Gluten Free Tip - Rice Pasta vs. Corn Pasta

When it comes to eating gluten free pasta, you basically have two choices, corn pasta or rice pasta.  Both pasta's do the same job and as perfect gluten free substitutes for regular flour pasta.  However, our first try at these pasta's was kind of a disaster.  What we weren't told was that both rice and corn pasta cook differently.

The first time we cooked the corn pasta, it  was kind of mushy, and by the time we got to our leftovers, the pasta was all broken apart.  We could not figure out what we had done wrong until we took a gluten free cooking course at Allium Foods in Edmonton.  We found out that both rice and corn pasta continue to absorb liquid from the sauces and we learned the following tips:
  1. Undercook the pasta (el dante), as the pasta will continue to absorb sauce
  2. Keep the pasta separate from the sauce until serving
  3. In the case of leftovers, keep the sauce separate from the noodles and combine before eating
After following these steps we found a big improvement in the quality of the pasta we were making.  We have also decided to settle on using rice pasta as much as possible.  In our experiences the corn pasta has ended up a little mushy and has not held up quite as good as leftovers for lunch the next day.

A couple good rice pasta products we have found down the gluten free aisles in Edmonton grocery stores are are:
Let us know what pasta's you like and share your gluten free tips!

Comments

  1. I like the Tinkyada the best, it tastes the best
    to me. Good advice on keeping the pasta away from
    the sauce until serving, it certainly does tend
    to absorb the liquids.

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  2. We've tried various rice and corn pasta's and while good, my wife and I have come across two other great options we prefer:
    - buckwheat pasta (ogran is the brand we prefer: http://www.orgran.com/gluten-free )
    - quinoa pasta (ancient harvest is the brand we prefer)
    both 100% gluten-free

    The Quinoa Pasta is so good we make it for guests who don't even know it's GF.

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  3. Thanks for the post. I love bunnies rice pasta and cheese, but I didn't know where i could just find the rice pasta. I will have to go check those brands out. Thanks Again.

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  4. Where can you purchase quinoa pasta in Edmonton? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

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