Pasta is one of the favourite meals of many people (in its infinite versions) and it is also one of the most versatile ingredients in your pantry. Furthermore, it is an excellent source of energy as well as proteins, fibre and essential vitamins and minerals for our bodies. But, have you ever wondered how pasta is made? How does wheat transform into macaroni, spaghetti ornoodles? Here are all the steps in our production process.
1. Harvesting durum wheat
Gallo Group does not only produce its own semolina, but it also produces its own varieties of durum wheat by collaborating with local farmers from places like Andalusia and Aragón to choose the best seeds. Durum wheat is known worldwide for being the finest cereal due to its excellent nutritional properties.
2. From wheat to semolina
Once the durum wheat has been harvested, it is rinsed and undergoes a milling process to turn it into wheat semolina.
3. Mixing and extrusion process
The transformation of wheat semolina into pasta with a specific shape and optimal texture is achieved by hydrating the semolina with water, kneading the mixture and its later extrusion process. It is in this step, depending on the type of pasta that natural ingredients can be added (egg, spinach, tomato…).
4. Moulding
If you have ever wondered how pasta is made and how it gets its varied shapes that you love so much, the answer is easy: the airtight extrusioned dough is pressed into moulds. Did you know that nowadays there are more than 400 different types of pasta on the market?
Shapes and designs:
Normally, pastas can be grouped into:
- Laminated pastas: those that are made from a dough sheet: such as cannelloni, lasagne, ‘margaritas’, ‘lacitos’…
- Shaped pastas: those that are made from a dough that is shaped in a mould. These are divided into two groups:
- Long pastas: spaghetti, linguini…
- Short pastas: for soup (‘maravilla’, ‘estrellas’, noodles…) or to eat with a fork (macaroni, shapes for kids…).
5. Drying process
Unless it is sold as a fresh product (with a shorter lifespan), pasta must be dried to ensure its microbiological and biochemical stability.
- Each pasta needs different drying times and methods: for example: long pastas (spaghetti or linguini) are hung from rods and undergo a vertical drying process. Short pastas (macaroni, ‘hélices’) are slowly dried in rotational or floating driers to remove all humidity and ensure that the product can be kept almost indefinitely in the right conditions.
- This is a delicate process that must be carefully controlled in order to avoid internal breakage of the pasta. Having state-of-the-art technology and the best professionals is a guarantee of a perfect drying process and later conservation of our pastas.
6. Packaging
Gallo group’s pastas are packed directly into packaging made with a double layer of food-safe polypropylene and polyethylene straight after leaving the stabilisation silo. These materials give the best possible protection, they protect pasta from external humidity and stop flavours from transferring into the pasta (such as cardboard).
Now you know how pasta is made. The next step is distribution: pasta arrives to shops where you can buy it and take it home to cook it however you like it. Do you know which spices work best with pasta? Be sure to read this article.