During the 1st Pasta Convention organized by Fava Storci in Cairo last April, Mr Alessio Marchesani – Food Technologist at the Fava Storci R&D Laboratory – led a speech about the differences between high and low temperatures drying systems.
This is a frequently asked question, regarded as so important that Fava Storci did devote time for a thorough study in our Laboratory, submitting the results during the convention in front of about 50 Egyptian pasta makers, all coming from very different contexts. We hereby present an abstract of Mr Marchesani’s speech, that we are going to study in depth in the next issues of our journal.
The aim of the tests was, as above mentioned, to check the differences between low and high (over 72°C) temperature drying, with three soft wheat raw materials, having different quality characteristics (high, medium, low).
The instrumental analysis were carried out by University of Parma – Drug and Food Science Dept – whereas the organoleptic tests were performed in our R&D Laboratory
In postponing, as anticipated, to a detailed analysis of the data, what emerged from the tests is that there is no absolute winner between the two technologies.
Both have pros and cons that must be taken into consideration when deciding which technology choose. Low temperature (LT) main features are the prevalent yellow colouring and a better organoleptic perception (taste), albeit a lesser firmness after cooking; high temperature (HT) , instead, guarantees good cooking properties and a scarce loss of starch during cooking. Another aspect when using HT is the colour that becomes darker, then with more reddish shades,.
HT can better resist overcooking even when using low quality flours.
To recap briefly, the choice of the drying technology depends on the Customer’s goal. Low temperature is recommended for those who would like to enhance taste and color, whereas HT is better when firmness after cooking is the relevant feature (i.e. catering).
Both technologies can be controlled by our operating systems for static cell drying, that, thanks to their specific flexibility, are able to produce either at low or high.
