How we test

Products

We tested 24 shelf-stable durum wheat spaghettis – both regular and wholemeal varieties – that are available in major supermarket chains. We excluded size/shape variations (e.g. thin/thick/spaghettini/spaghettoni, ‘quick cook’, tubular, linguine), egg pasta and wheat-free pasta.

Price is as purchased in Sydney stores (not on special) in September 2020. 

Testing

Spaghetti was cooked in a large pot of boiling water using the standard manufacturer’s instruction for pasta – a ratio of 1 litre water to 100g pasta, for the time specified on the pack. It was stirred when water came back up to a boil, at 5 minutes, then again to 2 minutes before the end of cooking time (if longer than 10 minutes).

Once cooking time was reached, spaghetti was drained, and each sample was assessed for a) degree of cooking/’doneness’ at labelled cook time (which also took into consideration whether strands were separate or clumped) and b) any sticking to the pan once drained.

Scores

The CHOICE Expert Rating is made up of 50% performance (80% degree of cooking, 20% sticking) and 50% nutrition (based on the Health Star Rating, calculated from the details in the nutrition information panel and converted to a percentage). 

We recommend spaghetti with a CHOICE Expert Rating of 90% or more.