The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science

absorb sauce more easily once cooked. Of the major
supermarket brands available in the United States, I prefer
Barilla brand. When possible, though, I shop at Italian
markets that import high-quality small-batch pasta from
Italy. What’s the difference? Many of the inexpensive mass-
market brands use Teflon-coated dies in order to speed up
production. These dies result in a smooth finish on the pasta.
Traditional brass dies are slower to extrude but produce a
rougher texture. When shopping for dried pasta, compare
the texture of the noodles and pick the brand with the
roughest-looking finish.