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Talluto’s Tortellini the Authentic Way POSTED BY PHILLY FOOD
GIRL on February 9, 2016 Leave a Comment
I noticed something while shopping for pasta: some are
significantly more expensive than the others! I attributed this to
the quality of the product, but it turns out to be so much more
than that. I decided to sit down with Joe Talluto of Talluto’s
Authentic Italian Foods to hear what he had to say. If anyone was
able to clarify, he was the man for the job!
First, a bit about the history. Tortellini was founded in
Northern Italy (Bologna). There are a few versions of how this
pasta shape came-to-be; most of which involve navels (gasp!); you
can read more about here. Tortellini are small, intricate, folded,
and pinched pastas filled with a variety of ingredients such as
meat, cheese, and/or herbs. Because there is only a very small
amount of space for filling, the ingredients MUST shine! Americans
generally eat tortellin in pasta salad, or with heavy tomato-based
or cream sauces. This is a stark contrast to how they’re served in
Italy: “in brodo” (broth). That’s right, broth! Talluto’s mirrors
the Italian tradition, and fills the pasta with the
best-of-the-best ingredients, allowing them to stand center-stage
in beef or chicken stock.
Unbeknownst to me, most manufacturers buy from other tortellini
suppliers. Talluto’s makes all of their products in-house (see my
previous post about ravioli) to maintain the integrity of the
product. Locally, there is only one major supplier that pumps out
tortellini to various companies. This means that the packaging may
be different, but the inside product is exactly the same. Makes you
feel kind of cheated when you think about…
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Talluto’s tortellini is $9.99/lb whereas competitors are priced
around $3.49-3.99/lb. That’s a big difference! But why? For
starters, the competitor’s products are pre-cooked (which means you
are also paying for water) and offer about 96-100 pieces per pound.
Talluto’s are flash-frozen immediately after manufacturing and
boasts 140 pieces per pound. The thickness of the dough is also a
big factor. More dough= less filling. Talluto’s uses a thin dough,
made with durum flour, semolina, eggs and no preservatives (
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While this was cooking, I brought a large stock pot of water to
a boil. I added the frozen tortellini and cooked until they floated
to the top (about 4 minutes).
I served the tortellini with Locatelli cheese (my favorite), and
let me tell you… it was beyond words. This was my first time ever
eating tortellini in broth like this, and I’m not sure I’ll ever go
back! It actually reminded me of a very old-school Italian dish,
scrippelle’s. The combo of flavors was out of this world.
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I still have a bunch of other Talluto’s options to choose from,
but I’m not sure I’ll be able to top how much I loved the
traditional Asiago tortellini!!!!
Talluto’s tortellini are sold frozen in-store in the following
varieties: Asiago Tomato/Spinach/Egg, Half-moon Mushroom Casoncello
(made with Kennett Square mushrooms) Basil Pesto Agnolotti Meat
Tortelloni (larger tortellini filled with pork and beef). Now do
you see my dilemma?!
Aristotle once said, “Quality is not an act, it is a habit.” I
think all of Talluto’s products speak for themselves when it comes
to consistency and quality.
For a complete list of Talluto’s locations, visit
http://www.tallutos.com/.
To see Talluto’s tortellini being made, check out their YouTube
channel! https://youtu.be/h_H1R0y-6eg
My passion for food goes back 30+ years, to my mother’s kitchen.
Coming from an Italian background, food was a main character at
every event for our family. However, unless you count my small
stint as hostess at an ice cream shop when I was a teenager, I have
zero experience in the food industry...just a deep passion from
within to share my experiences with the world.