What Brands Do Italians Trust?
- Thread starter OliveOil
- Start date
For pasta I like De Cecco, Buitoni and Napolina. Filippo Berio is well-known for olive oil, though I'm not so fond of the pesto. You can find organic ones or make your own. Loacker is my favorite biscuit supplier and there isn't anything by them I won't eat. These days many supermarkets do their own generic brands which are made by Italian companies so are cheaper and as good.
Really? It depends where you live, but Buitoni is easily found in most supermarkets and De Cecco is found in more upscale places. Filipo Berio oil can be found in most supermarkets too. In the UK you can find them readily and the pasta brands are also imported around the world. Perhaps in delis or high end supermarkets they stock them, but I have seen them around the world.
Buitoni is available here in the states and it is one that I would pick. I was not aware that it was as popular with Italians as well. It's hard to figure out which brands are truly Italian and ones that Italians actually use from the ones that they just market to the rest of the world.
My grandparents, who were both Italian, always bought Fillipo Berio olive oil - in fact I always loved the big one gallon cans it came in, and used to clean them out and save them when they were empty.
DeCecco and some of the other expensive brands of pasta out there, I generally don't buy, since I don't see much of a difference in quality in the end product once cooked. Even worse, some of the pricier pastas are thicker, and end up taking much longer to cook. I don't recall my grandparents ever buying the more expensive brands of pasta - they were pretty tight with their money, and usually stuck with the more common brands, basically anything that was on sale. They would only splurge for certain ingredients. Not to mention, they would often make pasta from scratch themselves.
For cheese like Parmesan or Romano, never ever ever ever get those shelf stable, non refrigerated grated cheeses - always grate your own, or buy it fresh from a place that grates it fresh daily.
For candy, they were always partial to La Florentine brand Nougat. They come in these very ornate boxes, in which the individual portions are in their own boxes and wrappers as well.
DeCecco and some of the other expensive brands of pasta out there, I generally don't buy, since I don't see much of a difference in quality in the end product once cooked. Even worse, some of the pricier pastas are thicker, and end up taking much longer to cook. I don't recall my grandparents ever buying the more expensive brands of pasta - they were pretty tight with their money, and usually stuck with the more common brands, basically anything that was on sale. They would only splurge for certain ingredients. Not to mention, they would often make pasta from scratch themselves.
For cheese like Parmesan or Romano, never ever ever ever get those shelf stable, non refrigerated grated cheeses - always grate your own, or buy it fresh from a place that grates it fresh daily.
For candy, they were always partial to La Florentine brand Nougat. They come in these very ornate boxes, in which the individual portions are in their own boxes and wrappers as well.
I agree @OhioTom76 about the pasta, as I buy DeCecco when it is on offer. Their linguine does taste better somehow, but when I am on a budget I will buy the store brand. The difference is very slight, but I see it as a nice treat for myself with some good pesto. I don't know why it takes longer to cook, but it's only a few minutes more, maybe because of the heavier dough used?
These days there are more generic brands to choose from and you can buy huge family size sacks now, which could work out cheaper.
These days there are more generic brands to choose from and you can buy huge family size sacks now, which could work out cheaper.
Hm, maybe they are sold under a different brand name over here, then. I buy Barilla pasta which I'm pretty sure exists in all of Europe. I also buy a lot of Zeta stuff. Olive oil, vinegar, that sort of stuff. I'm pretty sure I've seen Zeta in other European countries. Not sure if I've seen it in the UK, though.
Barilla is everywhere, but De Cecco is definitely in parts of the US in Italian stores or delis. I doubt they use another name as many old Italian companies have their trademarks established. I'm sure you will come across them when you aren't looking. Most supermarkets may not stock them, but I did find Loacker in Stop and Shop in the US at a hugely inflated price.