Saturday, September 19, 2009
#3rd vogole video : it is essential use bronze die/cut pasta
Here Francesco Mazzei explains the reason for using better quality bronze die/cut pasta.
The quality and choice of pasta is very important as it affects the pasta water needed to create the perfect "emulsione" and determine retention ratio of this almost creamy sauce.
Better quality and artisanal pasta have certain key advantages over the key industrial brands . Firtstly they extrude their pasta through bronze dies hat leave microstriations (ridges, grooves, etc.) to capture and hold the sauce.
Second, they dry the pasta at lower temperatures. While this takes longer, it preserves the fine flavors of the wheat.
And finally I also have the impression that the quality of the starch in the pasta water (essential in this dish) is far superior.
I use Garofalo one of the producers from Gragnano reputed to be the best areas for dry pasta making as well as Guiseppe Cocco from Abruzzo another highly rated area . The latter is available in Waitrose whilst most good delis will sell at least one brand of high quality pasta.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I once bought the supermarket brand pasta that proudly said it used organics wheat. It might have been organic but it definitely wasn't durum and it turned to glug. (Not sure it was bronze cut either!)
Joy
Thanks for passing by.
I think you are right the fact the wheat is organic is less inportant than it being durum wheat and other factors like drying time , water and cut.
I agree, Giuseppe Cocco, is a terrific pasta. I buy it at Waitrose. Another very good bronze die pasta from Abruzzo that's widely available in the UK is Rustichello d'Abruzzo. I get Garafalo pasta at the Gastronomica shop, Borough Market. Other premium pastas to look for are Latini, Sataro, La Molisana and Maestri. And De Cecco claims to extrude its pasta through bronze dies: if you run your fingers over its linguine and spaghetti they do feel rough.
Post a Comment