I enjoyed the video and nominate you for a life achievement award for food geekery. Having said that, I take issue with the conventional wisdom that the more sauce a pasta can hold, the better. We don't look at salad greens and wish they could hold more dressing. There should be a balance, and I think that applies to pasta and sauce as well.
A few weeks ago I was in Eataly to buy something specific and I decided to grab a pack of expensive pasta to see if it was actually worth it. I got Benedetto Cavalieri spaghetti (not in this video but they were in Alex’s top tier); I paid $11 CAD. The first taste I had while checking for doneness absolutely blew me away. I’m not exaggerating when I say it hit me like a Mack truck. I felt electrified. The amount of complexity and nuance in the flavour of the grain was beyond. It was so delicious that I ate it completely plain (my entire portion). Straight out of the water. I’m Italian and a pasta connoisseur - the only brand I eat is DeCecco, but my German friend who rarely makes pasta (and when he does he buys Barilla) wasn’t able to notice a difference. So another axis to the discussion I think might be whether one has enough experience/familiarity with pasta that their palate can distinguish and appreciate the subtle differences. Having said all this, I would almost never use such a pasta. Pretty much any sauce I think would overpower it and completely mask the delicate flavours. Really I would only cook it again if I wanted to show someone (or indulge myself) what really high quality pasta can be, and I would prepare it as simple as possible, perhaps just enough butter or mellow olive oil to prevent it from sticking to itself.
I wish the had it at Etaly when I went. They did not. I do not like Barilla m. Their GF is terrible as well. I am going to keep an eye out for it. Thank you!
Also a fan of Alex. You knocked out of the park on this video. You confirmed that there are differences in taste and texture which I was not totally convinced would be that obvious.
The Afeltra square spaghetti are likely “spaghetti alla chitarra” (which literally literally means “guitar”). Rather than being extruded from end to end, rolled dough is placed on a flat frame made of many long and closely spaced wires and then pressed through
And, coincidentally, when I was at my grandparents’ for dinner last week, my nonna made a pack of Afeltra that a relative gave her and told her she had to try because it was really something special. All of us (nonno, nonna, mom, and me) found it to be less palatable than DeCecco.
Hello Friends! Glad you're here! Hope you enjoyed this pasta round up. Here are the stats in PDF for you: awarehousechef.com/PDFS/SpaghettiStats.pdf Cheers!
Nice! Also, I'm getting my first Hestan pot, the pre-order Dutch Oven is to ship the end of this month; I am so excited! I got in for $399. I saw today, it's $459.
Interesting that I just clicked onto this. I reached for my usual bronze die pasta from Lidls (1.59) vs. 29p for their store brand. I have leftovers from today, but bought the cheap one to see if a side by side comparison (as long as everything else is delicious) makes it worth paying 500% more for the premium brand, let alone the ultra expensive Italian ones!
Excellent video George. I really enjoyed it. I've always thought that great restaurants that served pasta made the pasta in house. I especially thought that to be true with spaghetti which is the "flagship" pasta recognized around the world. I think you should check that matter out and verify it. I respect Alex, but sometimes he goes a little overboard in his assertions, IMO. My wife and I moved to Italy from Philly two years ago, so we know something about genuine Italian high end restaurants. I thought your analysis of spaghetti flavors was really excellent and spot on in terms of the minerality and sponginess being important factors. Great work!
Thank you Samuel! It means a lot! I was going to actually do the taste test with cacio e pepe originally. It turned out to be too much filming. I am not an expert in Italian pasta dishes. After some research, dry pasta does have its place in high end Italian restaurants especially with dishes like cacio e pepe. Cheers and thank you for the kindness!!
I am Italian, but not a pasta connoisseur. I usually buy the Garafalo, or Trader Joe's. In a pinch, I will buy Dececco . I tend to like starchy pasta, especially when making a sauce that is not tomato-based.
I finally did try the expensive pasta you recommended awhile back. I thought that it was very good and you could just tell it was a much better product. I believe I will continue to pay top dollar for it for special meals. Because I dont eat a lot of carbs. But the noodles truly were so much better. Definitely different on how it interacted with the sauce. The brand I did buy was Mancini. Always appreciate your insights
Thank you so much! I don’t eat any carbs at all. Well, at least not pasta but when I do have some and I splurge, I want the best. Thank you for the recommendation. All the best!
Great review! I have been able to find Rao in the grocery store, its bronze die and slow dry. Would have been great to know where that places to see if upping my game and using amazon is worth it.
Thanks for another enjoyable video George. Grandma always said 100% Durum semolina. I think it's more about how the pasta cooks and the mouth feel rather then shuttle flavor difference. Soft and starchy is so disappointing even with the best sauce. On a side note grandma has been gone for many years and still no one can hold a candle to her homemade pastas
Why is it that Italian grandmother’s can make a pasta dish that cannot be surpassed? You can’t tell me love isn’t a key ingredient. Thanks for sharing John. Cheers!
Wow 10$ for a pack of pasta, let alone 20!?! That's too much. I really like when you try products like this, it's fun to see the differences although i don't know any of them and probably will never try them. Another good one dear George! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻♥️
Thank you Maria! They are less expensive if you shop around. Honestly, I think Misko puts out a decent pasta. It’s not Italian but it is 100% semolina and it’s affordable. All the best!!
@@AwareHouseChef Indeed, Misko and Melissa are pretty decent. They have a large variety in gluten free and wholegrain pasta too. I especially like the wholegrain Melissa rigatoni with haroupi flour.
@@maria369 we use Helios Organic Orzo for our avgolemono soup at My restaurant. They also make a corn flour version GF. I’m not big on corn but it is a decent orzo. I have never had Carob flour. Now I’m interested!
@@AwareHouseChef Ow it's the best, it's so yummy and nutritious too. They also make cookies and paximadia with it. Carob flour sustained people during WWII, without it many more would have died from famine. I try to avoid corn too but we use it when we make batsaria (μπατσαριά) which is a traditional pita without filo from Ioannina.
The difference between the top three is pretty significant from the bottom five. The texture is unique and the flavor of the sauce really popped. I probably couldn’t tell you which of the three was which if I were to have them on there own, but I could tell that they are a superior spaghetti to most.
@@AwareHouseChef same! Made “spaghetti” carbonara for lunch today using it. I bought a case of 20 fearing the end of the world would arrive and I’d be out of bucatini! 😂
I have no idea if there is an Eatily gourmet shop near me but I'm not going to search it out. Nor will I pay Amazon's rip-off prices for gourmet pasta. I buy DeCecco pastas at my local grocery store. Once in awhile, if I'm feeling ambitious, I'll make homemade fettuccini with my old hand-crank Atlas pasta machine. It's amazing, but it's a process..... I just don't do it much anymore now that I live alone.🤌 🇮🇹
