Written By Chef Robert Bell
The average American eats 20 pounds of pasta per year.
Dried pasta varies in price, from less than $2 a pound to $10 for organic, slow-dried, rough-finished “Artesian” pasta, [“Macaroni, when I was a kid!”]
As with wine, people ask if the $10 per pound pasta is five times better than the $2 a pound pasta. No – it is not. However, it is much better! I think back to the time I asked an expert about golf balls. I
questioned him, “So, which ball is best for me?” He firmly answered, “The most expensive one you can afford!”
We are talking about dried pasta. Fresh or Homemade is a subject for another time. Dried pasta is wheat flour and water. The flour is hard wheat flour, coarsely ground, high protein flour called Semolina. Aside from the quality of the flour, the two most important pasta-making procedures are the methods of drying and the type of extrusion.
Once the dough is kneaded in a pasta machine, it is pushed through die-holes or extrusions. The die can be nylon, Teflon coated, or bronze. The more expensive bronze dies to make pasta that is rough in texture, which can be seen as tiny burrs. This rough finish holds more sauce than a smooth finish and has a much better mouth feel.
Drying time and temperature – the difference in texture – high temperature, quick dried pasta tends to be hard, then mushy – never al dente. This is because the proteins are cooked during high-temperature drying.
The cost of much slower drying time [as long as four-to-five days] is reflective texture, aroma, and flavor of the finished pasta.
Pasta is very much like bread, when good wheat is used, you get the same results as slow-rising bread. It even tastes good eaten plain.
My go-to inexpensive pasta is the well-known brand De Cecco.
” Now, I like this expensive pasta, Il Mulino di Gragnano. It’s really very good.”
The best selection of pasta, shapes, and quality, is found at The Great American International Seafood Market in Golden Cove Center.
Robert Bell was raised in Brooklyn and began his relationship with food and cooking in the real Mama Terano’s kitchen. His beloved grandmother, Millie Terrano, brought Italian cooking into her Italian American New York kitchen and inspired her grandson’s life passion. He invents new recipes, rarely prepares the same dish twice, and shares his love for and devotion to food and wine with the lucky residents of Palos Verdes every day at his Mama Terano restaurant, located on the Brick Walk. To learn more, visit mamaterano.com, or for reservations, call (310) 377-5757.
