Since coming back from Rome, I’ve dreamed of the spaghetti I’ve had in Italy but have never found a restaurant or even handmade that replicates those restaurants.

It’s thick and chewy with the perfect bite and an affinity for capturing any sauce, from carbonara to pesto. Screenshots from the Instagram pages of Roman restaurants attached 😂

Dried spaghetti in the United States tend to be thinner. They can be cooked to “al dente”, but tends to have a hard bite instead of chewy bite, and cooking longer just makes it soft/mushy. Even dried imported Italian pasta I’ve found does the same.

Anyone know where I can find the spaghetti I’ve had in Italy or how to make it myself? Ideally exactly the same type as in the pics.

by Higher6752

10 Comments

  1. francescoscanu03

    That seems more bigoli or bucatini to me, spaghetti have like a 1 or 2 mm diameter.
    Maybe you could try an italian gastronomy where you can buy fresh pasta.

  2. jbaiter

    Those look like Bucatini, my favorite long pasta by far. De Cecco makes a decent dried version that you can usually find online pretty easily, at least here in Europe.

  3. o_Max301_o

    Good pasta quality, following the cooking time written on the packing and usually a tad of butter mixed in just before serving.

  4. scrutator_tenebrarum

    We put them in boiling water and for only 7/8 minutes

  5. 5tr82hell

    The pasta in the picture looks like fresh pasta, it’s thicker and chewier and definitely tastier than dry pasta. You can make it at home if you can’t find it in any store.

  6. Old-Satisfaction-564

    You will find it funny, but I was reading that what is currently considered the best durum weath for pasta making is produced in the USA but most of the production is bought by Italian companies like Rummo and others, shipped to Italy and transformed in pasta.

    >Desert Durum” is a collection of wheat varieties that were developed by and under the ownershipof the Arizona Grain Research & Promotion Council and the California Wheat Commission. These wheats are produced in the deserts and dry lowlands of both states under irrigation. These are regions of high temperature (above 32C in May and June) and low rainfall (annual precipitation of less than 200 mm). The wheat is typically planted from November through February, and harvested in May or June. This gives Desert Durum an advantage because they enter the international and domestic market from 1 to 3 months before the spring durum crops from other parts of North America. The Desert Durum varieties are “Desert King”, “Duraking”, “Havasu”, “Kronos”, “Maestrale”, “Ocotillo”, “Orita”, “RSI 59”, “Saragolla”, “Sky”, “WB-Mead”, and “Westmore”. These wheats have been thoroughly evaluated for various agronomic and quality characters: Protein and Moisture Content, 100-KW, Kernel Size, Milling and Semolina characteristics, and Pasta- Making quality including color and firmness. A detailed chart of all this data is available.

    >There is considerable export demand surfacing for U.S. durum in the last 2-3 years and domestic demand is still fairly sluggish. But there are encouraging signs that domestic pasta makers will buy more Desert Durums in the future. In fact some of these varieties have already started to move to the elevators.

    >Looking to USDA report the planting estimate for the U.S. desert durum region in 2012 was 90,000 acres in Arizona – up 13 percent from last year, and California was up 17 percent at 140,000 acres for a combined planting of 230,000 desert durum acres. Estimating yield at about 100 bushels/acre, the potential yield is around 23 million bushels – up from the area’s more traditional level of 16-18 million in recent years, but lower than the all-time high of more than 30 million bushels.

  7. External-Youth-7872

    those look more like pici than spaghetti to me! pici is thick, handrolled spaghetti so it has more heft and bite

  8. Gingorthedestroyer

    Cook your pasta less at home.

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