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The Mr. and the kids like Nature's Promise whole wheat pasta, so that's what I buy. I don't really pasta all that much, so it makes no difference to me.
We buy mostly the store brand pasta from Aldi or Lidl. They are manufactured in Italy by Rey Pastificio S.R.L. (Aldi) and Pasta Zara S.P.A. (Lidl) and cost always €0.49 per 500g (about $0.49 per lb).
We also buy Swabian Spätzle from Aldi or Lidl for €0.69 per 500g.
For a noodle salad the cook exists on "Gabelspaghetti". That is a specific formed egg noodle from name brand manufacturer Birkel. I occasionally look for special sales for these noodles. When I have found a good deal, I buy a lot of them, so the stock will last for about a year. I reject to pay the full price for these overpriced Birkel noodles.
Sometimes we buy these "fancier" pasta, that can sometimes be found at Aldi or Lidl. But we would never spend more than €2 per 500g. I already get the gripes when the pasta cost more than €1 per 500g.
BTW, since it appears you live in the Chicago area, I wonder which New World Pasta brand is available in your area. Both Creamette and Prince appear to be available in the state of Illinois, however, it may vary based on which part of the state.
Actually, I have BOTH at my Jewel. Between Creamette and Prince and the Jewel Store Brand, I buy whichever is either A) the least expensive, or B) has the type that I'm looking for.
Of course there is a reason. The reason is that Barilla makes a lot of advertising for their pasta.
Speaking of this, recently for the first time on the radio I have been hearing ads for American Beauty, stating that it was created by an Italian immigrant and is grown with American wheat, where the best wheat makes the best pasta, meaning it isn't necessarily Italian nor American, but the best combination of both.
Looks like New World Pasta is more aggressively marketing its brands to better compete with Barilla. American Beauty's bright red packaging makes sense, since it is both an Italian color and red is often viewed as the color of beauty.
Most of New World Pasta's brands primarily use a shade of blue (light blue for Prince, medium blue for Ronzoni, and dark blue for Skinner), except for American Beauty (bright red), San Giorgio (dark red/gold), and Creamette (green). Perhaps New World Pasta needs to make some of its brands more distinctive in color, since blue is also Barilla's signature color. Perhaps Prince can be pink and Skinner can be yellow.
I suppose the fact that they are no longer considered anti-gay may be the reason some people won't buy the product?
Not looking for a political discussion here, just a short answer on whether it's the product itself or the company's policy that is the issue.
I was pretty angry about this incident. But I have never bought Barilla pasta before this incident, nor after this.
Why should I buy such overpriced pasta? I can't eat the advertising. Pretty sure that Barilla pasta isn't better than other pasta and here is the proof:
There was just recently a test by the leading German consumer organization "Stiftung Warentest". The best spaghetti was the store brand spaghetti from Kaufland for €0.49 per 500g. Barilla was second, not bad, but for €1.59 for 500g? Most other store brand spaghetti were as good as Barilla and they all cost just €0.49 per 500g. The Barilla pasta cost more than 3 times more
Even when Barilla pasta is on sale, even with the best deal, they would still cost €0.79 per 500g. That's still 61% more than the regular price for the store brand spaghetti. Why should I spend so much more for a product that really isn't btter? In my opinion it's really foolish to buy Barilla pasta. No offense, maybe it's completely different in the U.S. Maybe the store brand pasta in the U.S. doesn't taste so good or maybe Barilla is way cheaper in the U.S. than they are in Germany. Or maybe other testing institutes came to completely different results.
maybe Barilla is way cheaper in the U.S. than they are in Germany. Or maybe other testing institutes came to completely different results.
Barilla sometimes goes on sale, but it seems to be less frequent than American Beauty around here. In fact, American Beauty will often be the same price as the store brand during one of their sales. I'm not sure if this applies to other New World Pasta brands in other parts of the country.
One thing to wonder is whether or not all the regional New World Pasta brands are identical. One user here said that she wasn't into Ronzoni but liked Creamette. However, Creamette didn't become part of New World Pasta until 2001.
Of the brands you've named, I've only seen Ronzoni. I always buy Barilla. I had some Italians living here tell me that's the best. Hasn't let me down yet.
I buy Barilla on sale for about $1.25-1.50 per box. It used to be $1 per box on sale but I don't see that anymore. That makes it comparable to the store brand on price. I personally like the texture and taste better so I'd pay a small premium. Not twice as much but since pasta has a very long shelf life, it's easy to stock up when there is a sale.
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Between Creamette and Prince and the Jewel Store Brand, I buy whichever is either A) the least expensive, or B) has the type that I'm looking for.
