Before my recent trip to Italy, I never gave pasta much credit. I would rarely order it unless I was dining Italian, and even so, it wasn’t a must. It’s not that I don’t love it either, as almost every kid growing up can appreciate it, but it was something I could conveniently make at home. I would rather fill up on proteins and mains than pasta – an “empty carb.”
But is it really?
I experimented with six different brands of pasta with corporate chef of La Grotta Del Formaggio, Chef Alex Tung. All the brands were sold at the retail location and ranged from inexpensive to premium.
I don’t necessarily shop according to price, but I am selective on what ingredients I splurge on. Olive oil, fresh vegetables and fruits, and meat I’m willing to invest more on for quality products, but pasta never really made the list. I just didn’t understand why since the ingredient list said the same thing on almost all packages. It was some combination of durum wheat flour, semolina, water, olive oil and salt, and of course every package was using “the best” of each category.
I really dislike “the best” since there is no set standard and what qualifies as “the best” is personal and subjective.
However after the blind tastings and cooking experiments, it was obvious not all pasta is created equal.
It is not a ground breaking conclusion and in most cases there is a general consensus that quality costs money, but I wanted to know why. Where was the quality? And how could I tell without tasting it? And could I tell after tasting it? If labeling is partially “marketing”, than how do I know what to trust or who to trust?
I had the opportunity to learn about the wheat farms, semolina, and pasta production process at Rustichella d’Abruzzo in Abruzzo, Italy with the Peduzzi (founders) family themselves.
As cliché as it might sound, the region is an undiscovered gem in Italy. It’s deep in tradition and agriculture, and prides itself as the “greenest region in Europe”, because of its natural ecosystem and terroir. The whole area is organic and it’s ideal for growing wheat.
The Rustichella d’Abruzzo line uses 70 per cent Italian wheat from Abruzzo and 30 per cent North American wheat, whereas the Rustichella d’Abruzzo PrimoGrano uses 100 per cent Italian wheat from Abruzzo. The result of using 100 per cent wheat from Abruzzo is a costlier product, but with excellent flavour.
Besides the wheat itself, the bronze die used to cut the pasta plays a significant role. It creates the roughness which helps the sauce adhere to the pasta. Most industrial brands will use Teflon dies which makes for fast production, but an inferior product, especially since this method also requires quick drying as opposed to slow-drying method used with bronze dies. The process is a bit more complicated, but artisan pastas using bronze dies are noticeably better in structure, texture, and flavour.
Rustichella d’Abruzzo is considered a smaller artisan pasta company and 90 per cent of their products are exported to North America since the pasta market in Italy is saturated.
The general labels are hard to read and since the type and quality of wheat is not specified, it’s challenging to judge what products and brands are worth it.
However, after traveling to the birthplace of pasta, meeting the people behind it, seeing the production process and facilities, I have no doubt Rustichella d’Abruzzo is a “Ferrari of Pastas” (as I’ve called it before).
There are other artisanal brands that could be as superior in Italy, but many unavailable in Vancouver as to why their PrimoGrano line is my go-to.
This week Mijune will be at the Chowzter Awards, Mistura (Latin America’s biggest food festival) and San Pellegrino’s Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants in Lima, Peru. Follow her adventures in #FMFinPeru. Find out more about Mijune at FollowMeFoodie.com or follow her on Twitter and Instagram @followmefoodie.
