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pasta is made manufacture, making, history, how to make, used, product, machine
Pasta
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Background
Pasta is a universally enjoyed food, and almost every country serves a type of noodle. In China, it is mein; Japan, udon;
Poland, pierogi; Germany, spaetzle. The popularity of pasta can be attributed to several factors: it is easily manufactured, it
takes up little storage space, it is easy to cook, and it is rich in complex carbohydrates.
Raw Materials
Pasta is made from a mixture of water and semolina flour. Semolina is a coarseground flour from the heart, or endosperm, of
durum wheat, an ambercolored high protein hard wheat that is grown specifically for the manufacture of pasta. With a lower
starch content and a higher protein content than allpurpose flours, semolina flour is easily digested. Farina, rougher
granulations of other highquality hard wheat, is also used to make some pastas. The semolina and farina flour are enriched with Bvitamins and iron before
they are shipped to pasta plants.
Eggs are sometimes added to the mixture for color or richness. Federal guidelines stipulate that egg noodles contain a minimum of 5.5% egg solids.
Vegetable juices, such as spinach, beet, tomato, and carrot, can also be added for color and taste. In recent years, the addition of herbs and spices such
as garlic, basil, and thyme has become popular.
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The Manufacturing
Process
Mixing and kneading
1 The semolina is stored in giant silos that can hold up to 150,000 pounds (68,100 kg). Pipes move the flour to a mixing machine equipped with
rotating blades. Warm water is also piped into the mixing machine. The mixture is kneaded to a lumpy consistency.
Flavoring and coloring
2 Eggs are added to the mixture if the product is an egg noodle. If pasta is to be a flavored variety, vegetable juices are added here. A tomato or beet
mixture is added for red pasta, spinach for green pasta, carrots for orange pasta. Herbs and spices can also be folded in for additional flavoring.
Rolling
3 The mixture moves to a laminator (/knowledge/Laminate.html) where it is pressed into sheets by large cylinders. A vacuum mixermachine further
flattens the dough while pressing air bubbles and excess water from the dough to reach the optimum water content of 12%.
Pasteurization
4 The roll of dough moves through a steamer, which heats the dough to 220°F (104°C) in order to kill any existing bacteria.
Cutting
5 Depending on the type of noodle to be produced, the dough is either cut or pushed through dies. Ribbon and stringstyle pasta—such as fettucine,
linguine, spaghetti, and capellini (angel hair)—are cut by rotating blades. To make tube or shellshaped pasta such as rigatoni, ziti, elbow
macaroni, and fusilli, the dough is fed into an extruder which then pushes it through metal dies. The size and shape of the holes in the die determine
the type of pasta.
To make vermicelli and capellini, the pasta dough is pushed through holes between 0.80.5 mm in diameter. The cutting machine then cuts the pasta
into lengths of 10 inches (250 mm) and twists it into curls. Spaghetti ranges from 1.52.5 mm in diameter and is left straight.
Tortellini (filled pasta rings) are made on a separate machine. The machine cuts small circles from a roll of dough. A bucket of ricotta cheese mixture
drops a premeasured amount of cheese onto the circle of dough. The dough is then folded over and the two ends are joined to form a circle.
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To make ravioli (filled pasta squares), premeasured quantities of cheese filling are dropped by machine at premeasured intervals on a sheet of pasta.
Another sheet of pasta is placed over this sheet as it moves along a conveyer belt (/knowledge/Conveyor_belt.html). The two layers then pass under
a cutting machine that perforates the pasta into premeasured squares.
Drying
6 The pasta is placed in a drying tank in which heat, moisture, and drying time are strictly regulated. The drying period differs for the various types of
pasta. It can range from three hours for elbow macaroni and egg noodles to as much as 12 hours for spaghetti. The drying time is critical because if
the pasta is dried too quickly it will break and if it is dried too slowly, the chance for spoilage increases. The oxygen level in the tank is also regulated,
and lab technicians test frequently for salmonella and other bacteria.
Careful handling of the pasta during the drying period is also crucial. Spaghetti is the most fragile of the noodles and is therefore hung high above the
floor.
Packaging
7 Fresh pasta is folded in premeasured amounts into clear plastic containers. As the containers move along a conveyer belt, a plastic sheet covers
each container and is sealed with a hot press. At the same time, a small tube sucks the air of the container and replaces it with a mixture of carbon
dioxide and nitrogen (/knowledge/Nitrogen.html) to prolong the product's shelflife. Labels listing the type of noodle, nutritional information, cooking
instructions, and expiration date are attached to the top of the containers.
Dried pasta is loaded, either manually or by machine, into stainless steel buckets (usually of heavy gauge type 304) which move along a conveyer
belt to the appropriate packaging station. The pasta is measured by machine into preprinted boxes, which also list the type of noodle, ingredients,
preparation, and expiration date. Again, careful handling is important. For example, because lasagna noodles are particularly fragile, workers place
them on metal slides that ease the pasta into boxes. The boxes are then sealed by machine.
Conveying system can be constructed in "S," "C," or "Z" configurations, or as horizontal conveyer belts. These systems move the pasta up and down
and across the plant at heights up to 10 feet (3 m). Workers at the floorlevel stations monitor the packaging process. The mechanism allows for
workers to package the pasta manually if necessary.
Quality Control
The manufacturing of pasta is subject to strict federal regulations for food production. Federal inspectors schedule regular visits to insure
(/knowledge/Insurance.html) that the company is adhering to goverrnment laws. In addition, each company sets its own standards for quality, some of
which are set in practice before the pasta reaches the plant. Lab technicians test the semolina flour for color, texture, and purity before it is removed from
rail cars. Protein and moisture content are measured and monitored on sophisticated quality control computer software.
In the plant, technicians constantly test the pasta for elasticity, texture, taste, and tolerance to overcooking. Plant workers are required to wear haimets and
plastic gloves. Mixing machines are scrupulously cleaned after each batch of pasta passes through them. The drying process is strictly monitored to guard
against spoilage.
Homemade Pasta
The popularity of pasta has spread to the homecooking arena. Pastarolling machines and pasta cookbooks are available at housewares stores and in
cooks' catalogs. The recipe for homemade pasta is similar to the industrial process with the exception that eggs are generally used in all home pasta
recipes. Sometimes oil is added to the mixture, particularly if a lesser grade of flour is used.
The flour is measured out onto a wooden or marble surface and formed into a mound with a well in the center. Eggs, water, oil and any other desired
ingredients are poured into the well and mixed lightly with a fork. Then, beginning from the outside of the mound, the flour is incorporated into the center.
The dough is kneaded for approximately five minutes until a smooth, elastic ball is achieved. Rolling the dough into sheets is done with a long Italianstyle
rolling pin or with a rolling machine. Most rolling machines have attachments for cutting the dough into various forms of pasta such as spaghetti, fettucine,
lasagna, or ravioli. The dough can also be cut by hand using a sharp knife or rolling blade. Specially marked rolling pins that imprint squares on the dough
or ravioli trays can be used for making stuffed pasta. Extrusion machines for making tubestyle pasta such as rigatoni or fusilli can also be purchased for
home use.
The Future
Pasta continues to increase in popularity. The National Pasta Foods Association estimates that the average American will eat more than 29 pounds (13 kg)
of pasta each year by the turn of the century. Highly rated for its nutritional value, pasta is an ideal meal for people who are paying more attention to their
dietary intake. In addition, people are finding less time to prepare meals, and pasta is easily made.
Pasta manufacturers are responding to this demand by introducing a wide variety of dried and fresh pastas. One recent innovation is noboil pasta that is
partially cooked at the plant, making this already easytoprepare food even simpler to bring to the table at mealtime. New lines of fat and cholesterolfree
ravioli are on the market as well as organicallygrown pasta products. Two new grains, South American quinoa and Egyptian kamut, are being used to
make wheatfree pasta.
Where To Learn More
Books
Bugialli, Guiliano. Bugialli on Pasta. Simon and Schuster, 1988.
ToussaintSamat, Maguelonne. A History of Food. (Translated from the French by Anthea Bell). Blackwell Publishers, 1992.
Periodicals
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5/24/2016 How pasta is made manufacture, making, history, how to make, used, product, machine
Bannon, Lisa. "Italians Do Still Eat Oodles of Noodles, But Trend Is Limp." Wall Street Journal, May 10, 1994, p. Al.
"What Is Pasta?" Borden, Inc., 1994.
"CustomManufactured Pasta." Food Engineering, January 1991, p. 71.
Giese, James. "Pasta: New Twists on an Old Product." Food Technology, February 1992, p. 11826.
McMath, Robert. "Pasta's New World Order." Adweek's Marketing Week, November 25, 1991, p. 26
— Mary F. McNulty
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Also read article about Pasta (/knowledge/Pasta.html) from Wikipedia
User Contributions:
1
Billy the Third (mailto:Billy [at] jimbob [dot] com) Jul 21, 2014 @ 3:03 am
(/Volume
what a weird way to link pasta to steamroller but i do suppose that you would have really fine flattened pasta.
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