Pasta

Pasta is pushed through a die to give it its shape. A bronze die leaves the surface rough and slightly chalky rather than smooth and glossy. That roughness is what sauce clings to, so a bronze die pasta carries more sauce per forkful. It is the single biggest difference between supermarket pasta and the good stuff.

Long strands like spaghetti suit thin, silky sauces: tomato, olive oil, seafood. Short ridged shapes like penne, rigatoni and radiatori catch chunky vegetable sauces and ragu, and hold up in a baked dish. Twists like fusilli trap creamy sauces in the curve.

Spelt is an ancient wheat. It is nuttier and a little earthier than durum, holds its bite well, and carries more fibre. It still contains gluten, so it is not an option if you are avoiding it.

Yes. The Slendier spaghetti is made from black soybean or edamame rather than wheat, and the Ceres quinoa spaghetti is a grain alternative. Check each pack, as recipes change.

Most dried pasta takes 8 to 11 minutes in a large pot of well salted water, but it varies by shape and thickness, so go by the pack. Taste a piece a minute or two early. Drain it while it still has bite and finish it in the sauce rather than on top of it.

Around 75 to 100g of dried pasta per person for a main, less if it is a starter or there is a lot else on the plate. A 500g pack is five or six servings.

No. It coats the pasta and stops sauce sticking, which defeats the point of buying a bronze die pasta. Salt the water generously instead, and keep a cup of the cooking water back to loosen the sauce.

Monty & Sons mill and make their pasta here in New Zealand. The Stock Merchant's spelt is grown and made in northern Italy, and Ceres is organic and imported.