Whole Wheat Pasta
Marian Burros Picks the Best
July 16, 2005

New York Times food columnist Marian Burros says brittle, grainy, unappealing whole-wheat pasta is a thing of the past. Thanks to technology, pasta made from nutritionally superior whole-wheat flour is now available in myriad shapes and sizes with a texture that is virtually identical to white flour pasta. In addition to whole-wheat, look for pastas made with spelt, brown rice, buckwheat, kamut, quinoa, and farro.

In a taste test, Marian sampled about 35 whole-grain pastas. She says she is now a "confirmed convert." Here are some top picks among those she tasted:

Whole-Wheat Flat Pasta:

• Bionaturae: tender fettuccine and more toothsome spaghetti. Both are organic.
• De Cecco: toothsome and good linguine.
• Pasta Riscossa: nicely toothsome, slightly nutty linguine.
• Westbrae: Organic spaghetti has good texture.
• Annie's: Organic spaghetti is good but not as smooth as others.

Whole-Wheat Shaped Pasta:

• Bionaturae: Organic fusilli has good texture.
• Hodgson Mill: Elbows have good texture.

Other Flat Pasta:

• Eden: Buckwheat soba is pleasant and neutral for buckwheat.
• Tinkyada: Brown rice spaghetti style (with rice bran) tastes like Asian rice noodles; good and firm.

Other Shaped Pasta:

• Tinkyada: Brown rice elbow with rice bran tastes like rice noodles; firm enough.
• Eden: Organic kamut spirals have a neutral taste, 6 grams fiber and 190 calories.

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