“Mühlenchemie’s Pastazym can be used for pasta made of hard or soft wheat, or mixtures thereof. It enables the production of pasta with the authentic al dente bite from soft wheat. Extensive testing in the company’s Ahrensburg research facility have shown that when cooked, soft wheat pasta made using Pastazym have a bite that is comparable to classic durum pasta.”

Jana Russnak Head of Pasta Applications Mühlenchemie

The global pasta and noodle market is growing quickly, and pasta and convenience products in particular are more and more popular. Durum wheat is the ideal raw material for high quality pasta, but the increasing scarcity of this high protein wheat is impacting pasta production and causing prices for raw materials to rise.

Although durum’s unique properties in dough make it indispensable for pasta production, fluctuating availability and unstable pricing are forcing pasta makers to make do with soft wheat and mixtures of hard and soft wheat. Pasta produced using these materials is substantially less tolerant of cooking times and doesn’t have the desired al dente bite.

Enzyme compounds let manufacturers use different wheat varieties, while still getting very good cooking properties and compensating for quality fluctuations. Mühlenchemie’s Pastazym can be used for pasta made of hard or soft wheat, or mixtures thereof. It enables the production of pasta with the authentic al dente bite from soft wheat. Extensive testing in the company’s Ahrensburg research facility have shown that when cooked, soft wheat pasta made using Pastazym have a bite that is comparable to classic durum pasta.

The use of Pastazym also results in improved tolerance for longer cooking times, and higher mechanical stability of dried pasta. Just a small amount of Pastazym, 10-30 g per 100 kg flour, significantly boosts the cooking stability of the pasta, and not only reduces its stickiness, but also gives it a pleasing mouth feel. The use of Pastazym brings noticeable cost savings and makes manufacturers less subject to shifts on the raw materials market.

The consumer’s decision to buy is influenced not only by the texture like firmness and mouth feel, but also by the product’s appearance. Adding vitamins and natural colours can ensure that the pasta looks as good as it should. Many countries permit the addition of colouring to pasta. For this purpose, there are special compounds with vitamins and/or colourings that give pasta the full yellow of classic durum wheat pasta. Enzymes and colourings can be worked into the dough by the feeder in one work step, giving significant savings in time and money, and reducing error. Mühlenchemie can address individual customer wishes and adapt the colour, concentration and final dosage as desired.

Pasta made using Pastazym is considered “clean label” and thus requires no change to the ingredient declaration, making it particularly consumer-friendly. Manufacturers wishing to add colourings to improve the pasta’s colour will need to check the laws of the intended target countries, and declare the colouring components used.