With such an abundance of “white flour” pasta products on grocers’ shelves today, and relatively few completely whole grain products, discovering this Ronzoni Penne Rigate Pasta Healthy Harvest Whole Wheat All Natural was a joyous, delicious, and healthful experience.
I melt over just about all pastas, refined or less so, dry or fresh. But I have limited it in recent times, due to the high content of refined carbs. However, this Ronzoni Pasta, all n all, is less refined; it contains nothing but whole wheat. So it’s more naturally nutritious. This strictly whole grain pasta, whose noodles are in the shape of small tubes with angled ends, also provides an appetizing and pleasant, mild durum wheat taste besides.
Benefits, Pros, Advantages, and Features
Whole grain penne rigate pasta texture can be crunchy, chewy, or very soft, depending on how long you cook it. So this Healthy Harvest rigate pasta behaves during cooking, and afterwards while eating, almost just like other more highly refined pastas. Yet its whole-grain content makes it more complete for you nutritionally.
A whole 12 Oz. box of this Ronzoni pasta cooks up in about twenty-one minutes on my stove. Smaller portions finish more quickly; the box says 11 minutes cooking time. My actual cooking times are longer, because I put the pasta in the water first, and then turn on the heat, bringing the water to a boil with the pasta already added. I figure that this approach saves a little energy, and over all, a bit of time besides.
During cooking, the pleasant-but-not-overpowering whole-grain smell fills my first floor.
You sacrifice no taste when you switch to this Ronzoni Penne Pasta from New World Pasta Company. Yet you gain some naturally-occurring nutrition for your effort. Try mixing this pasta with steamed carrots, corn, or cauliflower for an even more filling meal.
This rigate pasta is a good source of protein (9 grams per 2 Oz. serving), and it has low per-serving fat and sugar (1.5 grams and 2 grams respectively).
Not only are these tubular pasta noodles a decent source of protein, but the whole-wheat flour used within makes them a tasty fiber source as well (5 grams per 2 Oz. serving).
Just look at the ingredients (from the box): Durum whole wheat flour. That’s it!
This rigate penne pasta has a mild flavor, resembling more traditional pastas. So, this pasta readily accepts cheeses and sauces as flavor enhancers, without overwhelming them.
Ronzoni pasta products are easy to find in most larger food grocery chains and health food outlets. I bought my boxes at Walmart.
During cooking, the boiling water remains pretty clear; not much of this pasta product dissolves into the water, which means more nutrition on your plate, and less product poured down the drain when you strain the water away.
The box includes a recipe for Penne Regate with Chicken (instructions provided for serving the dish both hot and cold).
This product keeps well for years in cool and dry places. The best-by date is nearly two years out from the date I purchased this product.
Disadvantages, Cons, Problems, and Concerns
Penne pasta required more time to soften and cook than do pasta elbows or spirals, as each noodle is somewhat more massive. No problem though. I just wash a few more dishes until the penne cylinder-shaped noodles finish cooking.
Sometimes, the noodles stick to the bottom of the pot in which I cook them. But this isn’t such an extensive drawback, as simply soaking the pot in hot water for several to ten minutes softens and loosens them enough that a scrub pad quickly gets them off.
Cooking Directions
- Use the following cook times for the given amount of pasta:
- Servings: 2. Pasta amount: 1/3 box. Water: 2 quarts. Salt: 1 teaspoon.
- Servings: 3. Pasta amount: 1/2 box. Water: 3 quarts. Salt: 2 teaspoons.
- Servings: 6. Pasta amount: 1 entire box. Water: 5 quarts. Salt: 1 tablespoon.
- Bring water to rapid boil. Add salt to reduce stickines and to augment the pasta flavor.
- Add pasta to water.
- Then, stir and allow water to return to boil.
- Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally (every minute or two).
- Then, drain well.
- Serve with your favorite sauce or other flavorings. I recommend that you heat such sauces also, so they don’t cool down your pasta too quickly when you mix them in.
- You can preserve the cooked pasta freshness for later consumption, by mixing in a small amount of sauce or olive oil, and then refrigerating.
Ingredients
Durum whole wheat flour.
Nutrition Facts
- Serving size: 2 ounces, 56 grams, 3/4 cup. Servings per container: About 6.
- Calories: 200. Calories from fat: 15.
- Total fat: 1.5 grams, 2% DV.
- Saturated fat: 0 grams, 0% DV.
- Trans fat: 0 grams.
- Polyunsaturated fat: 1 gram.
- Monounsaturated fat: 0 grams.
- Cholesterol: 0 grams, 0% DV.
- Sodium: 5 milligrams, 0% DV.
- Total carbohydrate: 39 grams, 13% DV.
- Dietary fiber: 5 grams, 20% DV.
- Sugars: 2 grams.
- Protein: 9 grams.
- Vitamin A: 0% DV.
- Calcium: 2% DV.
- Vitamin C: 0% DV.
- Iron: 10% dV.
Our Rating
To wrap this up: I’d definitely recommend this Penne rigate pasta to those who love all natural, whole grain pasta, but who, like me, wish to find healthier pasta alternatives to bleached flour. It’s affordable, versitile, and tastes great. So I’d rate this whole grain pasta product at 99 out of 100.
Where To Buy Ronzoni Penne Rigate Pasta Healthy Harvest Whole Wheat All Natural
Look for this healthful product in the brown and yellow box with the white letters at your favorite bigger food stores. The box includes a little wedge-shaped window on the front to allow actual viewing of the noodles, and it has a picture of the cooked pasta as well, beneath this window.
References
- Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Foods Website
- Penne Pasta On Wikipedia
- Where To Buy Ronzoni Penne Rigate Pasta
Revision History
- : Adjusted category and tag assignments, fixed typos, and added white space.
- 2012-07-25: Originally published.