Smiley360 sent me two boxes of new Barilla Pronto pasta to try out at home.
With this pasta there's no waiting for the water to boil. You add the pasta to a large pan, add 3 cups of cold water, turn it on high and set your timer for 10 minutes and wait until the water is absorbed. There's no draining needed because all the water gets absorbed by the pasta so you can add your favorite sauce right to the pan if that's what you want to do. Stir frequently and serve with whatever sauce and add ons you want.
The pasta got done in my pan in just 10 minutes and I didn't have to wait for the water to boil before adding it in. I did have to add an additional 1/2 cup of water since the pasta wasn't done once all the water was absorbed and it stuck to the bottom of my pan a little, which I didn't like.
I added a pasta sauce and meatballs to mine and we had this for dinner along with salad. It was simple, tasty and easier to make than I thought it would be. I was afraid the pasta would stick together but it didn't which was nice.
Then a week later we tried the Barilla Pronto Spaghetti noodles and the instructions are the same. Add the noodles to a pan, add 3 cups of cold water, turn on high and cook for 10 minutes until all water is absorbed.
This time it took 13 minutes and I had to add an additional cup of water when the spaghetti didn't get done and the water had been absorbed in the allotted time.
While the taste of the spaghetti noodles was good what I didn't like is that it stuck to my pan quite a bit as you can see in the picture below.
So while this pasta tastes good and you don't have to wait for the water to boil or drain the noodles you do have to stir all the time, it sticks to the bottom of the pan, you might need to add more water and you have to make the entire box at one time.
Would I buy this? Probably not. It tastes good, just like any other noodle but I have to make the entire box which is just too much for the two of us and some is wasted since it sticks to the pan and while I don't have to wait for the water to boil, I do have to stir and watch it more closely. Might be a great product for some but I'll stick with regular pasta that I drop into boiling water and don't have to worry about it sticking to the bottom of my pan.
Disclaimer: I was sent a free product from Smiley360 in exchange for an honest review.
Adding just the right amount of water is what you should do when you cook rice, but only using very low heat, a covered saucepan and some butter to stop the rice sticking. Are you sure the pasta tastes as good using this method?
ReplyDeleteThe pasta was good. I just didn't like how it cooked and stuck to the pan. I made rice the way you described as well.
DeleteGood review, Mary. I do like the Barilla no cook lasagna, but this product doesn't sound so great.
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried the lasagna.
Deletekind of off topic but spaghetti/pasta always use to fascinate me. The transformation from dry to cooked is much different.
ReplyDeleteI can understand that. It really does transform.
Deletesounds like a good idea, but doesn't seem to work well.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. If it hadn't stuck to the pan, I would have been happier.
DeleteIs it precooked which reduces the time? I prefer my own pasta--and use to regularly make it--but that got old.
ReplyDeleteI didn't read anything about it being precooked. It looks and feels just like any other hard pasta in a box.
DeleteDon't think I've ever seen them sold here
ReplyDeleteMaybe they will in the future.
DeleteNever heard of these, the whole water absorption thing is kinda odd. You must feel like you're bursting with pasta by the time your done eating it. lol
ReplyDeletelol it made a lot so we had plenty of left overs.
DeleteHrms. Yeah I don't think that would be the pasta for me. Nice idea but not if it doesn't work out quite right and you have to stir the whole time.
ReplyDeleteI've made mac & cheese with regular noodles that you do somewhat the same. Cooking them in the milk instead of water and then adding the cheese. So no water to pour out. Worked fairly nicely.
I tend to do other things like chopping my veggies and sauteing my sauce while the pasta boils so this probably wouldn't work for me.
ReplyDelete