… This Pasta Will Never Grow Old in Our Kitchen!
There are many good gluten-free pastas on the market today. Each brand seems to have its own characteristics and purposeful use in the gluten-free kitchen. Some are made from a single ingredient, while others are a blend of grains. Some are higher in fiber, some higher in protein. At Daily Forage, we cook with all of the available pasta products. By using different pasta brands, it enables a wide variety of nutrients, as well as different flavors, to be added to our diet. That being said, we do have a favorite pasta that we always have on hand in our kitchen. It is the best gluten-free pasta product I’ve ever used, and is reliable time and time again, regardless of the recipe or application in which it is being included. Our consistent go-to favorite is Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta.
Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta is a blend of two ingredients: organic corn flour and organic quinoa flour. That’s it. But in those two ingredients come a powerhouse of nutrition, serving up 4 grams of protein and 4 grams of dietary fiber. It also provides iron, thiamine, and riboflavin, all which are essential for a healthy, well-balanced body.
When cooking up this pasta, we’ve never had a problem with it becoming mushy, even if we accidentally exceed the packages recommended cooking times by a minute or two. Some pastas tend to have a lower cooking threshold at which point they begin to break down and either become mushy or fall apart and lose their shape. We’ve never found this to be the case with Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta. Also, once fully cooked and rinsed, it holds up very well regardless of whether it is being eaten without further embellishments or being used in a hot or cold recipe. We often prepare a larger portion of pasta than immediately needed, then refrigerate any unused portions for quick and easy uses later in the week. This makes it easy to whip up a cold pasta salad in hurry, douce it quickly in boiling water and add it to a pot of spaghetti sauce, or include it in a tuna or chicken salad.
And certainly, let us not forget to mention the taste. Ancient Harvest has a “pasta” taste … just like real, gluten-containing pasta … only even cleaner. What do I mean by that? Well, there is no earthiness to the taste. There is no residue, which can sometimes occur with other pastas. It cooks up clean, it tastes clean, and it doesn’t lose its “cleanliness” after being in the fridge for a few days. Period.
Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta comes in seven different shapes, so there is a pasta for any purpose. Their Garden Pagoda and Veggie Curls even come in boxes of multi-colored pastas, using dried red pepper and dried spinach for coloring, which makes them extra interesting and fun for kids.
All Ancient Harvest pastas are non-GMO and produced in a gluten-free facility. And here’s an interesting fact you may not know (I didn’t until just recently): “Ancient Harvest Quinoa is grown exclusively in the high Andean Altiplano regions of Bolivia. Our quinoa is grown at 12,000+ foot elevations in very arid conditions which will not support traditional gluten bearing grain production, therefore insuring us no possibility of potential field contamination with such grains.” This I learned from exploring their website. I love “safe” food.
Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta is reasonably priced and available at most larger health food and specialty stores, or can be purchase directly from Ancient Harvest online. It may be from Ancient Harvest, but it will never be outdated in our kitchen.
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