Product Review: Tinkyada Rice Pastas

Hands down, my absolute FAVORITE pasta. After tasting several pastas reminiscent of glue, boy was I happy to find this brand. I use all of their pasta products: spirals, penne, spaghetti, elbows, etc. Boiling the water first, then adding the pasta and letting it cook for the longest cook time will still yield a chewy but tender pasta. Use the shorter cook time on the package for “al dente”. I add both a pinch of salt and a bit of canola oil to the water, but you MUST stir it frequently to avoid it becoming one huge clump. I don't believe any pasta out there can avoid this trap, but it seems especially pertinent in the first five minutes of cook time.

Here are a few tricks I've learned with this pasta:

* If you want a “cleaner, less starchy” pasta taste, boil for 10 minutes, partially drain (you can use a measuring cup to remove about half of the water), refill with fresh water to cover the pasta, once it's boiling again, cook 10 minutes longer. This method is more time consuming, but it is worth it if you have the time.

* When pasta is done cooking, drain in a collander, and rinse immediately with cold water. This stops the pasta from cooking any longer and is great for both cold pasta salads and spaghetti.

* To prevent sticking after it has been cooked, add a touch of olive or canola oil to the pasta after rinsing.

Hot sauces will still stick well even if the pasta has been rinsed. Our favorite sauce is Classico Italian Sausage – made even better if you add a small amount of lean ground beef and crushed garlic to it. Delicious!