Pasta is a universal favorite, fulfilling multiple needs from flavor to economy to versatility. But for food product developers and manufacturers, pasta can also create unique challenges. Not only does the quality of the pasta itself depend on multiple factors such as the type and processing of flours used—such as from semolina, rice, legumes, roots, and even algae—but any combinations of such ingredients.
Then there are the multiple influences on pasta based on how it’s made—extruded, rolled and cut, etc.—and its shape (long or short, thick or thin, textured or smooth). And all this before we get to the how and where the pasta is being used, whether in a main dish, a soup, a side, a salad, or a baked dish, or with a tomato sauce, a dairy-based sauce, or a pesto. Once these questions are addressed, there are the challenges of the final format, that is whether it is frozen, canned, refrigerated, dehydrated, or shelf-stable.