'I do not eat any of those': Chef-owner of local Italian restaurant Kucina dishes out tips on choosing pasta

Walk down the aisle of any supermarket, and often, you're greeted with an abundance of choice.

That may not always be to your benefit, especially if you have no idea how to differentiate quality products from mediocre ones.

When it comes to choosing high-quality dry pasta, you can't go wrong with insights from an Italian chef.

On Thursday (Dec 21), Chef Gero from Kucina Italian, a halal Italian restaurant located in Tanjong Katong, shared a TikTok clip of him providing such tips from inside a local supermarket. 

@kucinaitaliansg The BEST pasta to buy at the supermarket 🍝 #fypsg #sgtiktok #sgfoodie #sghalal #sgmakan ♬ Lovin On Me - Jack Harlow

"The more yellow the pasta, the worse the quality," Chef Gero said.

Dark-yellow pasta would mean it was dried at a higher temperature very quickly.

Chef Gero explained that pasta should be dried at a lower temperature and for at least 30 hours.

Doing so will bring out the "light pale" colour that one should look out for when buying quality pasta.

Describing it as one of the best brands of pasta in Singapore, the Italian-Muslim chef recommends Rustichella d'Abruzzo.

He specifically picked out the egg pappardelle and farfalloni, and pointed to the fact that bronzer cutters were used in the making of these pastas.

Chef Gero mentioned that doing so provides the texture a chef would be looking for when preparing a pasta dish.

One thing to take note is that these pastas don't come cheap. A 250g portion of egg pappardelle costs $7.70 while 500g of farfalloni would set you back $8.30.

For comparison, a 500g packet of San Remo spaghetti costs $2.90.

Another brand Chef Gero recommends is De Cecco.

Features that stand out include how the pasta stays al dente and the quality of flour used is top-notch too.

Just head over to Kucina Italian and you'll see what he means. The restaurant uses pasta from De Cecco for its pasta dishes.

When it came to pasta he'd prefer to stay away from, Chef Gero admitted that he wasn't a big fan of San Remo pastas.

"I literally do not eat any of those," he said with a chuckle.

Picking up a packet of San Remo spaghetti and comparing it with a brand of pasta he deemed to be of higher quality, Chef Gero noted: "See the difference?"

The San Remo option is "super dark" and probably made with a rubber or plastic cutter instead, he explained.

Chef Gero mentioned that a good way to differentiate the quality of pastas is to buy fusilli or penne.

The better the quality, the easier it is for these pastas to retain their shape.

At the other end of the scale would be pastas that end up becoming too plump after the cooking process as it has absorbed "too much water", Chef Gero shared.

These tips are surely worth its weight in gold.

Chef Gero has more than 30 years of experience in Italian cuisine and opened Kucina Italian in June 2016.

Inspired by his grandmother's home-cooked food, the restaurant takes pride in serving authentic Italian dishes made from scratch.

ALSO READ: Kucina chef shares his famous halal aglio olio recipe, imparts professional tips for home cooking

amierul@asiaone.com

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