Chefs and Foodies Used to Hate This Ingredient. Now They Can’t Stop Using It.

Not too long ago, packaged pasta from the grocery store was somewhat taboo. Chefs and food fanatics often touted the superiority of pasta fatta a mano, where handmade fresh cut versions were considered the more elevated option, especially when dining at a restaurant. But thanks to increasing access to excellent wheat mills, high quality bronze die machines, and crafters unwilling to cut corners, artisan dried pasta is having a major renaissance here in the West.

Perhaps this trend was spurred by the pandemic, when many stockpiled their pantries with dried foods known for their long shelf life and versatility, bolstering a new passion for home cooking. Or maybe it’s the pervasive nature of chef-driven consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands with a focus on sustainability and local sourcing. Heck, we could even point to noodz-obsessed social media, where there’s an unending scroll of gratuitous noodle pulls and one-pot pasta recipes. All of those factors paired with a continued interest in the Slow Food movement have made for a perfect time for well-made packaged pasta to enter the zeitgeist.

Thomas J. Story

“Thanks to crusaders like Alice Waters, Michael Pollan, and Dan Barber, we’ve been taught to ask where our food comes from. Buying pantry items that support organic crops and regenerative practices helps take care of the land that future generations will harvest from, and new options created with this ethos in mind allow consumers to feel great about the choices they’re making,” says chef Ryan Pollnow of Flour + Water, who recently launched their CPG pasta product.

“Dried pasta represents comfort, ease, and nostalgia,” he says. “That’s universal to all varieties of dried noodles, so it’s exciting to see specialized pasta players who are crafting products with a lot of intention and care based on their distinct areas of expertise.”

Here are some of the best on the market made right here in the West.

Courtesy of Flour + Water

Flour + Water

Chefs Thomas McNaughton and Ryan Pollnow have dedicated their careers to the pursuit of crafting the perfect pasta, so it’s no shocker that their dried pasta is top notch. At their Mission district restaurant Flour + Water, they’ve made nearly 80 different shapes in-house, and now they’re offering a product for home cooks to get the taste at home. They use a more labor intensive method than what you’ll find on commercial grocery shelves, extruding the dough through bronze dies rather than Teflon. And the wheat is organic semolina grown on regenerative farms. The result is an incredibly tasty pasta with a perfectly al dente texture that absorbs sauce supremely well.

Courtesy of Semolina

Semolina

Leah Ferrazzani started her Pasadena-based business drying her handmade pasta in her laundry room in 2017, and now the business has evolved into a community pasta shop and market called Ferrazzani’s. Her dried pastas, which also use the bronze die method, use a slow and low drying process that makes for excellent texture. She uses an ancient variety of durum wheat, making the noodles hold their shape and not get gummy. The pastas are some of the best on the market, with the organic rigatoni being a staple in my cupboards. Ferrazzani says it’s excellent in Roman-style pastas like alla Gricia or Cacio e Pepe, but it’s adding a classic ragù that does it for me.

Courtesy of Fly by Jing

Fly by Jing

L.A.-based Fly By Jing specializes in exactingly crafted food inspired by the Sichuan region in China, known for its boldly flavored and spicy dishes. Their chili crisp remains the gold standard stateside, and now Founder Jing Gao and her team are making sun-dried pasta so you can craft your own noodle dishes like they do at Sua Superette. Similar in shape to the Trader Joe’s squiggly knife-cut noodles, Jing’s version grabs the chili crisp and really hangs on. To make it a full-blown meal, chop up some tofu and add stir fried greens, then toss it all in a simple dressing of whisked sesame paste (or peanut butter,) rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, and the sauce packet of the chili crisp that comes along with each batch.

Courtesy of Giadzy

Giadzy

Good gluten-free pasta—especially of the dried variety—is hard to come by, but Giada De Laurentiis has cracked the code. The taccole, with its adorable ruffled edges and excellent texture, is our favorite cut. It’s basically a mini lasagna noodle that holds meaty Bolognese incredibly well. Though it’s made with organic, non-GMO corn and rice flours, you’d never know it was gluten-free. (There are also pastas made with semolina flour available.)

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