Does experience not count for anything anymore?

A buddy of mine tried to make his grandma's meatloaf recipe and used fancy organic ketchup instead of the cheap stuff she always used. Turned out tasting like sweet tomato paste, not even close to right. He still brings it up every time someone mentions switching ingredients. Something about the basics just works, I guess.

My Daiso ones lasted about three trips before the zipper started skipping. Worth the $3.50 though.

Back when I was in Italy on a job site years ago, I had some pasta from a little shop that milled their own flour and dried it slow over a couple days. I don't know the exact numbers but it was something like 48 hours minimum, not that 4 hour high heat stuff you see on most boxes. @grayjohnson, you're not wrong about the sawdust cheese comparison, but I gotta push back a little. A lot of times people act like cheap pasta is basically inedible and that's just not true for most of us who aren't food critics. In my experience, a good sauce and proper salt can cover up a lot of sins from a $1 box, and most folks can't tell the difference in a blind taste test anyway. So yeah, premium pasta has its place, but your mileage may vary on whether it's worth the jump in price for everyday meals.

Honestly why does everything have to be some deep statement about labor now.