This post is long overdue. In fact, I’m embarrassed by how long. When I pulled up the photos to get going, I realized they were date-stamped August 30, 2013. That means I’ve spent over six months wondering, “What should I write?,” considering this, and deciding against it.
At first, the timing was too close to the Gluten-Free and Allergy-Free Expo in Secaucus (which will be September 6–7 this year, if you want to think ahead); then I had astrology posts to write; and then the holidays hit.
But mostly, I’ve just never cared much about pasta.
Not care about THIS? Really?
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate it; in fact, in some preparations—lasagna, you say?—I love it. But pasta’s sorta . . . boring. Too easy. The default vegetarian dish at every omnivorous dinner party. Liable to be mushy and bland. Long before the advent of my gluten-free excuse, my friends expected me to groan when Italian was announced as the choice of restaurant for a night.
I’ve heard it said that those with allergies or intolerances crave the thing that sickens them. But the opposite may have been true for me. As a kid, I didn’t like bread, donuts, many pastries, and most cereals (I did eat corn and rice Chex. See? I knew). I have vivid memories of eating hearty homemade bread—which, mind you, was one of my dad’s specialties—and needing to leave the table midchew to spit out a mouthful that had suddenly become doughy and repulsive.
There were exceptions. I never seemed to have trouble with, say, cake. However, overall, wheaty foods like pasta were things I’d avoid. Though I didn’t start experiencing noticeable celiac symptoms until the end of college, looking back, I wonder if those aversions were an early manifestation of the disease I now know I have.
But enough about me. This post is, oddly enough, about pasta. Long ago now, through some combination of changing taste buds, impulse shopping, and the lure of the forbidden, I wound up with four different kinds of GF pasta in my pantry.
So Sprue Jr. and I invited over some friends and had an awesome pasta taste test. I couldn’t wait to share the results. And then, I did. For half a year.
I’d have tried to pass this off as having happened last week, but the hair’s a dead giveaway.
But forget all that. Since I know my opinion about pasta is in the minority, I’ve decided to break my silence. I hope that if you like pasta more than I do or are looking for meatless options to carry you through some Lenten Fridays, my notes—and the notes of my fellow tasters, two of whom are gluten-eaters and all of whom are better qualified than I to comment on pasta—will come in handy.
Head on over to My Life With Food Allergies, where the rest of the post appears, to learn which gluten-free pasta won in our very scientific taste test (corn, rice, quinoa, or red lentil).
What’s your favorite kind of gluten-free pasta? Do you ever procrastinate for months on end before writing a post? I’ll feel ever so much better if you do.
[I shared this at Tessa the Domestic Diva’s Allergy-Free Wednesdays linkup.]
Based on a Sprue Story 
I clicked and read your article but it’s not letting me comment. My favorite pasta is the corn starch / white rice combos. 🙂
That’s odd! I wonder why. Was it not accepting the captcha? What brands come in that combo?
There wasn’t a captcha at all. Maybe that was the problem. There was a user name and password box but no captcha. Sharr brand is my favorite for the corn / rice but only some of their shapes are just corn / rice. Some of them also have pea flour and I don’t like those. Heartland brand is also corn / white rice.
Ah, we’ve had Schar before (but it was the one with pea flour, I think); we got free samples at the GFAF Expo. It was pretty good. Haven’t come across Heartland yet, but will make a mental note. I tend to seek out the higher protein/fiber kinds of gluten-free substitutes, since before going GF I was very much on the whole wheat train, but I bet the starch/white rice products are bound to match “regular” pasta better.
Molly, you made me chuckle. I’ve never been a fan of pasta either. Not sure why. It’s not like it doesn’t taste good. It’s just not very appealing. And good that it doesn’t, I guess, since gluten-free pasta can be finicky (and often ends up slimy… bleh). I think the best gluten-free pasta I’ve had to date is chickpea or lentil based pasta (but it can be very pricy). Not perfect, but okay for the occasional time I decide to give pasta a chance.
I usually love anything made out of chickpeas or chickpea flour, so I’ll have to look into the pasta. I’ve seen recipes for making it at home, but that just seems like too much effort for someone who hardly even likes pasta!
Thanks for stopping by and commenting. 🙂
I once thought I’d found a very healthy pasta made entirely from lentils, however, it just went to mush!!
Our favourite pasta is an organic variety from Doves Farm in the UK made from Maize and Rice, it’s perfect! But I guess you can’t buy it over there 😦
It’s not something we eat a lot of but mixed with roasted veggies it is perfect!
Most every post i post was an idea jotted down over a year ago, but I just pretend that’s not true most of the time. If I write a very sad post, it’s usually sadness I had a while ago, so don’t worry too much about me. 😉