We have tried them all and can barely tell a difference. We usually buy the "alleged" premium because it's not that expensive -- but it's probably a waste to be honest.

I've recently started buying Goodles - it's often on sale at Whole Foods. I don't know that it's premium, but it's good and I like it.

Interesting. We can only afford the generic pasta.

Anonymous wrote:I buy the cheapest bronze cut pasta I can find. Brand and price doesn’t matter in my experience.

This is the best strategy.

In general, pasta is a commodity product with a very simple and well-known production process. And, unless you're talking about "alternative" pasta (e.g. chickpea, gluten-free, brown rice, whole wheat, or flavored/egg etc the ingredients are the exact same--water and semolina. Only a few very low-end producers use anything other than semolina. Most Italian pasta producers use non-Italian semolina because it's cheaper. However, the use of a bronze die does make the production process more expensive and (imo) improves the texture.

De Cecco does have a slightly higher protein content than a lot of the non-name brand Italian pastas, which is a minor quality indicator (higher-protein semolina is more expensive). I also find that sometimes that non-De Cecco "bronze die" pasta will seem quite slick and a bit questionable as to whether it was really made using a bronze die, although most of the time they're fine.

And, someone mentioned it above, but lol at the person saying that they're Italian and De Cecco is a scam because it's expensive. It's a huge brand/producer in Italy, it's not like, say, De Lallo, which is a brand invented by an importer to sell to Americans. The real scams are those 8 dollar packages. You're basically paying 4-5 dollars extra for the fancy packaging and shapes that cost maybe 30 cents more to produce. You're not getting anything better than De Cecco, but if you really don't want to buy De Cecco because it's too popular just get Rummo/La Molisana/Di Martino, etc;.

Anonymous wrote:No, I can't stand De Cecco and I'm Italian. I like San Giorgio and barilla. Those brands are for dumb rich folks who think they're getting more for their money.

DeCecco is widely sold in Italy....

It's barely more expensive than Barilla or other cheaper brands. A box of pasta is typically under $3. I buy DeCecco spaghetti at WF for $2.50. Not sure how this is fleecing dumb rich folks....

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Folic acid is synthetic. Folate is what we need, and what’s in prenatal vitamins, right?

Folate is a generic term— folic acid is one kind and it is the kind in prenatal vitamins. Enriched flour is basically an effort to give everyone some prenatal vitamins.

Folate is not generic. Geneally, one should eat leafy greens and only take folic acid supplements if directed by a medical doctor. Spraying it on wheat so 100% of the people consume it wrong. I avoid non organic wheat products.

https://communityexperts.org/blog/gary-brecka-folic-acid-methylated-folate

Thank you for at least posting your source which is a blog post linking to Joe Rogan’s podcast.

And yes, folic acid is one type of folate and no one “sprays it on wheat”. There have been lots of studies on populations before and after it was added and no one has identified common adverse effects. Maybe some day they will but doubt it will be Joe Rogan’s guests who do.

NP - recent associations with cancer growth
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10935767/

Trader Joe’s sells a fantastic organic pasta imported from Italy

Honestly yes. De Cecco is better than Barilla, but the random stuff in gourmet or Italian grocery stores in the clear bags is the best by far. I don't have a specific brand to rec but if it looks like some random little Italian brand and the label is in Italian, it's good IMO.

I am often of the opinion that generic brands are as good as name brand, but dry pasta really is a place worth splurging.

My kids much prefer De Cecco. I was shocked they even had a preference but starting in kindergarten they asked for the light blue box with the lady on it.

We make our own with flour imported from Italy.

Po again. If I can’t get to Italy….