. Either way, I don't care anymore. Lastly, I don't know why you keep bringing up your pasta with eggs in it. The pasta we're talking about here do not have eggs in it. We're talking about pure dry pasta that is meant to be eaten al dente.

[@cisium1184]

The flaw in this reasoning is that you are not paying $10 for Rustichella D'Abruzzo or Gentile because they are $7.31 better than $2.69 De Cecco. They're maybe $0.81 better than De Cecco, and you're paying the extra $6.50 for travel because they are not imported in large quantities. You're paying more to transport the pasta than the pasta itself is worth. If you eat pasta three times a month or even once a week, maybe you don't worry about it. But for those of us who eat pasta four or five nights a week, you're talking $100 a month, which would be madness. So I go with De Cecco, stock up on La Molisana or Garofalo when they are on sale, and save the Gentile for special occasions. I'd also like to try Rummo but I've never seen it here.

[@mortglickman3217]

whatever you do, do not buy preshredded cheese, Jack will come for you.

[@joearrow1767]

ATK testers couldn't tell the difference with slow dried because DeCecco is only dried 9 hr. In Italy it's not high quality. 24-48 hr is slow dried. There's a big difference. Look at the color of pasta. Barilla is nearly orange, it's heat dried. It's low quality. Look for an ivory color in dried pasta. America's Test Kitchen takes promotional considerations.

[@mdrakic]

"Really smooth noodles"? Pasta or noodle video?

[@edwardpate6128]

I have to disagree about the slow dried comment. Past that isn't slow dried is put under much more heat in the drying process that doesn't make for top quality pasta.

[@dougfrith5001]

I've been buying Barilla for years, but I'll be looking for DeCecco to taste test myself.

[@pretendtobenormal8064]

I used to think of pasta as a commodity until I tried DeCecco for the first time. Wow! I think you're going to be impressed.

[@Face_Meat]

@@pretendtobenormal8064 I avoid buying Barilla whenever possible.

[@tmcche7881]

DeCecco is noticeably better in taste, texture, and holding sauce. Expect to pay almost 2x for DeCecco over Barilla and it rarely goes on sale. At least where I live. Which is still less expensive than ordering online.

[@johnlord8337]

GREAT VID ! - almost all the rest of the 1300 (!) pastas have their own reason de etre - and when they should be used - instead of other pasta shapes. Some of the best are also small fingernail shell pasta and the large shell pastas picking up sauce but also meat and veg. Most macaroni etc are a waste of time with real mac and cheese - as the holes are meant to suck up the sauce - which cheese sauce (with or without meat crumbles) is a bogus sales. If you need sauce and meat pick up, then larger pasta tubes are needed. It is to the flat pastas (with rough surfacing) that pick up those fettice alfredo sauces (red sauces, white sauces), while squiggly forms (bow ties etc) are used to pick up the cheese grating (asiago, parmesan) sauces. A longer version of this whole pasta subject should be an America's Test Kitchen multi-episode documented series.

[@scottgray6276]

Not as daunting a choice as one might hope…my closest supermarket has been bought by a national chain, and the variety dwindles, every day! Entire aisles of single brands! 🤬

[@ericreed8240]

Pretty sure sure Serious Eats has dispelled the myth of needing an extraordinary amount of water to boil pasta in. It’s pretty disappointing to see america’s test kitchen gloss over this inaccuracy, losing their grip on cooking prowess.

[@catothecensor]

Correct. You don’t want too much water, just enough not to stick together the pasta, but you need 3% salt in the water, that is slightly more than people abroad tent to use. Pastasciutta has no salt in the recipe, you need to add it through water or it will have no taste.

[@nancysiciliana3387]

Not everyone is aware of that Manticactura cooking technique that is so important to Italian cuisine when it comes to pasta , because it is not used in Italian American cooking at all. But we're all learning as we go along! Concentrating the salt in the pasta water allows for the creation of so many rich and creamy simple sauces without having to use cream in any way.

[@foxfreeman1672]

De Cecco is the LAST brand that I would buy. Let me explain: it’s good. A C+. However, once you have a truly super premium brand, it is life changing. Rustichella d’Abruzzo is excellent. Yea, it’s 8 bucks for 500 grams (17.6 oz) but that’s fifty cents per portion. Word.

[@adterpandrea]

Wonder if Jack has tried Cascatelli by Sporkful? The maker went on a three year quest to design the best shape pasta. I think Jack would like the bite of it.

[@SkkyJuse]

This was my very first thought, as well. I LOVE Cascatelli, as does my family. We’ve already worked our way through 8 boxes.

[@SkkyJuse]

I haven’t tried TJ’s version yet, but that’s next.

[@kaiju_k5042]

@@SkkyJuse OH wow haha, I just got two boxes but haven't tried it yet.

[@SkkyJuse]

@@kaiju_k5042 I have a tip for cooking it. Because it takes so long to cook, get it really boiling for the first couple of minutes - so they don’t stick. After that, lower the heat to 75% of high and cover it half way. This allows it to cook properly without loosing some of its ruffles.

[@donnaokoniewski3761]

Al dente, al dente, al dente. All the chefs always talk about pasta being al dente. I don't like dense pasta. I like pasta soft enough to press it to the roof of my mouth. That's how I make it. That's how I love it. That's how I eat it. And yes, at 68, I still have my teeth. Nice video. I enjoyed. Thank you.

[@tristanmills4948]

You do you! I hate when people decide other people's food preferences are somehow 'wrong'.

[@SkkyJuse]

They’re saying al dente many time so it can be finished in the sauce. I agree though, there are many times that I don’t want an al dente pasta: pasta salad, fettuccine, mac and cheese.

[@LisaMarli]

Yep. I rarely do al dente. I prefer my pasta softer. But not mushy. When it hits al dente, I give it another minute or 2.

[@Mainecoonlady.]

These are professionals in the food industry that present cultural food. This video is about Italian pasta. To present the food correctly, they refer to cooking style and referenced terms to show respect to its Italian origin. You can eat your pasta anyway you like but for authentic credible presentation, they show you how it is meant to be cooked. No one said you must do it this way. I am Italian and I’m grateful for the respect.

[@kaiju_k5042]

It's good to know what the industry standard is for sure, but you should always cook it the way you like it :) You know best what you like!

[@hecklepig]

You know I have enjoyed pasta all my life. I've eaten expensive pasta, I've eaten cheap dollar pasta and I can say definitively that the difference between good and bad pasta is so small to be almost non existent and the people whom express continually how they can absolutely taste the difference tend to be full of BS. The only bad pasta I have ever really experienced was a gluten free spaghetti and maybe a poorly produced dollar pasta. Both were a little slimy where the flour absorbed too much water before the middle was done enough.

[@irrationalmale]

If your pasta dish tastes bland, you are not salting the water enough for the pasta. The rule of thumb is it should be as salty as the sea. On the flip side, if your pasta water is really salty, you got to watch yourself when you add a little pasta water into the sauce on the back end.

[@boblab]

You left one important thing out. A lot of the Pasta's that are imported from Italy have chemicals used to prolong shelf life, some companies call them "added nutrients". The dried pasta that is sold cannot have any chemicals in it if it is to be sold in Italy. It does make a difference in the taste.

[@deeblack9393]

I prefer to get advice about Italian foods from Italians! I trust Pasta Grammar and Vincienzo's Plate for giving me the best advice!

[@cisium1184]

Eva and Vincenzo are both wonderful, but they'll tell you exactly what this guy did. Information doesn't magically become more right or wrong based on whose mouth it comes out of. And if you need any proof that Italian citizenship does not a pasta authority make, be advised that the most popular pasta brand in Italy is Barilla.

[@deeblack9393]

@@cisium1184 Uh. no its not!

[@mrbear1302]

Did you not watch the video? Jack IS Italian!

[@deeblack9393]

@@mrbear1302 No he is Italian-American. The channels I mentioned are both Italians one married an American and lives in the U.S. The other lives in Australia but both of their families are still in Italy where they were born and raised! Plus they still make regular trips back to Italy and host tours to show people the REAL Italy

[@mrbear1302]

@@deeblack9393 Harper is AMERICAN!

[@deniseharrell1591]

My Italian ex- boyfriend's family says to combine pasta shapes, like spaghetti with radiatore or wagon wheels to better hold the sauce. They also say that condensed clam chowder soup is a great cheat for linguine with clam sauce. I do not know if it's true. Just what they say.

[@catothecensor]

Correct, linguine are for very watery and savory sauce like clams. For thicker sauces you use bucatini not linguine, the video is wrong. Combining pasta… uhm, only for pasta re-baked in oven (pasta al forno), otherwise you have diffentent textures In the dish, and rule n.1 of italian cooking is “less is more”

[@deniseharrell1591]

@@catothecensor Thank you!

[@thomasbernecky2078]

OK, but where did "how to cook it" and "how much water and salt" go, Jack?

[@robertherman1146]

Sorry, Setaro is the best pasta and has the widest variety. More expensive and harder to find though, buy online or a few boutique Italian grocery shops. Worth the extra.

[@pauldewitt7697]

De cecco is not the best brand available out there. It is expensive

[@catothecensor]

Putting tagliatelle (pasta all’uovo) as a sibling of speghetti, linguine, rigatoni and gemelli (all of them being pastasciutta) really triggered me. Tagliatelle are a different product. And why you always use “noodles” for pasta?! That’s gross.

[@kaybauserman4683]

considering the drought out west and the war in Ukraine,,, there will no doubt be a wheat shortage. By this time next year we may not be eating pasta or bread.

[@UrDoinItWrong]

Slow dried is very important...I don't know what type of PBS/nazi dummy-science you used to determine it wasn't important, but it is EXTREMELY important. Par for the course with PBS "sCiEnCe" nowadays. Watch the series by Alex on YT about dried pasta if you want a good summary about why.

[@catothecensor]

Best comment ever!!!

[@johnpolcari]

Now you know more ? This was almost devoid of useful information. Of course I am Italian and easily disappointed

[@TRusheeRush]

Italians like to eat raw pasta. Al dente is horrible.

[@catothecensor]

Overcooked pasta is our worst nightmare

[@Cerulean0987]

Al dente is overrated.

[@joycepiantes8383]

Nope I like my pasta cooked. None of this Al dented for me.

[@sunflowerbaby1853]

The sauce for me is more important than the brand of pasta. I'm a linguine pasta girl. No shapes, no skinny panel hair. Give me a fork, a good red sauce and let me twirl. ☺ 🍝

[@gizmo7877]

I DO NOT LIKE DECECCO pasta, takes way too long to cook to el dente stage.

[@catothecensor]

That’s exactly why it is so good. In italy SOFT PASTA is a much worse bane than Putin making war on Europe.

[@edreid7872]

Interesting video, but bottom line, I don't think the average person could not tell the difference between spaghetti from the dollar store, and one from a high end supermarket..

[@adterpandrea]

I couldn't really tell much difference until I started making my own. I didn't think it was that much better till my machine broke and I bought my previous favorite pasta from the grocery store. Tasted like cardboard! I didn't eat pasta for a long time after that. It's all trained taste.

[@cisium1184]

Yeah they could, easily. Or rather, the average person who watches shows like this one could, easily.

[@irrationalmale]

I agree. 99.5 percent of the US population would not care one way or another. 40 years ago, it would 99.999% wouldn't care.

[@edreid7872]

Barilla claims to be high quality... Who knows... All I know is I reach for the pasta in the cellophane bag...the best and convenient packaging.. There are some products when brand names makes zero difference, table salt, baking soda, and I include pasta as one..

[@catothecensor]

Yes you can. Cheap pasta is awful. Just invite a real italian at home and domthe test.

[@davidabbott6601]

First

[@TheCoon1975]

Last

[@cisium1184]

Somewhere in the middle.

[@weeatpizza7806]

Sorry, Americans are not experts in Italian pasta.

[@charlesmangum2100]

Who cares about aldente. I prefer a softer texture to my pasta. I also like either vermacle or angel hair. Just don`t like the taste of spaghetti.

[@cisium1184]

That's because you're a Protestant.

[@charlesmangum2100]

@@ZombiedustXXX sounds good to me!

[@TheCoon1975]

Kraft macaroni and cheese is the best pasta you can buy.

[@tombogaert1015]

😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣

[@ItsAlive111]

Get the pitchforks people!

[@Leguminator]

With sliced hot dogs, now _that's_ Italian!

[@adterpandrea]

@@Leguminator 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣