Fargo, ND -- American pasta manufacturers are coming to Northern Crops Institute (NCI) in Fargo, ND, this week to learn more about making excellent quality pasta and noodles. After 20 years, this course is still a perennial favorite for pasta company personnel. NCI began offering pasta courses in 1984 to fulfill its mission of promoting the region's durum wheat industry.

A capacity-number of pasta makers from both nationally recognized and smaller family-owned companies will attend the three-day course that begins Wednesday, April 21 at NCI.

NCI Director Patricia Berglund said, “It's exciting that, after 20 years of teaching about pasta manufacturing and emphasizing the quality of the durum wheat grown in the northern-plains region of the U.S., we still have a full course attendance. What that says to me is an acknowledgement of the necessity to understand the technology and science behind pasta manufacturing. It is probably even more important now right because the grain industry as a whole is challenged with the low-carbohydrate trend. Companies are looking at ways that they can differentiate themselves and make themselves profitable,” she concluded.

Participants learn about the manufacture of extruded, sheeted, and precooked pasta through lectures and laboratory demonstrations. Instructors present guidelines for raw material quality criteria, specifications, and processing variables. They also explain in detail the impact of these variables on the quality of pasta and noodle products. A unique feature during the course gives participants a hands-on opportunity to test their own knowledge by identifying pasta defects and suggesting their cause.

Northern Crops Institute supports regional agriculture and value-added processing by conducting educational and technical programs that expand and maintain domestic and international markets for northern-grown crops.

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