Whole Wheat Pasta

I am really eager for replies also. bump!

You know what, I really don't know. LOL maybe just for the taste difference? :shrug:

I personally get whole wheat, but I do like the taste.

Whole wheat flour is a powdery substance derived by grinding or mashing the wheat's whole grain. It is used in baking but typically added to other "white" flours to give nutrition, texture, fiber, and body to the finished product. Usually, whole wheat flour is not the main ingredients of baked goods, as it adds a certain "heaviness" which prevents them from rising as well as white flours. This adds to the cost per volume of the baked item as it requires more flour to obtain the same volume, due to the fewer and smaller air pockets trapped in the raised goods.

Nevertheless, it is possible to make a high-rising, light loaf of 100% whole wheat bread, so long as one increases the water content of the dough (the bran and germ in whole wheat absorb more water than plain white flour), kneads the dough for a longer period of time to develop the gluten adequately, and allows for a longer rise before shaping the dough. Some bakers let the dough rise twice before shaping. The addition of fats, such as butter or oil, and milk products (fresh milk, powdered milk, buttermilk, yogurt, etc.) can also greatly assist the rise.

The word "whole" refers to the fact that all of the grain (bran, germ, and endosperm) is used and nothing is lost in the process of making the flour. This is in contrast to white, processed flours, which contain only the endosperm. Because the whole flour contains the remains of all of the grain, it has a textured, brownish appearance.

Whole wheat flour has a shorter shelf life than white flour, as the higher oil content leads to rancidification. It is also more expensive.

"Brown" bread made from whole wheat flour is more nutritious than "white" bread made from white, refined flour, even though nutrients are added back to the white flour. This is because whole wheat bread is less refined, and retains more of the naturally-occurring vitamins and minerals. However, many brown breads do, in fact, contain a certain amount of white flour.
Wheat is a good source of calcium,Iron,fiber and other minerals like selenium.

So, yes, whole wheat pasta is better for you.

Yes, the labels say one thing, but you have to know the law on labeling. Even some things that say 0 cals have them just lower than the law requires.

LOL, I was wondering that with the 0 calorie pickles!

I make both so maybe I can help answer your question

Whole wheat comes from ground wheat berries...or the berry right out of the chaff from the field. Grind that up raw and you've got whole wheat. Sometimes it's not ground up enough and there seems to be things floating around in the water or gritty things. That may be what you don't like. If I add a cup of raw spinach that I pureed in the food processor the texture changes. It's the favorite in my house!

The white pasta comes from semolina flour or durum. It has to do with the processing it's been through and loses nutrients in that process. If you google your question, you'll find some nice debates and good information about the matter.

The less processed the better for you.

Great post. Ive always wanted to know why whole wheat pasta was better bc they typically have the same calories.

I think it tastes better than white pasta myself, much like whole-wheat bread tastes better to me than white bread. The white version of either, for me, requires some fat (butter, sauce, etc.) to be palatable, but I enjoy whole-wheat bread completely naked (the bread, not me [usually not me]) and whole-wheat pasta with a little salt and pepper.

I have hated and thrown away about ten different boxes of whole wheat pasta, but the healthy harvest brand is pretty good.

Whole wheat pasta can go right where I sent the turkey bacon........the trash. I am a firm believer in moderation for everything, pasta alone isn't the reason anyone is fat and if you eat it in a portion size ( a cup) along with a meatball and some salad it is actually a pretty big meal. I have tried teh barilla plus and the only one I can stomach is the angel hair. I'm sorry, I was raised by a sicilian and there is no substitute for good homemade pasta with gravy. I can get my whole grains and fiber from too many other sources to ruin a good meal with crappy pasta. :drinker:

Exactly!! If you are going to eat pasta, you might as well enjoy it, so you don't splurge later one.

I was wondering the same thing about the pasta, and I looked at the backs of some in Walmart (don't remember the specifics). The only difference I saw was that the wheat pasta had a teeny bit more fiber. It's just not worth it to me. I'd rather eat the white pasta and enjoy it.

It all comes down to simple and complex carbs. Regular pasta is a simple and whole grain is complex btw. Complex carbohydrates or starch are simply sugars bonded together to form a chain. digestive enzymes have to work much harder to access the bonds to break the chain into individual sugars for absorption through the intestines.
For this reason digestion of complex carbohydrates takes longer. The slow absorption of sugars provides us with a steady supply of energy and limits the amount of sugar converted into fat and stored! It also helps you feel fuller longer and and grains contain phytochemicals!!! Which is a good thing.

Simple carbs are digested quickly because the individual sugars are ready to be absorbed immediately plus digestive enzymes have easy access to the bonds in the paired molecules. You could say most of the work has been done!
Their rapid absorption increases the chances of sugar converting to fat but only if there is an abundance of energy absorbed. Foods like cake, pastry, biscuits, chocolate and too much table sugar to name a few contain lots of "empty" calories. Because our cells usually do not require that amount of energy at that time, the sugar must either be converted to glycogen ( sugar storage within cells ) or converted to fat. The cell can only store a limited amount of glycogen so in many cases simple carbohydrate loaded foods may contribute to body fat store!

Yes, the Barilla brand is what we purchase most of the time.