If you were to ask Mr. Tidbit, there were far too many kinds of pasta already, even if all the shapes were made with the same ingredients. These days there are ingredient choices as well, and pasta-maker Barilla has added two more lines of pasta to the three it already had. Besides what Mr. Tidbit will call "regular," Barilla already offered a number of shapes in formulations it calls Barilla Plus and Whole Grain. And now there are White Fiber and Veggie pastas.What's the difference? You'll be sorry that Mr. Tidbit assumed you asked.
Barilla's regular pasta contains semolina, durum flour and vitamins and iron. Each 2-ounce serving provides 2 grams of fiber and 7 grams of protein.
Barilla's Whole Grain pasta (51 percent whole wheat), consists of whole grain durum wheat flour, semolina, durum wheat flour and oat fiber. A serving has three times the fiber of regular pasta (6 grams) and 7 grams of protein. Oddly, it does not appear to be vitamin-enriched.
In addition to the semolina (and vitamins and iron) in regular pasta, Barilla Plus contains lentils, chickpeas, oats, spelt, barley, egg whites, flaxseed and oat fiber. A serving has 4 grams of fiber, 10 grams of protein and 200 milligrams of omega-3 fatty acid from the flaxseed.
New White Fiber pasta consists of semolina, durum flour, whole wheat durum flour, corn starch and vitamins and iron. It provides 6 grams of fiber and 6 grams of protein.
And new Veggie pasta is semolina, durum flour, carrot purée (carrots, lemon juice concentrate, water), butternut squash purée (butternut squash, lemon juice concentrate, water) and vitamins and iron. A serving has 2 grams of fiber and 7 grams of protein.
Prices? At one online store: regular Barilla pasta, 16 ounces $1.29 (8 cents per ounce); Whole Grain, 13.25 ounces $1.49 (11 cents per ounce); White Fiber, 12 ounces $1.29 (11 cents per ounce); Veggie, 12 ounces $1.69 (14 cents per ounce); and Barilla Plus, 14.5 ounces $2.29 (16 cents per ounce).
There's only one kind of Creamettes.
AL SICHERMAN