Rough Pasta Costs More to Make — Here's Why

Dried pasta is made by pushing kneaded dough through a metal die. Dies are mainly made of one of two materials: bronze or Teflon (PTFE, a fluoropolymer coating). According to Epicurious, most manufacturers today use Teflon-coated dies, which extrude pasta with a smooth, glossy surface. Bronze, by contrast, creates more friction, leaving tiny irregularities on the dough’s surface as it’s pushed through — the result is a rougher, almost porous-feeling noodle.

The difference isn’t just cosmetic. Vincenzo’s Plate explains that the smooth surface Teflon produces is faster and cheaper to manufacture. In other words, bronze dies come with a real cost and speed disadvantage, in exchange for a rougher noodle surface (this site hasn’t been able to confirm primary sourcing on the difference in die wear).

The editors’ read is that this difference mainly comes down to physical surface area and how easily sauce is retained. A Teflon-die noodle has a smooth surface with little for sauce to grip, so a thin, liquid sauce tends to slide right off. A bronze-die noodle, on the other hand, is covered in countless tiny grooves where sauce can physically settle in. The rougher surface may also let slightly more starch leach into the pasta water, though it’s not a difference you could measure at home.

How much you notice the benefit depends on the sauce. Thin sauces — oil-based or tomato-based — tend to show the effect of a rough surface more clearly, while thick, creamy sauces narrow the gap — that, at least, is the editors’ read (none of the sources cited here test how the effect varies with sauce viscosity). If you want to feel the difference for yourself, the clearest test is to keep the sauce the same and change only the pasta brand, boiling them side by side.

The dried-pasta brands widely available in Japan split fairly cleanly by die material. De Cecco states on its own site that it has kept using bronze draw-plates even though faster, cheaper options exist. Garofalo states on its own site that “most of Pasta Garofalo’s shapes are bronze-drawn,” while acknowledging that some shapes — capellini, for instance — are better suited to Teflon drawing (Garofalo is based in Gragnano, and it says the Pasta di Gragnano IGP seal appears not on every shape but on “many of the shapes”). Barilla’s standard line, on the other hand, is extruded through Teflon dies for a smooth, glossy surface — though its premium “Al Bronzo” line switches to bronze dies. Italian chef Tomomi Ogura lists De Cecco (Fedelini size 10, Lasagna size 1) and Garofalo in his note on tools and ingredients, though he doesn’t mention die material. Vincenzo’s Plate, a comparison-focused channel, covers several brands including Barilla in its brand-ranking piece. That piece calls Barilla’s classic blue box “Teflon-extruded” and Pastificio Liguori (Gragnano PGI) “bronze-die,” and in the comments Vincenzo himself confirms that the Al Bronzo line is bronze-cut; Di Martino and La Molisana are rated there on surface roughness. For a rundown of numbering, pricing, and where to buy each brand, see Dried Pasta Brands Compared.

Bronze dies roughen the noodle surface to boost sauce cling, while Teflon dies prioritize a smooth surface and faster mass production. As a rule of thumb, De Cecco uses bronze dies, most Garofalo shapes are bronze-drawn, and Barilla’s standard line uses Teflon — but since some manufacturers switch by shape, as Garofalo does, and others sell a separate bronze-die premium line, as Barilla does, it’s worth checking the packaging to be sure. Start by rethinking which dried pasta you’re pairing with which sauce. You might also enjoy What Emulsification Means in Pasta and the carbonara comparison page.