My sister is trying to convert to a gluten-free diet and asked me which type of gluten free pasta I like the best. I thought I would review the 3 brands I have tried.
Tinkyada® - By far the best. Tastes good enough that my family will eat it - and they are picky when it comes to "my" food. It can stand a bit of over-cooking. It says not to, but I have and it's never hurt it. I buy the kind that has rice bran in it. I figure it’s healthier. I’ve tried the spaghetti, the angel hair pasta and the rotelle. I also bought some lasagna, which my family ate by mistake. DH added stuff to the lasagna I couldn’t eat. I was not too happy about that! I also bought some macaroni that I swear my family ate without me knowing about it. I certainly can’t find it!
De Boles® - I tried the “Rice Spaghetti Style Pasta.” It tastes ok, but when I overcooked it a little bit, the pasta fell apart. I tend to overcook pasta, because I don’t like chewy pasta. I have digestive issues, so undercooked is *not* good for me!
Mrs. Leeper’s® - I tried the spaghetti. Overcooking did not seem to hurt it, but I did not like the taste and texture of it. In fact, I disliked it so much I avoided eating spaghetti for about a month. This was the only brand I had at the time and I told myself I had to finish eating it before I could buy more pasta.
SOME NOTES ABOUT GLUTEN FREE PASTA:
- Gluten free pasta needs to cook longer than regular pasta. The De Boles® package says 5-7 minutes, but that’s not nearly long enough. That may be why it fell apart when I cooked it. Cooking it the suggested time left it almost “raw.” Tinkyada® suggests cooking their pasta anywhere from 13-18 minutes (depending on the type) which seems about right. I don’t have the Mrs. Leeper’s® package anymore, but it seems they suggested a longer cooking time as well.
- Gluten-free pasta releases a lot more starch than regular pasta. Make sure to cook it with plenty of water. By following the directions on the package, you should be fine. I usually rinse the pasta under cold water then put it back in the pan on low to re-heat it a bit. You can at a little fresh water back in with the pasta so it won't burn, then drain it again just before eating. Gluten free pasta doesn’t seem to hold the heat as well as regular pasta. Or maybe it’s because I usually cook it in such small batches. I’m not sure.
- Once it’s been cooked, it can be used like regular pasta – same sauces, recipes and so on. I haven’t tried adding it to soup, but it would probably work ok. I’ll have to try that next to see if I’d add it to soup “raw” or cooked.
NOTE: No, I'm not being paid to review any of this pasta. Maybe I should be, huh?
UPDATE (05-03-09): I bought some Tinkyada fettucini and cooked it for the longest recommended cooking time (15 minutes). It turned out a titch rubbery. With that in mind, I would suggest cooking gluten free pasta the minimum suggested time, trying it, and if it's not done, cook it a few minutes longer. Maybe it's just the fettucini that does that?
