One of these is not like the other Print

Remember that song on Sesame Street?  "One of these things is not like the other... can you tell which one?"

I was in the grocer the other day, shopping for ingredients to make Mimi's Gouda Mac and Cheese.  I naturally needed elbow macaroni and found myself wondering which one do I buy.  Should I get the healthy pasta or the inexpensive pasta?  There's so many to choose from, that I had to read the back labels to decide which one was better.  I ended up buying three different pastas; a healthy brand, a regular name brand, and a generic store brand.  I'm gonna let you decide which one is better.

CAN YOU TELL WHICH PASTA IS HEALTHY, REGULAR, AND GENERIC ?
Let's look at the actual pasta first, shall we? See any big differences?

pasta comparison 2

Not really, the middle noodle is slightly darker.  Let's go another angle.
Anything different?

compare 3

Let's study their NUTRITION FACTS and see if you can find anything there.

nutrition facts of elbow macaroni

PLEASE NOTICE, the one on the bottom shows more calories but look at the grams in their 1/2 cup serving size, compared to the two above.  There's a difference of 9 grams, so naturally the numbers will be slightly higher.

Let's move onto the INGREDIENTS, surely there will be big differences there.

ingredients of elbow macaroni

What is Modified Wheat Starch and Calcium Phosphate? The only two ingredients that separate one pasta from the other two.  I don't see anything that's impressive, do you?

Let's just compare their pretty packaging and finally see which brand belongs which pasta.

elbow macaroni comparison

Ronzoni Smart Taste is the pasta on the left, Skinner in the middle, HyTop on the right.

pasta comparison 2

Three different pastas, let's see where they're made.

distribution label

That's funny, Ronzoni and Skinner have the same address?

Let's look at how much they cost?

price check

The price difference must be because I get so much MORE from Ronzoni than HyTop.  Let's see that too.

pasta weights

Well, I'm STUMPED!  Which one is better? 

Comments

4 Responses to “One of these is not like the other”
  1. Marie says:

    I’m confused too!! We can’t get elbow macaroni over here, but we do have straight macaroni. Not quite the same, but one has to use what one has to use!

  2. Ben says:

    Hmm. Yes, that is confusing. I guess you are just paying for the pretty packaging. Did they all taste the same, too?

    • Jill says:

      Honestly, I didn’t go that far. After reading the ingredients, I’m assuming they taste the same.

      Unless, Calcium phosphate & Modified Wheat Starch have a flavor? But then, the label would read, “with the all natural flavors of calcium phosphate & modified wheat starch.”

      “oh boy, Mommy! Can I have that one pleeeeasse? It’s my favorite!”

  3. kittie says:

    Looking forward to the taste test!

    Although the ingredients may be the same, it is the quantities that make the difference in pasta – i.e. is it made with whole egg vs higher ratio yolks. Or by replacing egg mix with oil…

    I’ve found with linguine, the more expensive brands are often better – they have more texture than the cheaper ones. $10 for a bag of pasta though – there ain’t that much difference!!!

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