Trader Joe’s Pasta Wins a Taste Test New York Magazine

Elizabeth Passarella
Elizabeth Passarella
Elizabeth Passarella is the author of the essay collection Good Apple and a contributing editor at Southern Living. A former editor at Real Simple and Vogue, she has spent more than 20 years writing about food, travel, home design, and parenting in outlets including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Parents, Martha Stewart Weddings, Coastal Living, Airbnb, and The Kitchn. Elizabeth grew up in Memphis, Tennessee and now lives with her husband and three children in New York City.
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published May 11, 2009
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May the cheapest pasta win! That’s what happened, anyway, when New York convened a panel to sample different store-bought, dried pasta. At 99 cents a pound, TJ’s was the least expensive pasta of the bunch, and it beat out some very fancy brands. Which grocery store staple came in last? Read on…

To be fair, the taste testers (three chefs from very high-end Italian restaurants in New York, plus one actor from the Sopranos) ate dried spaghetti, not the Trader Joe’s Anelletti pasta above, which Faith loves for this recipe: Dinner Quick: Anelletti Pasta with Sausage and Greens.

But we’re confident that TJ’s pasta in any shape would hold its own against other brands. It beat Setaro, which, according to the article, is what many chefs use. It costs $7 for 35 ounces. Maybe restaurants can start cutting costs by shopping at Trader Joe’s instead.

So what mainstream brand came in last? That would be Barilla.

• Go read the article: Last Noodle Standing, from New York

Related: Dry Pasta vs. Fresh Pasta: What’s the Difference?

(Image: Faith Durand)

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