Black Label Nero di Seppia Spaghetti is made black due to the inclusion of Italian cuttle fish ink. It was a product I was extra happy to review. I thought the idea of noodles made black naturally was the coolest idea ever.
As you can see and hear in my President’s Choice Mystery Box reveal, I had already bought black noodles when I was in Toronto because I thought they were such an innovative and exciting idea. I was extra thrilled to get the President’s Choice version because I had been so impressed with the quality of their Black Label Orecchiette pasta, I knew this was going to be a fun product to review.
Test Kitchen
Look at that texture! Tell me that isn’t impressive?! I must admit though, the noodles do look a little weird. I am not usually inclined to care about food aesthetics but it even kind of freaked me out a bit.
First, I used the black pasta in my recipe for spicy noodles. I make this dish all the time. As I ate the noodles, I wondered if they had an additional fishy flavour to them? The texture was extraordinary though. I did enjoy the noodles and could tell they were very high quality.
The biggest test was, would Reg like them? If there was a fishy flavour, he would notice. I made a batch of spaghetti and replaced the regular noodles we use for the black ones. Reg said they were fine but I did notice he ate dinner a slower than usual, which made me think the colour or the flavour was off-putting to him.
I then made a homemade chicken pesto dinner with the noodles. There was a ton of garlic in there just in case there was a fishiness that Reg would not enjoy.
I personally loved it but asked Reg if he noticed any fishiness to the noodles. He said with all that garlic and flavour, it was hard to tell.
I did find these noodles at my store and they are $4.49 a box. I like to do product testing without looking too carefully at the label to see if I can pick up on what is inside without any hints. I did notice a fishy smell to the pasta so I looked at the label and read the noodles contain fish powder. Aha! I was right.
Foodie Conclusion
I am going to save these noodles for me. I can smell the fishiness on them and it doesn’t bother me at all. I am still going to have to get used to the look of them but the quality is so high, I am happy to make the foodie effort.
In fact, I might use them to make President’s Choice recipe for Spaghetti al Nero di Seppia with Clams because it looks so damn good.
This product is not for everyone. It is for the experimental pasta lover who does not mind paying a bit more for quality and loves seafood. If you are that person, I give this product four out of five wooden spoons. If not, give it a pass.
I love these pastas and rices that are flavored with squid ink. Some of the best paellas were made in this fashion and I’m glad that you were able to find and enjoy them. One this that you may way to try is to really embrace the fish flavor and use seared shrimp or scallops in them and just use olive oil and garlic to toss, if you want even some chili flakes and it will change how you look at the pasta.
You are right Gerald, these pastas are made for paella! Yup, I am definitely going to be using it in simple seafood recipes and can’t wait to do so.
I don’t care what it tastes like. To me, it just looks plain old unappetizing. Can’t get past the visual, I’m afraid!
You know Debra, I didn’t think it would bother me but it kind of did. Spooking me with food is hard to do so I totally understand!