I’m an Italian cook – here are the telltale signs of quality pasta

An Italian chef has discovered the telltale signs of good quality pasta.

Francesco Mattana said he gets the question all the time, and while he can’t share a brand, he can share what people should be looking for.

The chef, who boasts more than 326,000 followers on TikTok, showed off two different penne pastas.

“They both use the exact same ingredients – durum wheat semolina and water,” he said.

But there was a fundamental difference. One was a light yellow color – almost an ivory.

“This means the pasta has been slowly dried and all the nutrients haven’t been burned,” he said.

Mr. Mattana said the surface should also be rough and dark. He suggested that people look for extruded drawn brass. This is because it absorbs water and allows for a creamy sauce.

He said it was the bright yellow pasta to watch out for, which means the pasta has been put through a “violent” drying process. Mr. Mattana said this meant a very high temperature for a short time.

Many social media users were surprised.

“I thought the pasta was yellow because of the eggs,” commented one social media user.

Another asked, “When should you use egg pasta vs. oatmeal pasta?”

“Not sure how I ended up on Pasta TikTok but that was a fantastic explanation,” another person added.

One commented: “Honestly, I live for these Italian food lessons.”

“I always tell people in the supermarket in Ireland, where I was born. Look at the color and not the price,” wrote a social media user.

It comes after leading nutritionist Shyla Cadogan said the way you eat your pasta could be what causes weight gain.

In a piece she wrote for research center StudyFinds, she explained that the recommended serving size for pasta is two ounces (56.7 g) of uncooked pasta, which equals about one cup of cooked pasta.

A typical serving has about 200 calories, 40 grams of carbohydrates, six grams of protein and one to two grams of fiber, according to Barilla, the world’s largest pasta maker.

Since pasta is mostly carbohydrates, people tend to see it as “empty calories,” Ms. But carbohydrates are the human body’s “preferred source of energy,” Cadogan wrote, so they actually provide nutrition.

Whole grain pasta specifically contains more fiber and protein, two things that will keep you fuller for longer and reduce the likelihood of overeating.

But things get nutritionally complicated when it comes to how pasta is prepared.

Adding sauces, butters, creams, meats and cheeses can add calories and inevitably end up making the whole dish unbalanced in beneficial nutrients.

People also choose to eat pasta as their main course rather than as a side, so they are more likely to eat more than the recommended serving size, Ms. Cadogan said.