Great Pastas Exploration

Mom got some amazing pastas from "La Molisana", which is an Italian manufacturer.

She says she bought them for $2 / pound.

The types are:

Fusilli-like spirals: Fusilli Corti Bucati 108

Round spaghetti-Os: Anelli Siciliani 60A

Flat ones: Pantacce Toscane 106

Pasta brands:

Mancini:

• Spaghetti alla Chitarra. Nothing special, probably about the same or not as good as Afeltra.

La Molisana:

• Alla Chitarra 15B (thick spaghetti)
• De Cecco Racchette, No. 90 (rackets, really great)
• Rigatoni (tastes great)
• Penne Ziti Rigate 20B (really great with soupy sauce and very undercooked, could get a lot)
• Anelli Siciliana 60 A (tastes great)
• Spaghettini 16B (tastes great, even though it's long pasta)
• Linguini (also great, not as good as the spaghettini 16B though)
• Should try the other sizes of spaghetti, but not in large quantity to start out. Would probably want to try the Spaghetti (15)

Will want to try:

• https://www.pastamancini.com/en/pasta
• Anything made by Rigorosa
• https://www.gustiamo.com/spaghetti-by-martelli/

Todo

• Should read and research about pasta types, like what's involved in the drying, the ingredients, etc.
• https://www.eataly.com/us_en/magazine/how-to/guide-to-pasta-shapes/

Raos:

• Rigatoni
  • Eh, maybe slightly better than the Molisana, but probably about the same. Not particularly chewy or anything, probably wouldn't pass a blind test.
• Penne
  • Pretty good, nothing especially amazing. Pretty big, not anything especially chewy, but tasted nice.
• Orrechiette
  • Not that good, tasted kind of cheap, and was very chewy but not in a very good way.

DeCecco:

• Pretty much any type from them is good. This should be purchased over Barilla any day.

Afeltra:

• Calamari 17.6 oz
  • This was really good. This pasta is very chewy. Closest so far to what you get at a high end place.
  • Takes a very long time to cook, which is great. Basically impossible to overcook, could take it out at al dente or later, and still very chewy and firm.
• Spaghetti 17.6 oz
  • This was also really good, pasta wasn't particularly chewy, but it was very high quality and rather thick. Very rough, sauce stuck well, stayed pretty firm.
  • Takes a very long time to cook, also very hard to overcook. Very firm, great stuff.
• Eliche Giganti
  • This was insanely fucking good. Probably the best one of them all.

Il Pastaio Di Gragnano:

• Calamari Pasta 17.6 oz
  • Was definitely chewy and good, but didn't stand out as especially good. Not as good as Afeltra.
• Vesuvio
  • Not a very tasty shape, don't love it. Decently chewy but cooks a bit too quickly maybe?

Rigorosa:

• Linguine
  • Not especially good at all, not really that chewy. Tasted no better than La Molisana I'd say.
• Penne
  • A bit chewy, pretty great penne overall. Not a standout winner or anything though.

Lydia's:

• Capellini
  • No. Terrible. Never again. It was way too thin, probably just hated the pasta type, but it was bad.
• Penne
  • Wow, really quite good. At least as good as La Molisana, but different enough to be worth while. Should get to mix things up.

Matt:

• Penne Lisce
  • No, not at all. Just tasted like regular barilla. Nothing special. Very smooth, boring, way overpriced. Never get again.

Benedetto Cavalieri

• Ruote Pazze (roselle that's extra deep basically). Really really good. One of the best ones.

Note: the long pastas go incredibly well with the home-made sauce.

Terms:

• De Cecco (deh-checko)
• Molto al dente (undercooked, this means literally very al dente, so very "to the tooth"). Poco is the opposite (not much/very little).

NEW PASTA TYPE TO TRY/INVESTIGATE:

• Would love to find the dry pastas that taste chewy, like at Eataly and other very nice restaurants.
  • https://www.eataly.com/us_en/our-producers/rigorosa (reviewed by someone, said it took very long to cook and was chewy)
  • Should research more pastas to find ones that might be chewy

Where to buy:

Since Walmart is very often out of stock, Vitacost is a great place to buy. Shipping is free over $50, but it's hard to get an order that big. You are limited to a certain number of bags of certain ones, like Anelli (4).

Vitacost. Coupon for $5 off order of $30 or more: GROUPON5. This brings effective price down to $1.70 without shipping.

Amazon does sometimes work well, at only $2.20 / pound with free shipping: https://www.amazon.com/Molisana-Spaghettini-Bronzo-Pound-Pack/dp/B078GMZL1B/

($2.69 per pound) ShopGourmet.com offers packs of 12 for $32.00, with free shipping. Has the Corti Bucati and others.
Using code: SG2015 got 10% discount (might only be first order), which came to $2.41. Good thing is they seem to always be in stock possibly. Shipping is also always free. This might work every time: RMN5OFF (5% off).

($2.28 per pound) Walmart.com as individual packs, free 2-day shipping on orders over $35. Has Bucati and others.

($2.44 per pound effective, $1.61 actual) Vicacost.com. Mom found. Actually has the Anelli! Shipping is $5, which is what brings up the effective price. They have some other types as well.

Plan: try the other pasta we haven't tried. If it's also really good, then go to the Walmart page and buy a bunch of each and some of the others ones to try in an order that's over $35 so the shipping is free.

Round #1:

Got an assorted shipment from mom.

Got Anelli, spirals (not good), and a linguine.

Round #2:

Purchased Rigatoni, Anelli (o rings), and Alla Chitarra (thick spaghetti).

Bought 18 pack of Spaghettini (16B). Should try the other spaghetti sizes next time, but don't get a huge batch.

Round #3:

Just bought 12 pounds of Rigatoni, because it's like the best.

Round #4:

A whole bunch of stuff from Eataly. Like 5 different brands, 12 different pastas.
Should order as much Rigorosa as possible next time, once Eataly has it in stock.