NCI Hosts Pasta Production and Technology Course | April 22 - 24, 2025

The Northern Crops Institute (NCI) hosted its Pasta Production and Technology course on April 22 - 24, 2025. This course introduced participants to the fundamental and applied aspects of pasta production and quality through lectures and laboratory demonstrations. The group focused on grain and ingredient quality, specifications and processing variables, and their impact on final pasta product quality. The primary focus was traditional dry durum-based pasta; however, non-traditional ingredients and fresh pasta were also covered. This course was conducted in-person at the Northern Crops Institute with 8 participants from across the United States.

This course was designed for industry professionals such as managers, supervisors, technicians, and others responsible for plant production, maintenance, production development, quality assurance, and sales of high-quality pasta products.

Participants looking at flour samples during the semolina quality testing.

Day one focused heavily on classroom learning. Lectures from industry professionals included topics on the fundamentals of pasta production, beginning with wheat quality. Brian Sorenson from MN Wheat, spent the morning presenting on durum wheat, quality evaluation of durum wheat, and durum milling. Erica Olson from the ND Wheat Commission presented on regional durum production over lunch. Frank Manthey from NDSU shared his presentation on semolina and pasta quality before participants tried their own semolina quality tests. The course then spent time in NCI’s instructional lab with Food Scientist, Rachel Carlson, and looked at the color and quality of different flour samples such as hard red winter, hard red spring, durum, semolina, and soft red winter. Flour samples were provided to show the different particle sizes, and pasta samples were provided to show the difference in color based on which type of wheat was used. Participants saw how the different flours looked when both hydrated and baked. The first day wrapped up with back to back presentations with Dave Hahn from Doherty Food Advisory on commercial pasta production and food safety.

Participants working with pasta during the hands-on demonstration.

Day two started off with Al Lucia from DEMACO who presented on pasta processing technology and pasta drying technology. Participants saw pasta processing firsthand in NCI’s Pasta Lab, where they could cut the pasta coming from the pasta press, spray it out on a rod, trim, and put in the drying racks to finish the process. The afternoon was spent traveling to Grand Forks, ND to tour the North Dakota Mill and Elevator. The North Dakota Mill is the largest wheat mill in the United States, and is the only state-owned milling facility. Participants toured the mill from top to bottom and experienced the entire process of milling to flour to packaging production.

Dave Hahn returned for the day three and presented on protein and starch impact. Participants then spent time in NCI’s instructional lab learning more about the evaluation of pasta cooking quality. The morning continued with a presentation on quality assurance from Alexis Freier-Johnson from 8th Avenue Food & Provisions. The afternoon began with Giovanni Cannata from De Mari Pasta Dies who shared a presentation on pasta die designs. Alexis Freier-Johnson shared her presentation on die maintenance afterwards. The course then wrapped up with a presentation on pasta line maintenance from Al Lucia.

A certificate of completion was awarded to all the attendees who participated in this course. Participants also had the option to register for NCI’s companion course Fresh, Refrigerated, and Frozen Pasta Technology, held at the NCI on April 25, 2025.