Menu

Menu

Pasta

The most Loved Food on our Tables

President: Margherita MASTROMAURO - PASTIFICIO RISCOSSA F.LLI MASTROMAURO S.p.A., Secretary: Luigi Cristiano LAURENZA

A love story about pasta
From daily meals to gourmet recipes, pasta is perhaps the most versatile, loved and familiar food on our tables. Its ancient, millenary history can be traced back to the origins of civilization, when humans abandoned nomadic life and started devoting themselves to agriculture. They started to cultivate wheat, a precious grain that when mixed with water could be smoothed into thin sheets and cooked on hot stone. The first evidence from the classical era dates back to the 4th century BC, also found in the writings of Aristophanes, who mentioned “laganon”, a dough made with water and flour that was stretched and cut into strips. The same recipe also conquered Rome at the time of Cicero, who wrote about “laganum”, sheets of pasta that were the predecessor to today’s tagliatelle. In the late Imperial Period, the recipe didn’t go unnoticed by Apicius, who celebrated the pasta in his “De re coquinaria”, one of the oldest cook books in the world.

Between present and future
Today pasta is a symbolic food of the Mediterranean diet, known and appreciated all over the world thanks to its versatility, which makes it easy to combine with the typical ingredients of all the various national and regional traditions. It is an extremely simple product that manages to combine a set of characteristics like no other food does: nutritional properties, long shelf life, extremely versatile to use, easy to cook, cheap and genuine. In a perfect synthesis between health and taste, pasta represents “good” food par excellence, able to satisfy all palates with its infinite combinations of flavours.

  • Pasta by Numbers
  • Production Process
  • Members
  • Pasta by Numbers

    After the pandemic, the pasta sector in 2022 returned to its physiological line of growth. The production of pasta in fact, last year reached 3.670,192 tons, an increase of +3.2% on the previous year. The estimated turnover of the sector in 2022 reached 6,900 million euros, with a +24.3% on the previous year, influenced by the soaring costs and prices. The 2022 incidence of exports in quantitative terms on production reached 62.7%, while national consumption of pasta in 2022 stopped at 1.369,217 tons, with a decrease of -2.3% on 2019. In 2022 the domestic food sales in volume fell in -4.2% compared to the previous year. On the other hand, last year pasta exports have reached 2.300,974 tons, with progress, respectively, +5.2% on 2021 and +8.8% on 2019.  

    Production Process

    The pasta-making process has changed over the years, but the product has always remained the same: a simple mixture of durum wheat semolina flour and water. While fresh pasta is also made with soft wheat flour, in Italy only durum wheat semolina flour is used for dry pasta. Durum wheat and soft wheat are two varieties of the most popular cereal in the world: wheat. Both are grown in Italy: the first is more widespread in the southern regions, especially in Apulia; the second grows better in Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia Romagna. Italian law establishes that only durum wheat semolina can be used to produce dry pasta. This is because durum wheat semolina is high in gluten, which allows cooked dry pasta to remain intact and “al dente”.

    Below, the various stages of the production process for dry pasta.

    But how is pasta produced? Its production cycle can be summarised in 7 stages:

    1 SELECTION

    The selection of durum wheat semolina is an important and delicate process that influences the quality of the final product. This is why the semolina is selected in full compliance with the highest quality standards, which at the same time take into consideration the physical (specific weight and impurities) and technological (protein, quality of gluten and yellow index) characteristics of the raw material. For making pasta, only the semolina obtained from the wheat middling is used, which has a uniform yellow colour, no bran particles, a high protein content and high-quality gluten.

    2 MILLING

    The wheat is delivered to the mill to be sifted, cleaned of impurities and finally ground in order to obtain the highest quality semolina. During the milling process, the wheat passes through a series of roller mills which gradually break down the wheat kernels, removing the outermost layers and gradually reducing their size. At this point the ground wheat is passed through sifters which separate the bran, middlings and germ. Finally, cylinders are used to regrind the wheat to produce refined flour and obtain the final products: semolina flour and semolina.

    3 KNEADING AND GRANULARITY

    The durum wheat semolina flour is mixed with pure water in special kneading tanks. Starch and proteins interact in water to establish bonds and form gluten, a protein network that binds hydrated starch grains. The granularity, or the particle size of the ground semolina flour, influences the final properties of the dough. A semolina flour with a coarser particle size (> 450-500 micron) enhances the technological properties of the wheat to the fullest, giving the dough a compact and uniform appearance.

    4 WIRE DRAWING

    During the wire drawing process, the dough is shaped by die plates. The die plate is a cylindrical or rectangular parallelepiped shaped tool, with inlet and outlet holes, that moulds the dough into the shape of the pasta being produced. Die plates can either be made of bronze or Teflon. Bronze wire-drawn pasta has a rough, porous surface, which is much better for sauce adhesion, but it tends to overcook more easily. Pasta obtained from Teflon drawing, on the other hand, is smoother, shinier, withstands cooking much better and is suitable for different types of sauces.

    5 DRYING

    Drying is the most delicate stage in the entire production cycle. The pasta is left to rest in dryers and ventilated with hot air to reduce the water content and reach the maximum humidity limit of 12.5% required by law. Inside the dryers, the electrically operated ventilation units generate streams of hot air which hit the pasta and dry it. The duration of the drying process varies, depending on the type of pasta being produced.

    6 COOLING

    At the end of the drying process, the pasta is cooled in special coolers. This is where the pasta, still warm from the drying process, is brought back to room temperature.

    7 PACKAGING

    At the end of the production cycle, after having been stored in silos, the pasta is packaged inside cardboard boxes or transparent bags. The packaging stage has the dual function of preserving the product from contamination by external agents and providing it to the consumer with the appropriate information label.

    Members

    ALDINO S.R.L. - Via E. Balestreri 236 -  Z. I. - 55029 Ponte a Moriano (LU) - www.mennucci.it 

    BARILLA G. E R. FRATELLI S.P.A. - Via Mantova 166 - 43122 Parma (PR) - www.barillagroup.com  

    BIA S.P.A. - Strada Statale Adriatica 1/A - 44011 Argenta (FE) - www.biacouscous.it  

    COLUSSI S.P.A. - Via dell'Aeroporto 7 - 06081 Petrignano d'Assisi (PG) - www.colussigroup.com  

    DALLA COSTA ALIMENTARE S.R.L. - Via delle Fornace 131 - 31023 Resana (TV) - www.dallacostalimentare.it  

    ENTROTERRA SOC. COOP. A R.L. - Loc. Torre del Parco s.n. - 62032 Camerino (MC) - www.lapastadicamerino.it   

    F. DIVELLA S.P.A. - Largo Domenico Divella 1 - 70018 Rutigliano (BA) - www.divella.it 

    LA FABBRICA DELLA PASTA DI GRAGNANO SAS - Viale San Francesco 30 - 80054 GRAGNANO (NA) - www.lafabbricadellapastadigragnano.it 

    LA MOLISANA S.P.A. - Contrada Colle delle Api 100/A - 86100 Campobasso (CB) - www.lamolisana.it 

    LA SORGENTE S.R.L. - Via Aldo Moro 6 - 20060 Pessano con Bornago (MI) - www.la-sorgente.it  

    MARCOZZI BRAND S.R.L. - Contrada Valdaso 48 - 63828 Campofilone (FM) - www.marcozzibrand.it 

    MOLINO CASILLO S.P.A. - Via Sant'Elia Zona Industriale - 70033 Corato (BA) - www.casillogroup.com  

    PASTA BERRUTO S.P.A. - Via Sommariva 139/141 - 10022 Carmagnola (TO) - www.pastaberruto.it 

    PASTA ZARA S.P.A. - Via Castellana 34 - 31039 Riese Pio X (TV) - www.pastazara.it 

    PASTIFICIO BATTAGELLO S.R.L. - Via Balegante 5 - 31039 Riese Pio X (TV) - www.battagello.it 

    PASTIFICIO DI CHIAVENNA S.R.L. - Via Nazionale 4 - 23020 Prata Camportaccio (SO) - www.pastificiodichiavenna.it 

    PASTIFICIO DI MARTINO GAETANO & F.LLI S.P.A. - Via Castellammare 82 - 80054 Gragnano (NA) - www.pastadimartino.it 

    PASTIFICIO FABIANELLI S.P.A. - Via S. Antonino 107 - 52043 Castiglion Fiorentino (AR) - www.fabianelli.it 

    PASTIFICIO FELICETTI S.P.A. - Via Lorenzo Felicetti 9 - 38037 PREDAZZO (TN) - www.felicetti.it 

    PASTIFICIO GRANAROLO S.R.L. - via Artigianato 12 - 40057 Granarolo Emilia (BO) - www.pastificiogranarolo.it 

    PASTIFICIO LUCIO GAROFALO S.P.A. - Via dei Pastai 42 - 80054 GRAGNANO (NA) - www.pastagarofalo.it 

    PASTIFICIO RIGO S.P.A. - Via Asolana 28/L - 31017 Crespano del Grappa (TV) - www.pastificiorigo.it 

    PASTIFICIO RISCOSSA F.LLI MASTROMAURO S.P.A. - SP231 km 48360 - 70033 Corato BA - www.riscossa.it 

    PEDON S.P.A. - Via del Progresso 32 - 36064 Colceresa (VI) - www.pedon.it  

    PICCHIOTTI PASTA FRESCA S.R.L. - Via Provinciale di Mercantale 108/D - 50059 VINCI FI - www.picchiottipasta.it 

    POIATTI S.P.A. - Via G. Falcone 39 - 91026 Mazara Del Vallo TP - www.pastapoiatti.it 

    RUSTICHELLA D'ABRUZZO S.P.A. - P.zza dei Vestini 20 - 65019 Pianella PE - www.rustichella.it 

    TIPICO S.R.L. - Zona Industriale Lotto 14 - 08023 Fonni NU - www.tipicodisardegna.com/it/  

    TOSCANITÀ S.R.L. - Via Provinciale Colligiana 27 - 53035 Monteriggioni SI - www.artepastasenese.it