Product Review- Italpasta Pasta (NOT paid review!!!!!!)

I have to reiterate, this IS NOT A PAID REVIEW!! When I find a good/cool/funky product, I have to spread the word!

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A while ago, my best friend Sindy and I were talking on the phone. She kept raving about this pasta (dry) named Italpasta. I kept thinking: "Pasta is pasta. What's the big deal?" I know I should listen to Sindy, because she and I like the same things, but still, it's frigging pasta, if you know what I mean.

In my house, pasta usually is spaghetti (or some other long, skinny pasta if I am cooking for both hubby and I as he prefers the long stuff)or macaroni (what I cook for myself if I am eating alone). It comes dry, in a bag, for cheapcheapcheap. I usually bought a brand name pasta like Unico, because that is what I grew up on. Generally I heat up Prego spaghetti sauce with green peppers and mushrooms (and sometimes add cooked ground beef or meatballs) and toss it on the pasta. If I am feeling really fancy, I might dig out the Parmesan and add a dusting of that. Pasta is not "a big deal" in our house. It's cheap, easy, and fills a hole. I love to cook, but to me, it is not worth it to make pasta as I would much prefer a steak or a roast.

So when I ran out of dry pasta, I thought I would try Italpasta. It is a bit more expensive per bag (about 30-50 cents). But what a difference! It had taste and texture and flavour!

Taste: Before, I had never really thought about how my pasta tasted; it was just a "delivery system" for the sauce. The taste difference between it and "regular" dry pasta is kind of like the difference between Wonder bread and artisan bread. Same ingredients, but totally different experience. It has a kind of bold "wheaty" taste. Do make sure you salt your pasta water, as this boosts the flavour.

Texture: Even al dente, my old pasta was kind of limp and mushy, but I could not cook it any less as then it would be crunchy. Not exactly what I was looking for. Italpasta is truly al dente. Firm to the tooth without sogginess. The texture was actually surprising (in a good way) to me. The old pasta I found I had to cook about 2 minutes less than the package suggested to get al dente. For Italpasta, I have to cook it about 2 minutes more than suggested. YMMV.

No surprise that I strongly suggest Italpasta.

Pros: Flavour! Taste! Texture!
Cons: Slightly more expensive. Takes a bit longer to cook. Well worth the effort.

So, unless you make your own pasta or live in Italy, skip the Starbucks once every couple of months and treat yourself. You'll be glad you did!