Gluten Free Pasta: Hodgson Mill Brown Rice Penne with Milled Flax Seeds - Product Review #98

Gluten Free Pasta: Hodgson Mill Brown Rice Penne

PRODUCT NAME:                       Penne with Milled Flax Seeds

BRAND:                                      Hodgson Mill

COST:                                         $3.39

SIZE:                                           8oz                        

COST PER OZ:                            $0.42/oz                          

CERTIFIED GLUTEN FREE:          NO

CERTIFICATION AGENCY:           NA

ORGANIC:                                   NO

CERTIFICATION AGENCY:           NA

VEGAN:                                      YES

GLUTEN FREE FACILITY:            YES

LOCATION OF FACILITY:            USA

SHELF LIFE:                               30 Months

*These statements are based on the information printed on the product packaging.  We cannot verify the accuracy of this information.  For verification of the statements above, please contact the manufacturer.   

         

REVIEW:
We have tried many gluten free pastas here in our studio.  There have been white rice pastas, brown rice pastas and corn pastas, but we’ve never seen any made with flax seeds.  That’s exactly what makes Hodgson Mill’s Brown Rice Penne pasta so special.  Not only is it made with brown rice, but it is also made with Golden Milled Flax Seeds.  Hodgson mill sent a few packs of this pasta to us the other week and when we received them, we were really excited to try it out. 

Cooking this pasta up is as easy as any other pasta.  Just boil it in for 4-6 minutes and it’s ready to be tossed with your favorite pasta sauce.  Although I served I didn’t follow their serving suggestion, Hodgson Mill has included a Greek Pasta Salad recipe on the back of the box.  We decided do something a little uncommon with this pasta.  We decided to toss it with some roast duck.  The flavor of the duck is really strong and there is tons of oil that comes out of the duck that is perfect for coating pasta like this.  It was delicious.  The pasta had a good texture.  It was a soft, but just a tad grainy.  I’m not sure if this was caused by the brown rice or the milled flax seed, but it wasn’t very noticeable.  The flavor of the pasta was also pretty good, although the duck sauce might have some part in that. 

Nutrition Facts and Ingredients

As far as pastas go, this one was pretty healthy too with just 209 calories, 1 gram of fat, no cholesterol and no sodium.  The flax seed in this pasta make it a great source for omega 3 oils, which you might know helps lower cholesterol and boosts immunity among many other benefits.  Hodgson Mill is dedicated to doing something special for all of their customers, as their box says.  They put a lot of care in their products.  Not only is this pasta produced in a strictly maintained gluten free facility, but they also test each batch using the ELISA Gluten Assay test to ensure that you are truly getting a gluten free product. 

Overall, we liked this pasta a lot.  It’s gluten free, it’s kosher, it’s produced in a gluten free facility and it has a lot of health benefits.  What’s not to like about it.  For more Hodgson Mill products or for a list of retail locations, visit their website at: www.hodgsonmill.com.  

Taste: This pasta was good.  It had good flavor and other than being just a little grainy, it had great texture as well. 

Labeling: The labeling on this package was very clean and simple.   

Packaging:  Pasta packaged in a recycled paperboard box

Reader’s Reviews: Please share with us your review of this company’s 

other products + where you purchased the product + how long you have been using this product. Please no review from the family + friends of the company producing the product…

RATING:

Texture:                  4             

Taste:                      5             

Value:                     3

OVERALL:               4

Reviewed 3/25/11 by Calvin C. 

Gluten Free Pasta: Rustichella D'Abruzzo Organic Corn Fusilli - Product Review #50

Gluten Free Pasta: Rustichella D'Abruzzo Corn Fusilli

PRODUCT NAME:                   Organic 100% Corn Fusilli

BRAND:                                  Rustichella D’Abruzzo

COST:                                    $7.00

SIZE:                                       8.8oz

COST PER OZ:                        $0.79/oz

CERTIFIED GLUETEN FREE:    NO

CERTIFICATION AGENCY:       N/A

ORGANIC:                               YES

CERTIFICATION AGENCY:       Istituto Mediterraneo Di Certificazione

VEGAN:                                   UNKNOWN

WHEAT FREE FACILITY:         UNKNOWN

LOCATION OF FACILITY:         Italy

*These statements are based on the information printed on the product packaging. We cannot verify the accuracy of this information. For verification of the statements above, please contact the manufacturer.

REVIEW:
If you look at some of our previous reviews, you will some of our reviews of Rustichella D’Abruzzo pasta. We really enjoy their pasta, so we seek out their different varieties of gluten free pastas to enjoy. A few months back, we actually had this pasta, but just never got a chance to write a review on it. If you know this brand, you might know that it is a little difficult to find, but we managed to find it at a grocery store in Napa, CA. At $7.00 a box, it is a little pricy, but what you get is a high quality pasta.

The Italians do things a little differently too in the gluten free world. Although I am not sure if this company has made the transition to the new regulations (all companies must comply by January 1, 2010), European countries have much stricter regulations on what can have the gluten free label on its package. Namely, all items marked gluten free must contain no more than 20ppm of gluten. That’s the levels that many gluten free certification agency test to.

This organic corn fusilli is one of the best we’ve tried. The box has specific directions on how to prepare this pasta and after following it, it makes a lot of sense. The box calls for you to boil the pasta for about 5-7 minutes. Here in the studio, we are cooking on hot plates that don’t get as hot as a traditional stove, so I cooked it for about 10 minutes to get it al dente. One thing that jumped out at me, was that it says “Do not rinse.” I am not sure what the reasoning behind that is, but my best guess would be to ensure that the pasta does not fall apart when rinsing.

In the form of flavor, there isn’t much to say about it as it is just pasta, but one thing to note is that you can really taste the flavor of the corn in the pasta. It adds a hint of sweetness to the flavor of the pasta. Combine this pasta with your favorite gluten free pasta sauce, and you have the perfect gluten free meal.

Taste: Great tasting pasta with good texture that we have come to expect from Rustichella D’Abruzzo. They really know their pasta.

Labeling: The labeling is very simple yet attractive. Combined with a few Italian words I cannot read, this pasta is the real thing…Italian pasta.

Packaging: The Packaging on this is a 2 part package. The dry noodles are placed in a sealed air-tight bag that is stuffed into a recyclable paperboard box (see photo for reference).

Reader’s Reviews: Please share with us your review of this company's other products + where you purchased the product + how long you have been using this product. Please no review from the family + friends of the company producing the product...

RATING:
Texture:          5
Taste:              5
Value:             2
OVERALL:       4


Reviewed 011211 by CC

Gluten Free Pasta: Mrs. Leeper's Organic Rice Vegetable Twists - Product Review #44

Gluten Free Pasta: Mrs. Leeper's Rice Vegetable Twists

PRODUCT NAME:                                 Rice Vegetable Twists

BRAND:                                                Mrs. Leeper’s

COST:                                                  $3.99

SIZE:                                                    12oz                      

COST PER OZ:                                     $0.33         

CERTIFIED GLUTEN FREE:                   NO

CERTIFICATION AGENCY:                    N/A

ORGANIC:                                            YES

CERTIFICATION AGENCY:                    CCPB srl

VEGAN:                                               YES

GLUTEN FREE FACILITY:                     UNKNOWN

LOCATION OF FACILITY:                     Italy

*These statements are based on the information printed on the product packaging.  We cannot verify the accuracy of this information.  For verification of the statements above, please contact the manufacturer.             

REVIEW:
Finally! Pasta with flavor.  We have tasted a lot of different pastas and just about all of them have been pretty bland tasting.  They relied mostly on the sauces and other flavor additives for flavor.  Not so much the case with these Rice Vegetable Twists from Mrs. Leeper’s.  The flavor isn’t bold or anything like that, but they do have a nice light flavor of their own which would enhance the overall flavor of the dish.  I think this pasta would go great with some alfredo sauce or as a nice pasta salad. 

When I cooked this pasta, I will admit that I forgot about it and let it boil just a bit too long.  It was a little on the mushy side, but considering I overcooked it, it wasn’t as bad as I anticipated.    Despite overcooking it, the end product was still good.  It was a lot more forgiving than some of the other rice pastas we have had in the past.  We had a guest over for lunch and she even mentioned that it had great flavor.  I think we all might have enjoyed it even more had I cooked it for the correct amount of time.  Take this as a lesson from my mistake…try to remember that you’re cooking pasta and don’t let it overcook.

This pasta is great for everyone whether you’re gluten free or not.  It tastes no different than regular pasta.  If you have allergies, you will be happy to hear that this pasta is not only wheat/gluten free, but it is also casein free. 

Taste: Great flavor in this pasta.  That is probably because spinach powder and beet powder are added to it for flavor.  The texture is also pretty good, but to ensure that you enjoy it to its full potential…don’t overcook it. 

Labeling:  Wheat free, gluten free, casein free…this pasta has all the right labels to appeal to the celiac and the gluten intolerant.  The colors used on the package are also very pleasant and eye catching.  This pasta has a lot going for it. 

Packaging:  Simple sealed plastic packaging.  Looks like it keeps for a while too…our package had a “Best By” date of 041013. 

Reader’s Reviews: Please share with us your review of this company’s other products + where you purchased the product + how long you have been using this product. Please no review from the family + friends of the company producing the product…

RATING:

Texture:                 5             

Taste:                     5             

Value:                    5

OVERALL:              5

Reviewed  010411 by CC

Gluten Free Pasta: Andean Dream Quinoa Macaroni - Product Review #20

Gluten Free Pasta: Andean Dream Quinoa Macaroni

PRODUCT NAME:                          Quinoa Pasta Macaroni

BRAND:                                         Andean Dream

COST:                                           $5.99

SIZE:                                             8oz

COST PER OZ:                               $0.74/oz

CERTIFIED GLUTEN FREE:             NO

CERTIFICATION AGENCY:              N/A

ORGANIC:                                      YES

CERTIFICATION AGENCY:              IMO-Switzerland

VEGAN:                                          Unknown

WHEAT FREE FACILITY:                 Unknown

LOCATION OF FACILITY:                Bolivia

*These statements are based on the information printed on the product packaging. We cannot verify the accuracy of this information. For verification of the statements above, please contact the manufacturer.

REVIEW:

When coming to the table today, we knew exactly what to expect from this pasta.  It was the same brand of pasta that we had for lunch yesterday only in a different shape.  Our expectations were met with the great texture and taste we had experienced the day before. 

Consistency with cooking is also another thing to note with this product.  We got the same texture that we expected 2 days in a row which is important.  When you cook spaghetti, you want to be sure that spaghetti is what you get unlike the surprise that we got the other day when we found rice in place of the spaghetti that we put in.

He was quite intrigued by our daily gluten free lunches.  So from our office and from Brian of Brian Martin Metals, we give the 280 families a perfect 5 for this product.  

Taste:  We had a few guests for lunch today, Brian of Brian Martin Metals, who said that the pasta tasted “clean” and that came as a compliment.  Quinoa is a great grain that has a very good flavor. 

Labeling: The labeling on this packaging is very simple.  On the front, is just the brand and type of pasta; no unnecessary jibber jabber.  On the back is a nice background story on the quinoa grain and how the grain is grown in the Bolivian Andes at an elevation of 13,000, which they claim is where the finest quality of quinoa is grown.   

Packaging: Good packaging as it is made out of paper, which can be recycled.

Reader’s Reviews: Please share with us your review of this company’s other products + where you purchased the product + how long you have been using this product. Please no review from the family + friends of the company producing the product..

RATING:

Texture:                 5             

Taste:                     5

Value:                    2                             

OVERALL:              4

Gluten Free Pasta: De Boles Gluten Free Multi Grain Penne - Product Review #16

Gluten Free Pasta: De Boles Multi Grain Penne

PRODUCT NAME:                         Gluten Free Multi Grain Penne

BRAND:                                        De Boles

COST:                                           $2.99

SIZE:                                             8oz

COST PER OZ:                              $0.37/oz

CERTIFIED GLUTEN FREE:            NO

CERTIFICATION AGENCY:             N/A

ORGANIC:                                     NO

CERTIFICATION AGENCY:              N/A

VEGAN:                                         Unknown

WHEAT FREE FACILITY:                Unknown

LOCATION OF FACILITY:               Melville, NY

*These statements are based on the information printed on the product packaging. We cannot verify the accuracy of this information. For verification of the statements above, please contact the manufacturer.

REVIEW:

Texture wise, this pasta was good.  Not too mushy and not too chewy.  It was served with corn salad, which went very well with the pasta.  The company has been around for a very long time and also produces other varieties of pasta including whole wheat flour pastas.  This leads me to believe that the pasta is not produced in a wheat free facility.  Case in point, their recall of one lot of Gluten Free Tubettini corn pasta labeled for Kids, which may contain undeclared whole wheat alphabet pasta.  If you are severely allergic to gluten, I would be very careful.      

Taste: We boiled the pasta in the same water we boiled our eggs in, which had a lot of salt in it, which may have been the reason the pasta was so tasty, but the pasta really did taste good. 

Labeling:  The packaging has very simple labeling with cooking directions and a few recipes on the back.  

Packaging: The packaging itself is actually pretty good.  It is made from paperboard that is made of 100% recycled paper fiber. 

Reader’s Reviews: Please share with us your review of this company’s other products + where you purchased the product + how long you have been using this product. Please no review from the family + friends of the company producing the product..

RATING:

Texture:                 4                             

Taste:                     4

Value:                    3

OVERALL:              3.6

Reviewed 10/01/10 by CC

Gluten Free Pasta: Tinkyada Brown Rice Fusilli - Product Review #13

Gluten Free Pasta: Tinkyada Brown Rice Fusilli

PRODUCT NAME:                        Brown Rice Fusilli

BRAND:                                       Tinkyada

COST:                                          $4.50

SIZE:                                            16oz

COST PER OZ:                             $0.28/oz

CERTIFIED GLUTEN FREE:           NO

CERTIFICATION AGENCY:            N/A

ORGANIC:                                    NO

CERTIFICATION AGENCY:            N/A

VEGAN:                                        Unknown

WHEAT FREE FACILITY:              YES

LOCATION OF FACILITY:             Canada 

*These statements are based on the information printed on the product packaging. We cannot verify the accuracy of this information. For verification of the statements above, please contact the manufacturer.          

REVIEW:

We have been very impressed by this brand.  All of the pastas that we have tested from this brand have been great.  Great texture, good taste, good value are all things that come to mind when we here Tinkyada.  This fusilli that looks a lot like doodles drawn by a child, not only looks fun, but also has great texture and flavor. 

Although this pasta is not certified gluten free, they do clearly state on their packaging that they specialize, thus making all of their pastas in a gluten free facility.  There are a lot of good things going for this pasta.

Taste: This pasta is made with brown rice and you can taste it.  You can taste the hint of brown rice, but it’s not too strong.  The texture is one of the best we’ve seen so far.  We were pleasantly surprised by this because many of the rice based pastas we have had in the past turned out mushy and fell apart.   

Labeling: There is a lot of writing on this packaging, but it’s all there for a reason.  On the front, it is clearly marked Wheat Free and Gluten-Free.  Something that I haven’t seen on any other packaging is an energy saving cooking option.  It looks like these guys have done their homework with this one.  

Packaging: The packaging is the only part that is a little disappointing.  It is made of plastic and is not recyclable.  I would like to see recycled paper board boxes in the future. 

Reader’s Reviews: Please share with us your review of this company’s other products + where you purchased the product + how long you have been using this product. Please no review from the family + friends of the company producing the product...

RATING:

Texture:                 5             

Taste:                     5

Value:                    5             

OVERALL:              5

Reviewed on 10/27/10 by CC         

Gluten Free Pasta: Andean Dream Gluten Free Quinoa Spaghetti - Product Review #8

Andean Dream Spaghetti

PRODUCT NAME:                        Gluten Free Quinoa Pasta Spaghetti

COST:                                         $5.19

SIZE:                                           8oz

COST PER OZ:                            $0.64/oz

CERTIFIED GLUTEN FREE:           NO

CERTIFICATION AGENCY:            N/A

ORGANIC:                                    YES

CERTIFICATION AGENCY:            IMO - Institute of Marketecology-Switzerland

VEGAN:                                        Unknown

WHEAT FREE FACILITY:               Unknown

LOCATION OF FACILITY:              Bolivia

*These statements are based on the information printed on the product packaging. We cannot verify the accuracy of this information. For verification of the statements above, please contact the manufacturer.     

REVIEW:

Four wheat’s …ORGANIC + FAIR TRADE
O.K. It is true I could not pronounce Quinoa for the life of me six months ago. Now the word + the grain are  my new best friends.  Today we cooked this product + we give this yummy spaghetti the four wheat rating.

Why?

1.The cooking directions are accurate …we always put in a pinch of salt into the boiling water …in this case we used Hawaiian salt + olive oil from Costco.

 2. The texture is firm yet pliable + believe it or not you would have a difficult time telling this quinoa product from our beloved wheat products. 

3. We like this company’s story on the back of the box where we used to get all our important information before the incredible internet world.
THEIR story…as told to us on the back of the box…ORGANIC ROYAL QUINOA grown only in the Bolivian Andes @ an altitude of 13,000 feet by 280 families + there is a very sweet smallish picture of a Bolivian  farming couple who look like the real deal.

Taste: Quinoa pasta has a very clean taste to it.  Taste isn’t so much an issues as texture is because most pastas are pretty bland in flavor.  This pasta has great texture.    

Labeling: The labeling on this packaging is very simple.  On the front, is just the brand and type of pasta; no unnecessary jibber jabber.  On the back is a nice background story on the quinoa grain and how the grain is grown in the Bolivian Andes at an elevation of 13,000, which they claim is where the finest quality of quinoa is grown.  

Packaging: Good packaging as it is made out of paper, which can be recycled.

Reader’s Reviews: Please share with us your review of this company’s other products + where you purchased the product + how long you have been using this product. Please no review from the family + friends of the company producing the product.

RATING:

Texture:                4.5         

Taste:                    4.5

Value:                    3

OVERALL:              4  

Reviewed 10/06/10 by TD

Gluten Free Pasta: Rustichella D'Abruzzo Organic Rice Spaghetti - Product Review #6

Gluten Free Spaghetti

PRODUCT NAME:                              Organic 100% Rice Spaghetti

BRAND:                                             Rustichella D’Abruzzo

COST:                                               $7.75

SIZE:                                                 8.8oz

COST PER OZ:                                  $0.88/oz

CERTIFIED GLUTEN FREE:                NO

CERTIFICATION AGENCY:                 N/A

ORGANIC:                                         YES

CERTIFICATION AGENCY:                 Istituto Mediterraneo Di Certificazione

VEGAN:                                             Unknown

WHEAT FREE FACILITY:                    NO

LOCATION OF FACILITY:                  Italy

*These statements are based on the information printed on the product packaging. We cannot verify the accuracy of this information. For verification of the statements above, please contact the manufacturer.

REVIEW:

This pasta is the same brand and style as the pasta we tested yesterday, however We boiled the pasta and tossed it with olive oil and a little salt and pepper and served it with onions, squash, chicken and cheese.  Upon boiling it and draining the water, the spaghetti looked like it was mushy because of all of the starch that came out of it and when we tasted it, we realized that it was a coating of starch over it and it still had okay good texture and flavor.      

Taste:  This pasta was good, however it did not have as much flavor as the corn spaghetti from the day before.  This is a rice-based pasta, and generally speaking, rice pasta is really good at absorbing flavors from whatever it is topped with.  That was the case for this pasta; it absorbed the flavor of the chicken, onions, and squash really well. 

Labeling: The labeling is very simple yet attractive.  Combined with a few Italian words I cannot read, this pasta is the real thing…Italian pasta.

Packaging: The Packaging on this is a 2 part package.  The dry noodles are placed in a sealed air-tight bag that is stuffed into a recyclable paperboard box.  A little wasteful in material as it is pretty much double packaging, however with a wonderful taste and texture like this, I guess it can be forgiven.  

Reader’s Reviews: Please share with us your review of this company’s other products + where you purchased the product + how long you have been using this product. Please no review from the family + friends of the company producing the product…

RATING:

Texture:                 4             

Taste:                     3

Value:                    2

OVERALL:              3

Reviewed 9/28/10 by CC

Gluten Free Pasta: Rustichella D'Abruzzo Organic Corn Spaghetti - Product Review #5

Gluten Free Spaghetti

PRODUCT NAME:                             Organic 100% Corn Spaghetti

BRAND:                                            Rustichella D’Abruzzo

COST:                                               $7.75

SIZE:                                                 8.8oz

COST PER OZ:                                  $0.88/oz

CERTIFIED GLUTEN FREE:                NO

CERTIFICATION AGENCY:                 N/A

ORGANIC:                                         YES

CERTIFICATION AGENCY:                 Istituto Mediterraneo Di Certificazione

VEGAN:                                             Unknown

WHEAT FREE FACILITY:                    NO

LOCATION OF FACILITY:                   Italy

*These statements are based on the information printed on the product packaging. We cannot verify the accuracy of this information. For verification of the statements above, please contact the manufacturer.

REVIEW:

We boiled the pasta and tossed it with olive oil, green onions, and a little salt and pepper and served it with Salmon.  If we had not known prior to tasting this pasta, we would never have known it was gluten free.  The cost of this pasta is a little on the higher side, but that is probably because it is imported from Italy.  It gets a perfect score on taste and texture, but basing it on value, it falls a little short.    

Taste: The pasta had great texture and flavor.  The corn in the pasta gave it a lot of flavor.  Usually, pastas are pretty bland tasting because all it is flour and water, but with the addition of corn, which is sweet, a lot of flavor is added. 

Labeling: The labeling is very simple yet attractive.  Combined with a few Italian words I cannot read, this pasta is the real thing…Italian pasta.

Packaging: The Packaging on this is a 2 part package.  The dry noodles are placed in a sealed air-tight bag that is stuffed into a recyclable paperboard box.  A little wasteful in material as it is pretty much double packaging, however with a wonderful taste and texture like this, I guess it can be forgiven.

Reader’s Reviews: Please share with us your review of this company’s other products + where you purchased the product + how long you have been using this product. Please no review from the family + friends of the company producing the product…

RATING:

Texture:                 5             

Taste:                     5

Value:                    2

OVERALL:              4

Reviewed 9/27/10 by CC

Gluten Free Pasta: Tinkyada White Rice Spaghetti - Product Review #4

Gluten Free Pasta: Tinkyada White Rice Spaghett

BRAND:                                     Tinkyada

PRODUCT NAME:                      White Rice Pasta: Spaghetti Style

SOURCE:                                   The Pasta Shop

COST:                                       $4.50

SIZE:                                         16 oz

COST PER OZ:                          $0.28/oz

CERTIFIED GLUTEN FREE:         NO

CERTIFICATION AGENCY:          N/A

ORGANIC:                                  NO

VEGAN:                                      Unkown

WHEAT FREE FACILITY:            YES

LOCATION OF FACILITY:           Canada

*These statements are based on the information printed on the product packaging. We cannot verify the accuracy of this information. For verification of the statements above, please contact the manufacturer.

REVIEW:

Good texture for a rice pasta.  It was firm unlike many other rice noodles we have tested that came out mushy.  This pasta was a little chewy, but not so much that you would notice.  Cooking time was much longer than traditional pastas.  Most pastas cook in 6-8 minutes, this one calls for a 16-17 minute cooking time on the directions. 

Taste: Rice noodles are very good at absorbing flavor.  By themselves, they are bland, but with the right sauce rice noodles can be very tasty.  We served this with green onions and chicken.  It went very well with this pasta. 

Labeling: You will see right away that there is A LOT of writing on the packaging and the writing is in many different directions.  It is a little distracting and looks a lot more complicated than it needs to be.   

Packaging: Non recyclable packaging made of plastic. 

Reader’s Reviews: Please share with us your review of this company’s other products + where you purchased the product + how long you have been using this product. Please no review from the family + friends of the company producing the product..

RATING:

Texture:                4             

Taste:                    3

Value:                    5

OVERALL:              4

Reviewed 10/18/10 by CC