So, being raised in a household where just buying Barilla was a literal no-brainer. I started some years ago making fresh egg pasta and never went back. With durum pasta i still went on to just buy Barilla. And with all the flag the brand is getting i decided to go ahead and buy all the normal priced (as in not super expensive stuff) brands that where on the shelf to compare them.
| Brands | Price per 500g |
|---|---|
| Etna | 1,49€ |
| Molisana Collezione da Chef | 1,49€ |
| Barilla | 1,49€ |
| Molisana (normal pack) | 1,69€ |
| Divella | 1,29€ |
| De Cecco | 2,79€ |
| Molisana Pastificio Extra Di Lusso | 2,59€ |
This sequece was chosen by how they appeared on my receipt. I made a very simple Sugo of passata, garlic, onions and some vegetable broth i had left over. All pasta was cooked to al dente according to the packaging and finished with some pasta water and a laddle of sauce. Same size of pan, amount of fresh water and salt. Same weight of pasta cooked each time.
Here is my results:
- Etna: very incosistent lenghts in the pasta, had the most swelling aif all the pasta. a weird taste of musty old wheat. Bit was firm but not in a good way, seemed inconsistent with the texture. 1,5/5
- Molisana Collezione da Chef: Way better mouth feel than the Etna. Very standard taste of wheat pasta with a firm and nice bite. Pretty middle of the road with not too much of unique flavours, but also means no bad ones… 3/5
- Barilla: Weirdly the bite is nice, but the pasta crumbles while chewing. This pasta has a sub-par coating with the sauce, eventhough it had its cook time, the core of the pasta is not cooked through. No real taste of the pasta noticeable. 2,5/5
- Molisana: A nice bite to it. It cooked very well and the sauce clings to the pasta for dear life. A little wheat taste but not too noticeable. This is probably as close as to how i would imagine pasta tastes in a normal dish. 3,5/5
- Divella: Again, like with the Etna it is really noticeable that the pasta is inconsistent in length, the cutting tool created really rough edges. The bite is okay, but there is a little aftertaste that reminds me of cardboard. Sauce does not stick to the pasta well. 2/5
- De Cecco: The first thing you note, is the excellent bite, just on the point of an al dente pasta. The flavour is noticeable, but in a good way. It compliments the sauce nicely and does an alround excellent job. 4,5/5
- Molisana Pastificio: Again a very good bite, eventhough it is not as good as the De Cecco. This pasta again is holding back on flavour, eating it for the comparison is probably the only reason i noticed it at all. But it is nice! Good integration of sauce to the shape of the penne. 4/5
In conclusion i was kinda relieved that the more expensive pasta did a better job. So its not really a scam, but not worth the extra money if you have kids to feed. BUT i clearly have been stirred away from barilla. It just showed that for really the same money you can have better, in my case with standard Molisana. Hope someone found this helpful.
But my big takeaway: try it in direct comparison…
by gio_cgn
41 Comments
Thanks for your research.
Next time compare also Rummo if you find it
De Cece all the way, always bought just the cheapest pasta but switched to this one last year and I’m never going back
Love that you did this. I will check out De Cecco as think we have it in the UK. I recognise the packet anyway
Finally some good content on this sub.
Noice job
Barilla should be 1/5. Yucky
I thought De Cecco is low quality pasta lol
Barilla is garbage
De Cecco is great but Delverde is king of the store bought pasta.
At first look I thought it was a ranking, not just a list and I couldn’t why de cecco was so down
Ur my Real hero
De Cecco is my all time fave and I feel validated. I’ve also never tried the other pastas on the list except for Barilla.
i found the pasta sold in Trader Joe’s very good considering the price of 99 cents / lb
This is very local to New England / North East US but if you live in an area with Ocean State Job Lot, they often have De Cecco for $1-$2 / lb. I loaded up on 5lb bags of everything I could find for $7 / bag the other day.
If you don’t live in an area with OSJL, it’s basically an outlet store for unsold merchandise from other bigger stores. Often the food section will have imported pantry items that the plebs at Walmart wouldn’t buy.
They used to have 28oz Cento San Marzano tomatoes for $1 too but those are closer to $3-$4 these days
Didn’t have to read your post to know De Cecco was nr. 1.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the better pastas were cut with bronze dies rather than steel, as well
I avoid Barilla in Italy, would do the same abroad.
If given the choice outside Italy, I would have bought Molisana.
Among the missing brands I would have looked for Rummo (as other suggested) or Garofalo.
I like your distinction of normal priced. My local Italian market can also have some crazy priced pasta stocked sometimes😂
Love this! If you have an Aldi near you, check out their Priano bronze cut pasta. Inexpensive and tasty.
https://www.aldi.us/product/priano-bronze-cut-rigatoni-1-lb-0000000000009042
Good content, but in my experience, La Molisana, I mean the normal one, is WAY better than De Cecco and its Pastificio variant. IMO nothing beats normal Molisana, I even tried a lot of “artisan” brands like Mancini, Rustichella D’Abruzzo, Felicetti, Gentile and so on, as well as Rummo, Garofalo and other pastas of similar grade. Molisana is so good that I even ordered a lot of packs online since my local supermarkets only have De Cecco available (here in Germany).
De Cecco all the way! Love their bucatini cut.
I saw something on Instagram (?) a couple years ago where an Italian guy was saying to stay away from the darker, more yellow smooth pasta; that the lighter yellow / “matte” looking pasta will be at least passable. That seems to be confirmed by your mini-study! Thanks for this – very interesting 😊
de cecco is one of the cheapest ones in nyc, right? or am i confused? I often choose it bc it’s the most affordable for a lot of shapes
Putting De Cecco on my shopping list! Thank you for doing the good work! 🍝
Wow thanks for this research! I’m impressed! I grew up on Barilla, but then my parents went to Italy and my mom came back with some store bought pasta from there and there was a huge difference. After tasting that, Barilla tasted so cheap and fake. Of course I can’t go to Italy everytime I want to make pasta lol so I have to settle for what I can buy at the store in America. I’m going to try De Cecca next time!
You missed Garofalo. This brand and Molisana are my favorites.
The kroger private selection bronze cut pastas are actually pretty great. Give them a try if you get a chance!
DeCecco gang ftw!
OP out here doing real work
Molisana for me over de cecca, especially la molisana square spaghetti, it’s the best in this price range imo
LOVE this type of content
You’ve inspired me, I’m about to go do a pasta comparison myself!
De Cecco always turns out great. since I’m Coeliac I really like Rummo, the texture of their gluten free pasta is really good
Great content!!!
Would be interested to know how you felt after eating each type of pasta. I have a hart time digesting enriched pasta, get like a bloated feeling. I believe Barilla and De Cecco are enriched (added niacin, iron, folic acid). Not sure about the others. Although you are in Germany so they may not enrich there like they do in US.
De cecco supremacy!
Hi, I like pasta.
The Barilla and divella look just horrible in the lineup of dried pasta. I wouldn’t even consider trying them. The more yellow/orange color you see, the lower the quality due to forcing a quick dry with heat. The problem hear is it removes the starches that are necessary in a good pasta plus loses proteins. The whiter the pasta is is a sign of a slow dry which maintains the starches and proteins. The starch allows the sauce to stick to the pasta, so you should never rinse after cooking. The other problem I see with those two is they look so smooth. A good pasta will have a rough exterior like a sand paper. This is another element that looks the sauce to stick to the pasta.
As much as I hate to shill for Walmart, their Bettergoods brand dried pasta is one of my absolute favorites; the selection of shapes is phenomenal (radiatore is my favorite) and the price is great
The best pasta is made at home, not bought premade.
I got De Cecco substituted in my last grocery order when the store-brand was out of stock. Hated paying double for spaghetti, but it *was* noticeably better than Great Value…esp with my homemade minimalist sauce (basically what you made, but with a splash of wine instead of broth). Even my husband noticed what a nice “bite” the De Cecco had.
I’ll probably get it again, likely just for special occasions though, until overall grocery prices in the US come back down to earth.