Egg dry pasta is a tasty alternative to traditional pasta: let’s discover together its peculiar characteristics, nutritional properties, sizes, and some curiosities about it.

When we talk about dry pasta, often our thoughts go to the traditional pasta of durum wheat semolina obtained by mixing durum wheat semolina and water. But dry pasta can also be of another type, made with other ingredients.

This is the case of dry egg pasta, which by legislation must be produced exclusively with semolina and at least four whole hen eggs, without shell, for a total weight of not less than two hundred grams of egg per kilogram of semolina.

The pasta must be sold under the sole name dry egg pasta and have the following specificities: maximum moisture 12.50%, ash content not exceeding 1.10 percent of dry matter, proteins (nitrogen x 5.70) in quantities not less than 12,50 out of 100 parts dry matter, maximum acidity equal to 5 degrees, ethereal extract, and sterol content not lower, respectively, to 2.80 grams and 0.145 grams, referred to one hundred parts dry substance.

Nutritional properties

Egg pasta contains three basic nutrients: complex carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins. The caloric intake is higher than dry pasta: 100 grams contain 366 calories. Fiber is also present in average quantities, but slightly higher than semolina pasta. Unlike the latter, egg dry pasta can also provide a fair amount of cholesterol.

In dry egg pasta, there are several very important mineral salts for a balanced diet. In particular, in egg pasta there is iron, in large quantities, while for the vitamin chapter, we find retinol and equivalent or vitamin A. Do not neglect, however, the high cholesterol intake of egg pasta, so be careful not to consume it too often. It should also be remembered that there is an important difference between fresh egg pasta and dry egg pasta: fresh pasta provides about 270 kilocalories; dry pasta, instead, 366.

“Thanks to the presence of the egg, the protein content is higher than the dry pasta of durum wheat semolina – says Luciano Monosilio, chef of Luciano Cucina Italiana and Follie at Villa Agrippina, both in Rome – The most popular formats are certainly the long ones, as fettuccine, tagliolini, and pappardelle; while as stuffed egg pasta there are only tortellini. You can find these formats in many restaurants’ kitchens with recipes that best express them: noodles with truffles, pappardelle alla vaccinara, or fettuccine with mushrooms. Moreover, dry egg pasta is easier to store because it has a longer shelf life than fresh egg pasta lasts only two days“.