533440 Fri Jun 27 22:43:14 -0700 2008 22 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 3821202 I've seen a few posts on here before about dry pasta and a lot of folks seem to just prefer what's on sale. We normally buy what Costco carries. But, I tried an organic pasta (Amish Natural) a few weeks ago and fell pretty hard for it. My questions are: Has anybody else tried it? Did you have the same reaction or am I fooling myself about it being that much better? Are there any other brands you can recommend? Thanks. Fri Jun 27 22:43:15 -0700 2008 199357 fluffymamabear 1 3821450 Before artisanal pasta, I grew up on Ronzoni. I've tried all different brands, and I always like unusual ones, but Ronzoni is the default pasta. Sat Jun 28 05:55:22 -0700 2008 3821202 34558 roxlet 1 3821480 I grew up on Prince. I buy Barilla now, but have heard DeCecca is really good. I tried it and it seems a bit better. I do feel that dry pasta, is more about cooking it al dente than the brand. But, I don't buy the cheap stuff, so I may be way off here. Thanks for the tip on Costco though, I'll give it a try. Sat Jun 28 06:24:01 -0700 2008 3821202 15691 mcel215 2 3821486 DeCecco is my default pasta, and I do like it better than Barilla, though it's been awhile since I've used the latter. I do sometimes splurge and buy artisanal pastas (made it Italy) that I do think have a nicer "chew"/texture to them. But it's usually about $5.00 for 500 grams. I believe that Ronzoni did very well (maybe won?) an ATK test, but I don't really like it, and rarely agree w/ ATK generally. Sat Jun 28 06:27:13 -0700 2008 3821480 10985 MMRuth 1 3821536 Widely available, DeCecco is one of the best around. With gas at $4+ dollars a gallon , I go with Trader Joe's, Whole Foods 365, and the ubiquitous Barilla in a pinch. As mentioned much has to do with the cooking . Al dente is preferred for most uses, and if unnattended one can pass this stage quickly........have experimented with a couple store brands and the ones I tried were garbage.....have not tried Costco's, but if its made with Durum wheat/semolina and there is nothing else indescribable in the ingredients.....I'd go with price point unless I wanted to splurge. Sat Jun 28 06:59:34 -0700 2008 3821202 180133 Saddleoflamb 2 3821720 I just saw DeCecco for two boxes for $5.00 at Whole Foods in NYC - as if that were a great price - but I can usually get it for $1.99 at other markets. I noticed that the artisanal brands that they carry are now almost $7.00. Sat Jun 28 08:45:38 -0700 2008 3821536 10985 MMRuth 3 3823421 Yup, De Cecco for the win, definitely. It recently went up from less than a pound to £1.20, though I think all pasta has increased in price. It's less than a euro a packet in Italy. :-( Sun Jun 29 04:17:56 -0700 2008 3821720 110146 greedygirl 1 3821602 DeCecco is my favorite of the supermarket brands. Always cooks up well and tastes great. Don't care for barilla. their shapes are so small. Sat Jun 28 07:41:27 -0700 2008 3821202 102697 lml 1 3821610 I can't find DeCecco pasta at my grocery store, here in the Boston area. But, of all places bought a box while shopping at Christmas Tree Shop. I thought it was some odd brand as I hadn't seen it before. Lo and behold, I was shopping the the North End, and there it was, lol. Glad everyone rated it above barilla, thanks. Sat Jun 28 07:45:42 -0700 2008 3821202 15691 mcel215 2 3823157 the Stop and Shop on McGrath highway has DeCecco for very good prices. Not sure about other outlets in this chain. Sat Jun 28 21:12:00 -0700 2008 3821610 59258 smtucker 1 3822691 I'm gluten-free so we use TJs rice pasta. Sat Jun 28 16:39:29 -0700 2008 3821202 169792 lgss 2 3822773 TJ's Organic Brown Rice Penne pasta is surprisingly good. I was doubtful at first, but I found that it has a really good chew to it, and it cooks up really well unlike many others of its kind. Image included here. Sat Jun 28 17:29:08 -0700 2008 3822691 10609 Cheese Boy 1 3823244 Wanted to clarify something. My wife tells me it's DeCecca that we buy at Costco. Can't confirm this because we are out of that kind at the moment. Also, thanks for the tips on the TJ's. Oddly, I've never tried any of theirs before. I'm going to try some more of the brands that I saw at Whole Foods. One was pretty "religious". We'll see if it answers a higher calling! We're still going bananas over the Amish Natural brand. The downside of this renewed "pasta passion" is my expanding gut. Sat Jun 28 22:16:41 -0700 2008 3821202 199357 fluffymamabear 2 3823431 I buy Barilla at Costco, and find it very good. Sun Jun 29 04:26:37 -0700 2008 3823244 11104 dolores 1 3824106 Bottega della Pasta, la Molisana, Bariilla, Devilla, de Cecco and Ital Pasta all serve me well, though the first mentioned is my favourite with the second second. Sun Jun 29 11:55:08 -0700 2008 3821202 42449 mrbozo 1 3824133 I buy whatever is on sale or whatever brand carries the shape I want. The only difference I have seen is in egg noodles. I am more choosy with those. Some are so thin they cannot stand up to what I want to pair them with. My mom is picky on pasta. I got annoyed with her when she was poo pooing my pasta stock so we did an informal taste test. She could not tell the diff. b/w cheap and expensive when cooked properly BUT I found when I cooked barilla double the time suggested it was still usable. A nice thing to know when you may be scattered or have to reheat. Sun Jun 29 12:07:37 -0700 2008 3821202 137755 Sal Vanilla 1 3824167 DeCecco is probably the best dry pasta available on a large scale. This is my go-to brand, along with DelVerde, which used to be available on a similar scale, but have become less visible in recent years. Both of these brands are made in Abruzzo, Italy. I also really like Rummo and Rustichella d'Abruzzo as all-around brands. La Nonna del Monello, La Molisana, Voiello, Latini and Gerardo di Nola have some very good shapes (and some that I wouldn't buy again). Martinelli is very good if you can find it, as is Gianni di Napoli. Sun Jun 29 12:21:29 -0700 2008 3821202 102095 vvvindaloo 2 3824190 Thanks. Since I once again am living in an Italian neighbourhood I'll keep an eye out for those brands. Sun Jun 29 12:35:58 -0700 2008 3824167 42449 mrbozo 2 3825197 Since vvvindaloo decided to drop some names, here's a big one I'd like to drop too. Pasta Poiatti. They are Sicilian dry pasta makers. IMHO, they beat out Barilla, DeCecco, Rummo, La Molisana, Del Verde, Di Martino, Guido, Di Vella, Gerardo di Nola, and any other top name on your list. I enjoy the quality of *all* the brands mentioned here, but Poiatti is certainly *the best* as far as machine-made pastas go. What really makes their pastas stand out above all the others is the texture and chew that theirs has when properly cooked. Other pastas will tend to soften while sitting prepared in a serving platter, but not this one. In a word, pretty "amazing". Naturally different cuts will taste different from each other, but all in all they are exceptionally good (and available in the U.S.). Two links: Link 1 --> http://www.poiatti.it/azienda.asp?p=a Link 2 --> http://www.antonellaimports.com/Italian_Poiatti-Pasta.html Sun Jun 29 20:26:17 -0700 2008 3824167 10609 Cheese Boy 3 3827350 I've only seen these in Italy, cheese boy. Where do you buy them here? Online only? Thanks. Mon Jun 30 13:44:58 -0700 2008 3825197 102095 vvvindaloo 4 3828668 I hope Rosario's still has them. My Poiatti pasta stash is getting kinda low, so I'm due for a visit there too. I buy Poiatti in bulk when I'm there 'cause you never know when they'll stop importing them. Sicilian is spoken fluently at Rosario's so it's no wonder they stock this excellent *Sicilian* dry pasta. Rosario's Deli 2255 31st Street Astoria (by Ditmars Blvd) (718) 728-2920 Mon Jun 30 21:39:49 -0700 2008 3827350 10609 Cheese Boy 1 3827170 In Houston I use the Central Market store brand whole wheat pasta, and have been very satisfied. However, it was $1.19 a package a couple of weeks ago and is now $1.99. Still a reasonable price, but the increase is jarring nonetheless. Mon Jun 30 13:04:40 -0700 2008 3821202 16852 jim1126 1 3827235 Yet another de cecco fan here...the stop and shop in my area doesn't carry a huge selection of shapes, but I'm not too adventurous in that department, anyway. I like that it's a good product at a good price, and they're not jumping on the bandwagon of trying to cram as much other healthy stuff as they can into it...that kind of thing always tastes funny to me. Mon Jun 30 13:19:36 -0700 2008 3821202 204860 theferlyone