It’s been kind of cold this weekend so (along with the fact I wanted to make something that would have a lot of leftovers) I decided to cook a pot of chili.
As I have done in the past, I decided to make it a bit more filling by adding some macaroni to it and, since I couldn’t remember if I had any in our pantry, I stopped by that aisle while at the grocery store picking up a pack of hamburger.
Normally, I would just save money by buying the store brand. And, that was actually my intention this time around. But, as I was entering the aisle, I saw something that caught my attention, Creamette Quick Cook Pasta.
I wasn’t really in much of a rush to make the chili today (my wife and oldest daughter had already had lunch and my youngest was napping). But, there have been a number of times when I have attempted to make chili after work when I was starving. So, the idea of macaroni that would cook in just 3 minutes definitely interested me. The fact the box of Quick Cook macaroni was just $1.39 (about 40 cents more than the store brand) helped me decide to give it a try.
I should take a moment to mention that, when the box says the pasta cooks in three minutes, what it really means is the pasta will be ready about three minutes after you bring a pot of water to a rolling boil and add the pasta to it. However, even with me boiling the water first, the pasta was done in less than 10 minutes and, if I had been in a rush, I would have appreciated that since most other brands take much longer than that.
However, in exchange for the faster cook time, the Creamette Quick Cook pasta does require some sacrifices.
First of all, I couldn’t help but notice the macaroni clumped together, even as it was boiling. This was after I followed the instructions on the box and added salt to the water as a way to prevent that. It should also be noted that, to get the pasta to cook quicker, the macaroni was much thinner than most brands.
Also, as far as taste goes, the macaroni was actually pretty bland. I have had quite a few brands, including store brands and most have some sort of taste to them. This was pretty tasteless and I was glad the chili was able to hide that.
Overall, I’m not sure if this product was really worth the extra money. Yes, it was quicker. But, when it was all said and done, it was really only saving me a few minutes and, in exchange for that, I had to give up some quality. If you are really in a hurry, then this brand might be worth trying. But, if you’re willing and able to start dinner a few minutes earlier, you are better off buying a cheaper brand instead.
