Is supermarket pasta any different to branded?

[reallyworriedjobhunter]

I am talking normal pasta.

One of the tubes in this photo is Napolina and one is Sainsbury's. No discernable difference at all? The Napolina one is very slightly bigger.

For a 500g packet, Napolina is £1.50 and Sainsbury's is 69p.

Napolina is on the left btw.

I always buy either Barilla or De Cecco. Noticeable difference.

I wouldn't care how different I thought it was, I wouldn't pay for the dearer one.

I've never paid 1.50 for pasta in my life, so have no idea. But I can confirm supermarket cheapo pasta is fine for me.

make it yourself, it is only egg and flour, and put it through a pasta flattener

I've always bought Tesco's own pasta. Sadly I've just worked out that I've been buying it for nearly 30 years

My kids or husband don't notice so I go for the cheapest.

I pay more for De Cecco. It’s worth it. Otherwise, the other brands are all the same as the supermarket ones.

There’s a difference in texture between bronze die and non bronze die pasta. I prefer pasta with a bit more surface texture. But regular dried non egg pasta is the same whether branded or own brand.

Ain't Nobody Got Time Fo Dat

Why? I mean honestly. And I say that as someone who very much enjoys cooking from scratch. But when I get home from work and want to knock up a pasta dish I will generally do it without pretending I’m on Come Dine With Me.

I like ones without added water

I go by cooking times. 5-7 minutes? No thanks

10+ minutes? Okay

And if I want something better than 'just pasta' I'll go for whichever of the premium brands is available in the size, shape I want. There is a noticeable difference but I don't always need the best, a bit like having posh and every day olive oils

Peak Mumsnet 😂😂

dont think it is anything to do with mumsnet. Lots of kids love doing this

I rarely buy named brand food as I genuine can't tell the difference. Sainsbury's own brand Weetabix is a third of the price of the real thing and I am sure it's the same thing.

That said, named brand pasta cooks better, has better texture and taste than own brand stuff.

I tried Rummo as it was on offer at Ocado. Noticeable difference to the texture and really made a difference! But it’s £2.50 normally. I also think Garafalo is amazing too but only buy when on offer.

My DC get the 30p basics pasta as they don’t care. I’m not spending £1.50.

My uncle is Italian, when he visited us here and cooked for us he bought de cecco and said it was the better of the supermarket shelf pasta so I go for that now.
He usually makes his own which is obviously miles better but I absolutely cannot be arsed 😂

I watched a blind taste test with de cecco where none could tell the difference from a value supermarket brand!

Pasta should be an off white not the yellow colour of most branded pasta.

The Lidl deluxe pasta tastes different to the basic own brand version

That’s ‘cause Napolina is crap pasta 😂! At least do a taste comparison with a half decent brand available in uk supermarkets like De Cecco or Rummo.

😂😂 Dried pasta is durum wheat and water, then dried. (Only a small portion is dried egg pasta). Without the water you would have a heap of flour !!

I normally buy supermarket ones but my parents actually brought back a couple of packs of authentic Italian pasta from their hols and OMFG. I never knew just how amazing REAL pasta tastes. Now I buy it as a treat a couple of times a month if I'm making home made sauce or when making a bit more effort with cooking, but normally just stick with good old Tesco own brand. The difference though 😋😋

Feel better for that do you? 🙄

some pasta ingredients are durum wheat semolina, water

I buy the ones without water listed