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Bionaturae (bee-oh-na-too-ray) is a family-owned organic company located in Italy. It translates to mean “organic nature.”
We’ve tested their gluten-free pasta as well as their spreads, organic tomato sauce (in glass jars), balsamic vinegars, olive oils, and nectars. Each product we tested conveyed life an Italian organic farm. The products are pure. You simply taste the subtle flavors of food just as it is should be, as nature intended, and nothing else. It was a pleasant surprise.
The organic tomato sauce tasted as if we had pureed the finest, perfectly ripe tomatoes. We created lasagna sauce and a soup and added it to a fish stock. All were superb. I could go on and on about the products, but the story behind the company, of the three brothers who founded it, is what I feel comes across in each bite.
In 1983, three brothers purchased a farm in Tuscany, committing to organic farming. It was named Fattoria Terra Rossa, “Farm of the Red Soil,” for its rich soil.
At that time organic was not popular in Italy. They were ridiculed for not spraying for insects. The first year was rough, but they eventually learned successful organic farming methods. At the same time, they experimented with old family recipes, leading to sugar-free organic fruit products which made use of fruit concentrates as the only sweetener. In 1989 marked the opening of their official processing facility. They later founded a pasta factory and perfected their own recipes, making friends with locals inviting other organic farmers to press their olives into oil as well.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7pYoifn5Vc[/youtube]
In 1991, Bionaturae was trademarked. The company remained committed to their organic line and co-operative methods with local farmers, not falling prey to the industrial methods which were sweeping across Italy. Staying true to their passion to remain organic, pure, and traditional, they wanted to offer their products to North America and in 1995 formed a partnership with a husband and wife team in order to do so. Since then, the cooperatives these three brothers have formed in Italy are grand. Many farmers are in remote hillsides, bordering natural reserves with trees up to 300 years in age.
After a year of research and development, they introduced their gluten-free pasta again made with only all-organic ingredients and rice flour, rice starch, potato starch and soy flour. They suggest cooking it “al dente” and say it needs no rinsing. They are right!
The gluten-free products are authorized by the Italian Ministry of Health and the factory also tests for presence of gluten in each step of the process and before leaving Italy. Again, the products are tested in a lab in the U.S. before any distribution takes place in the country.
If you haven’t been to Italy, bring it to your home by enjoying Bionaturae’s products and GF pasta. We did!
Tina Turbin
www.glutenfreehelp.info.
b.a.
From our home to yours, Tina Turbin
If you have any questions or suggestions just email me at info (at) GlutenFreeHelp.info.
I really love this company’s balsamic vinegar. I like to mix it with oil and dijon mustard as a dressing–especially on a steak and onion salad–yum! I also like to drizzle it on homemade bruschetta. So good…it really adds a perfect tangy taste to salads, especially Italian dishes. It’s also pretty reasonably priced for a nice balsamic vinegar.
It was really interesting reading about the development of a gluten-free company in another country. I didn’t realize that it was an issue that industrial methods are gaining in popularity even in rural Italy. I love buying organic and farmer’s market produce because I like supporting the farmers and groups that succeed in making a living while staying true to their natural and healthy methods.
Hi Tina, this is great. I love hearing about foreign gluten-free food companies. From my understanding in Europe and Australia people are much more aware of gluten issues and there’s a lot more gluten-free options out there, as compared with North America. I have wondered if their food was also better quality because they’ve been aware of the gluten-free diet for quite some time and there might be more competition out there between gf companies so the quality has to be higher. Anyway, I look forward to testing my hypothesis by trying Bionaturae and other foreign company’s foods.
Penne Rigatta: yummy! You’ll never know the difference! Tender…
I like the Penne Rigatta! It’s really good!
mixed penne regatta with chicken and a sauce made from “RC Fine Food’s chicken base” –tasted delicious.
The Penne regatta tastes like regular pasta Noodle, would never have known it was gluten free.
I am very interested in trying this brand because I am just so fascinated by gluten free pasta that doesn’t taste gluten free. How can this be? People have said this before about other pastas, and I tried them, and I disagreed that they didn’t taste gluten free. They did seem a little different. I would’ve been like, “Hmm this pasta is a little funny tasting to me” if I wasn’t gluten free. But who knows. I look forward to testing it myself.
I tell you what, we celiacs are lucky that many/most of the GF food companies that are out there are also organic! It’s usually companies founded by health-conscious individuals who decide to provide food for the gluten-free community. All my produce is organic too, so I think I’m doing pretty well as far as this aspect of my diet is concerned:)
Gluten-free pasta from Italy? This is probably pretty good, wouldn’t you think? I can’t wait to give this a try because the gf pastas I’ve been eating haven’t been that great in my opinion. I don’t really eat a lot of pasta, but when I do eat it, I want it to taste authentic!
I’ve had these before and couldn’t not leave a comment. You’re absolutely right, they really are good. They have both the taste and texture of a real noodle. Their sauces are also perfectly spiced and you get the feeling that they are gourmet foods. Bionaturae is THE brand of GF pasta that we use in our kitchen. I highly recommend it to y’all!
I really couldn’t believe how great and fresh the tomato paste tasted. It tastes like somebody just pureed their organic garden-grown tomatoes right before your eyes and let you taste it right away. It is THAT good. Two thumbs up!
Hi it’s me again. Bionaturae…I haven’t tried this company ever and I have tried many gluten free companies. I love the name of the company. It doesn’t strike me as Italian though–more Latin. Well, I guess this is why I read your blog, to hear about companies that I haven’t heard of before ever.
Hi Bionaturae sounds great. Our family has Italian Night every now and then (not too often though because I don’t like to eat too much bread and pasta). I will try this company the next time!
You know it’s amazing to me how many spaghetti sauces and pastas are out there that are gluten-free! Do we really love our pasta THAT much? It’s so funny how many alternatives we have for pastas and breads, etc., but in my opinion we should be eating high protein foods and lots of veggies and fruits. That being said though I will give this brand a try!
Thanks for this recommendation. I’m not only committed to the gluten free diet (which I have to be for health reasons), my husband and I are deeply committed to eating organic. We have been eating organic for over 20 years now! Of course we go out to restaurants now and then ad eat non-organic food, but our home is 100% organic! I will try Bionaturae and hope to add it to our organic pantry!