May 22, 2012

Institute's pasta manufacturing course nears record enrollment

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A near record enrollment of 36 participants from 21 pasta-manufacturing companies from Brazil, Nigeria, South Africa and the United States attended the two-day Pasta Production and Technology Short Course in April at the Northern Crops Institute in Fargo. The pasta short course has been offered annually since 1984.

“We were pleased to host a near record enrollment at this year’s course,” says John Crabtree, Northern Crops Institute assistant director. “Almost all of the major U.S. companies were represented. This says a lot about what the Northern Crops Institute staff has done with the program over the years.”

At the course, participants gained hands-on experience in processing traditional pasta made with semolina, plus ravioli and gluten-free pasta. Short course lecture topics included durum varieties, quality evaluation, durum milling and semolina quality, wheat quality tests, functional and alternative pasta ingredients, semolina physical and rheological tests, commercial pasta production, impact of protein and starch on pasta quality, pasta die design and more.

The pasta course is designed to showcase the high quality durum wheat that is produced in this four-state region. In 2012, United States durum production is predicted to rebound slightly after a historic low in 2011. The largest gain in acres will be in the traditional durum areas of northwest North Dakota and northeast Montana.

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