When we hear talking about the quality of pasta, normally we think to the myth of the “pasta al dente”, to the cooking resistance, to its porosity and roughness. Not a lot of people know that the real secret to make a high quality product is drying the pasta in the right way.
What is the drying process?
The drying process is a process where, under specific conditions of temperature and air, the dough loses the water in it.
Traditionally our grandparents used to leave drying pasta at the sun on special drying racks and frames. As a result, they obtained a good and healthy product that had a high quality and the ability to preserve itself over time.
While today, thanks to the technologic development, producers of pasta could count on new alternative drying methods: the static method consists on using rooms in which is possible to set air and temperature; the dynamic method consists on drying pasta over sliding tapes.
Why is so important doing this process slowly and a low temperature?
Only a slow process (at least 24 hours) and at a low temperature (not over 60 C°), is able to keep the taste and all the organoleptic properties of the raw materials. A dough dried slowly is a dough able to preserve all its energy and its nutritional properties, like vitamins B1 and B2, essential amino acids for our body (Lysine and Methionine). Moreover, drying in this way means avoiding the hardening of the starch and obtaining a healthy and digestible product.
Productivity vs Quality
In order to respond to the requires of markets and with the aim of cutting manufacturing costs, lot of modern pasta producers choose to dry pasta at high temperature (in some cases until 130 C°) and in a short time (about 2 or 3 hours). The result they have is a product of low quality, that it has no more all its nutritive and organoleptic properties. Furthermore, with a heat of over 60 C° the molecular structure of the starch changes, making the dough less digestible. On the contrary this change increases its capacity to be always “al dente”. People believe that it is the most important sign for a high quality pasta, but in this case this special feature is reached stressing the raw materials and causing often food intolerances.
The taste of tradiction
At Filotea, we are guided by a non-stop search for high quality and deep respect for the original tradition of Marche region. With the aim to bringing to your home the best pasta of the world (click here to visit our online store), we have chosen to use a slow drying process (at least 24 hours) at the lowest temperature, as tradition dictates.
If you are looking for the real quality, obtained respecting the raw materials and with craftsmanship and if you love the true taste of Italian cooking tradition, join to our community Filotea&Friends: subscribe to our newsletter, filling the form on the bottom right hand part of the page.
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