Which chef uses which dry pasta brand? and which do you like?

Question

i feel like when I watch some cooking shows, the chefs rave about one pasta brand or another but then I can never remember which one said what

Giada likes DeCecco?
Lydia and Barilla?
Does anyone else know who likes what?

Also, let me know which ones you like best. I know this has probably been a previously-posted topic but want to get some fresh opinions too.

thanks!

Answer

I normally trust Lydia on all matters Italian, but De Cecco is my go-to pasta brand. Barilla is fine, I find, but De Cecco seems better at holding onto sauce.

Answer

De Cecco and Del Verde are actual Abruzzesi dried pasta producers, and their US counterparts are true to the quality of the original Italian product. Barilla, on the other hand, is an entirely different (and lower-quality) product here in the States. I am personally offended by this total lack of respect for US dried pasta consumers, but that's another story for anyone who is nearly as fanatical as I am about these kinds of things. Rustichella d'Abruzzo is good for certain cuts (I like their orecchiette), and not quite right for others. Their Gnocchi and Perle di Patate (mini gnocchi) are out of this world, if you can find them (at about $8 per lb.). You'll never find Ronzoni or Rienzi in my pantry, though there was a time when that was all that was available (my grandmother continued to use them, out of habit, until the '80s, when her daughters revolted). I am currently enjoying "thick spaghetti" and "pennette rigate" from Rummo, a Neapolitan brand that is newly-available here in the NY area. Another promising brand produced in that region is Gerardo di Nola, whose Bucatini I tried recently and really liked. I also made a dish using a Pugliese brand not too long ago that was very good, but I don't recall which. My go-to classics are DeCecco Rigatoni and Spaghetti, but I will also take Del Verde for either of these, and also for pastine (small pastas, used in soups, etc.). Voiello brand pasta is excellent all around, if you can find it. It's availability seems to come and go here in NY. I heard that Barilla bought it recently, which to me can only be a bad omen, if it is any indication of how their quality here in States might change. My #1 brand for nostalgia purposes is Gianni di Napoli, a pioneer import brand of high-quality pasta from Italy that my mother used for much of my childhood. It is still good, and a bargain due to its relative obscurity, though not easy to find. 
I could go on and on, but I don't want to scare anyone ;)

Answer

I agree that De Cecco is one of the best store bought dried pasta's I have tried. Even better, my local Italian specialty market sells it for 99 cents a bag! With a can of San Marzano tomatoes and a few spices, I can make a great dinner for about $4.00! For a little more, I get some meatballs made by the maket owner's 90 year old grandfather, talk about authentic! What a deal.

Answer

If Im buying off the shelf, it's Rustichella d'Abruzzo, but I prefer to order my dried pastas from salumeriaitaliana dot com, and they often have amazing small production imported pastas. Right now I have a beautiful purple radicchio pasta on my shelf...

Answer

I pretty much always use De Cecco, though I occasionally will buy an artistanal brand. I recently tried "La Nonna del Monello" brand orecchiette (from Puglia - I only wish I could remember where I bought it) and loved it - had a wonderful chewiness to it and was great with pesto. It was $3.99 for 500 grams, which I thought was a good price for artisanal pasta. I've found that that shape does well with a number of pasta sauces that I'd not previously thought to use it with, including carbonara (per a recipe of Suzanne Goin).

Answer

As long as the pasta is made with Durum Semolina it will cook up firm and hold the sauce well. That nice yellowish color the cooked macaroni has indicates high quality. Believe it or not, Trader Joe's offers a very good, really low priced brand of macaroni and we stock up when we are there. Generally though, it's DeCecco or Barilla from Wild Oats.

Answer

Ina Garten uses DeCecco too since you asked. It's in her cookbooks.

Answer

Mario Batali has mentioned DeCecco at least once, too.

Answer

I started buying De Cecco pasta for my home kitchen after I started buying it for an Italian restaurant we had at the Hyatt I worked in as a Purchasing Manager. I liked the quality to price ratio enough to bring it into my home. 

 I didnt know Giada used De Cecco, but that wouldnt be a reason I would use it in my kitchen or not.

Answer

De Cecco
Barilla (some of the pastas anyway)
Ronzoni

I go for De Cecco first. Best pasta? How do you determine which is best? I really can't tell, I just like the variety of De Cecco. Taste though? I guess I'm missing something.

Answer

thanks for all the input - i'll keep testing the grocery brands and definitely start trying more of the specialty products

Answer

Specialty brands on sale at TJ Maxx! And de Cecco/Barilla

Answer

Many of the Italian Chefs mentioned are sponsored by the products they use.

I am sure they wouldn't use them if they didn't really like them.

After reading the Cook's Illustrated Blind Taste Test a few years back, I tried one at home.

We liked the Ronzoni best, the de Cecco was 2nd.

I have been using the Rafetto Fresh Pasta a lot lately. It is terrific, almost as good as home made. Their Pappardelle and Angel Hair are delicious in taste and texture.

Seasonally, their Pumpkin Ravioli is just out, and it is delicious. Any new ideas for saucing it?

Answer

I almost always use DeCecco. I might switch to Barilla on the day that I decide to start eating pastrami on white bread.

Answer

I've seen Al Dente Pasta, the brand that comes in the clear bag, used by a few of the chefs on the food network. It is only made in fettuccine and linguine cuts, cooks in 3 minutes, has a real homemade, fresh texture, like Northern Italian noodles. It is available in a wide variety of stores around the country.

Answer

Do you think there might be a connection between the brand that the tv chef uses and the company that is paying for the tv placement or sponsorship? 

Do you really think that Lidia Bastianich is going to use US-made Barilla pasta when she cooks for her family, if in fact she does use that on her show, which I do not recall even noticing?

Answer

For price with high quality look for DiCecco. It is made with bronze dies to give the surface 'tooth' to hold the sauce. Barilla is a competent product that sells because it is among the cheapest. For quality regardless of price, Rustichella d'Abruzzo is the clear winner, but for the price of 500gm you can buy 3 lbs of DiCecco and perhaps 6 lbs of Barilla.

Answer

After this you wont't see Barilla in my house again. And by the way, I'm straight 

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/barilla-pasta-barons-anti-gay-comment-prompts-boycott-call-8C11269315

Answer

I grew up on American Beauty, but nowadays generally prefer DeCecco and Barilla. If I'm flush, it's Latini. I also like going to specialty stores and stocking up on all sorts of exotic shapes and obscure Italian brands.

Answer

This Chef uses Rustichella d'Abruzzo or DeCecco

Answer

My new fave is Al Dente artisanal pasta. It's made in Michigan.

Answer

Barilla pasta, in my opinion, is the best. Many chefs use it, and it is the #1 pasta in U.S, Canada and Italy. They offer Omega, and gluten free. I also absolutely love the new pronto pasta from barilla, it saves me so much time. The taste of De Cecco is OKAY, but nothing compared to barilla! :)

Answer

This doesn't answer your question and I am not a chef but I have been cooking for a long time and just recently discovered the difference between Any Old Pasta and imported-from-Italy hard durum wheat pasta and am feeling stupid that I didn't know before. Here's the difference---the Italian pasta doesn't leach starch into the sauce--it maintains a sharp interface between it and the sauce. A brand I am especially liking is Granoro. In the Chicago area, I recommend a huge Italian market, Angelo Caputo's, corner of West Fullerton and North Harlem---it has aisle after aisle of hundreds, probably thousands, of Italian products and at prices far more reasonable that at the Eataly mall downtown.

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