It wasn't easy! My first foray into other types of pasta was "spelt" pasta, another grain. It was awful, and turned me off from trying others. A year or two later, I decided to venture forth again and tried brown rice pasta. Same reaction!
Finally, somewhere around 2003-2004, I decided to bite the bullet and, in my usual methodical way, try EVERY brand AND variety of whole wheat pasta I could find. Unlike regular pasta, there's a lot of variety with whole wheat pasta, so if you don't like one brand, you may very well like a different one. It's similar to whole wheat bread, one can find a big difference between two different brands. What follows is information on whole wheat (and other related) pasta from five stores: Super Fresh, Shop Rite, Whole Foods (formerly Fresh Fields), Trader Joe's, and wal-Mart. Keep in mind that some brands are available in many places. Super Fresh and Shop Rite most likely have overlap with themselves and other stores not mentioned.
I've listed in Chart #1 the brand, style, store where purchased, purchase date, purchase price, weight (usually 16 ounces), and cooking time. Chart #2 has nutritional information. When you purchase, check to see if what I listed matches what you have. If it doesn't, it may mean that they have a new formulation, especially if my purchase date is old. Any ratings are based on the most recent formulation I've had. Chart #3 has company information. Chart #4 has my judgment and comments.
This page was started in January, 2007 and is under construction. A table of contents is below.
I. Chart #1 - Basic Information
II. Chart #2 - Nutritional Information
III. Chart #3 - Company Information
IV. Chart #4 - Judgment & Comments
V. Other Notes
# | Brand | Style | Store | Date | Price | Weight | Cook Time | Ingredients |
1 | 365 Organic | Linguine, Spaghetti | Whole Foods | 2005 | $1.29 | 16 oz. | 6 min, 9 min | Organic whole durum wheat flower |
3 | Heartland | Spaghetti | Wal-Mart | 1/2007 | $0.97 | 16 oz. | 9-11 min | 100% whole grain durum wheat |
4 | De Cecco | Linguine | Super Fresh | 2003-04 | $2.49 | 17.5 oz. | 10 min | Whole semolina, niacin, ferrous lactate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid |
5 | Delverde | Linguine | Super Fresh | 2003-04 | ? | 16 oz. | 6 min | Semolina, wheat bran, ferrous lactate (iron), niacin, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid |
6 | Westbrae Natural | Spaghetti | Whole Foods | 2003-04 | $2.49 | 16 oz. | 12 min | Organic whole durum wheat flour |
7 | San Giorgio Healthy Harvest | Thin Spaghetti (Whole Wheat Blend) | Super Fresh | 2003-04 | $1.49 | 13.25 oz. | ? min | Enriched semolina (contains niacin, iron {ferrous sulfate}, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), durum wheat bran, durum flour, durum wheat germ |
8 | Trader Joe's | Spaghetti, Penne, Rotelle | Trader Joe's | 2006 | $1.29 | 16 oz. | 10-11 min, 10-12 min, 9-11 min | Organic durum whole wheat |
America's Choice | Spaghetti, Elbows, Rotini, Penne Rigati | Super Fresh | 2006-1/2007 | $1.39 | 16 oz. | 9-11 min, 6-8 min | Durum whole wheat flour | |
Bionaturae | Spaghetti, Fusilli | Super Fresh? | 2003-04 | $2.69 | 16 oz. | 9-11 min | Certified organic [100% stone ground] whole durum wheat, water | |
Mueller's | Rotini (Multi Grain) | Shop Rite | 1/2007 | $1.50 | 12 oz. | 6-8 min | Whole grain wheat, whole grain brown rice, whole grain oats, wheal gluten, crystallized cane juice, natural flavor (soybean oil, natural flavoring), wheat bran | |
Hodgson Mill | Whole Wheat Spaghetti, Elbows | Super Fresh | 2003-04 | $2.39, $2.19 | 16 oz. | 9 min, ? | 100% durum whole wheat flour | |
Hodgson Mill | Whole Wheat Spinach Spaghetti | Super Fresh | 2003-04 | $2.39 | 16 oz. | 9 min | 100% durum whole wheat flour, spinach powder | |
Hodgson Mill | Penne with Milled Flax Seed | Super Fresh | 2004-04 | $2.39 | 12 oz. | 7-9 min | Organic durum whole wheat flour, milled flax seed | |
$ | oz. | min | ||||||
$ | oz. | min | ||||||
$ | oz. | min | ||||||
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$ | oz. | min |
# | Brand | Style | Calories | Cal. from Fat | Total Fat | Sat. Fat | Trans Fat | Cholesterol | Sodium | Total Carb. | Fiber | Sugars | Protein | Vit. A | Vit. C | Calcium | Iron | Thiamin | Riboflavin | Niacin | Folate (Folic Acid) | |
5 | Delverde | Linguine | 200 | 10 | 1 | ? | ? | ? | 0 | 41 | 4 | 2 | 7 | ? | ? | ? | 10% | 35% | 15% | 15% | 35% | |
365 Organic | Linguine, Spaghetti | 200 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2% | 12% | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||
Trader Joe's | Spaghetti, Penne, Rotelle | 210 | 15 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10% | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||
San Giorgio Healthy Harvest | Thin Spaghetti (Whole Wheat Blend) | 210 | 15 | 1.5 | 0 | ? | 0 | 0 | 42 | 3 | 2 | 7 | ? | ? | ? | 15% | 35% | 10% | 20% | 25% | ||
Westbrae Natural | Spaghetti | 210 | 15 | 1.5 | 0 | ? | 0 | 10 | 41 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4% | 8% | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||
De Cecco | Linguine | 180 | 15 | 1.5 | 0 | ? | less than 5 | 0 | 35 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2% | 10% | 35% | 15% | 20% | 30% | ||
Heartland | Spaghetti | 210 | 15 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2% | 10% | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||
America's Choice | Spaghetti, Elbows, Rotini, Penne Rigati | 210 | 15 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2% | 10% | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||
Bionaturae | Spaghetti, Fusilli | 190 | ? | 0 | ? | ? | ? | 15 | 42 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20% | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||
Mueller's | Rotini (Multi Grain) | 190 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 40 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2% | 15% | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||
Hodgson Mill | Spaghetti, Elbows | 190 | 15 | 1 | 0 | ? | 0 | 10 | 34 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2% | 15% | 20% | 4% | 10% | ? | ||
Hodgson Mill | Spinach Spaghetti | 190 | 15 | 2 | 1 | ? | 0 | 25 | 35 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2% | 15% | 20% | 4% | 10% | ? | ||
Hodgson Mill | Penne with Milled Flax Seed | 200 | 20 | 2 | 0 | ? | 0 | 10 | 40 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2% | 15% | 20% | 4% | 10% | 8% | |||
# | Brand | Company Name | Company Address | Company website / Email | Company Phone | Organic Certification | |
1-2 | 365 Organic | Whole Foods Market | Austin, TX 78703 (packed in Italy) | www.wholefoodsmarket.com | Quality Assurance International (QAI) | ||
Delverde | Delverde S.p.A. | Zona Industriale, 66015 Fara San Martino, Abruzzo, Italy | www.delverde.com | ||||
America's Choice | The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company [A&P] | Montvale, NJ 07645 | |||||
Trader Joe's | Trader Joe's | Monrovia, CA 91016 | Quality Assurance International (QAI) | ||||
San Giorgio Healthy Harvest | New World Pasta Co. | Harrisburg, PA 17112-6457 (product of Canada) | www.sangiorgio.com | 800-730-5957 | |||
Westbrae Natural | Westbrae Natural | 734 Franklin Ave #444, Garden City, NY 11530 | www.westbrae.com | 800-434-4246 | Quality Assurance International (QAI) | ||
De Cecco | D.Lli De Cecco Di Dilippo Fara S. Martino S.p.A. | Fara S. Martino (CH) Italy | www.dececco.it dececco@dececco.it | ||||
Heartland | American Italian Pasta Co. | Kansas City, MO 64116 | 877-328-7278 | ||||
Bionaturae | Verpack srl (U.S. importer: Euro-USA Trading Co., Inc.) | Via Fermi, Palaia (Pisa), Tuscany, Italy (U.S. importer: North Franklin, CT 06254) | www.bionaturae.com | ||||
Mueller's | American Italian Pasta Co. | Kansas City, MO 64116 | www.muellerspasta.com | 877-328-7278 | |||
Hodgson Mill | Hodgson Mill | Gainesville, MO 65655 | |||||
# | Brand | Style | Judgment & Comments |
5 | Delverde | Linguine | Excellent, possibly the best I've had |
365 Organic | Linguine, Spaghetti | Very good; linguine is better than spaghetti | |
Trader Joe's | Spaghetti, Penne, Rotelle | ||
San Giorgio Healthy Harvest | Thin Spaghetti (Whole Wheat Blend) | I did not like this one | |
Westbrae Natural | Spaghetti | ||
De Cecco | Linguine | ||
Heartland | Spaghetti | ||
America's Choice | Spaghetti, Elbows, Rotini, Penne Rigati | Very good; possibly the most "mild" tasting of them all (good as your first try to whole wheat pasta); spaghetti is better than elbows (I purchased but have yet to taste rotini or penne rigati) | |
Bionaturae | Spaghetti, Fusilli | ||
Mueller's | Rotini (Multi Grain) | (I purchased but have yet to taste it) | |
Hodgson Mill | Spaghetti, Elbows | (Did not try elbows) | |
Hodgson Mill | Spinach Spaghetti | ||
Hodgson Mill | Penne with Milled Flax Seed | ||
Trader Joe's changed their formulation sometime around early 2006. The old one (in both spaghetti and penne) had 2g total fat (1.5 in the current formulation), 1g saturated fat (0), 6g protein (8), 6% vitamin C (0%), 8% iron (10%). I prefer the new formulation.
Whole Foods changed their formulation (365 Organic brand) sometime around 2005. The old one (in both spaghetti and linguine) had 20 calories from fat (10 in the current formulation), 2g fat (1), 39g carbohydrates (40), 1g sugar (2), 7g protein (8), and 8% iron (12%).
Delverde, possibly the best one I've ever had, is no longer carried at Super Fresh. I've seen some varieties elsewhere, but never the whole wheat.
For Bionaturae, I tried only the spaghetti, not the fusilli.
From Westbrae Natural, "To produce a firm al dente texture, whole wheat pasta requires more carefully timed cooking than semolina pasta."
I did try Annie's (purchased at Whole Foods sometime between 2003-2005, and I recall it being quite good).
Created January 29, 2007.