Mühlenchemie Optimizes Pasta Production

Mühlenchemie has developed Pastazym Plus which is an all-round flour improving product.A new enzyme compound delivers perfect pasta, irrespective of wheat quality - coloured version simplifies manufacturing operations

21 Nov 2012 --- Volatile prices and limited supplies of durum wheat (triticum durum) make life difficult for manufacturers aiming to produce top quality pasta. The new Pastazym Plus combination of enzymes and active ingredients from flour improver specialist Mühlenchemie enhances the quality of pasta made from both hard and soft wheat. This produces appreciable cost savings and makes manufacturers less vulnerable to commodity market swings.

The multifunctional enzyme compound also has the advantage of making the surface of the dried pasta look better and giving it greater mechanical stability. If permitted in the country of destination, colourants and vitamins can be added to the compounds. They can be added safely to the dough in one single, easy operation to produce, for example, a rich yellow shade.

The global market for pasta and noodles is growing strongly. Above all, instant noodles and convenience products are becoming increasingly popular. However, extremely volatile commodities markets, high prices and limited supplies of raw materials are making life difficult for the users of wheat, especially durum wheat. Even if pasta producers have good technical equipment and skilled staff with appropriate know-how, it is very hard to compensate for the deficits of lower grades of wheat. For this reason the flour improving experts at Mühlenchemie have further enhanced their enzyme compound Pastazym.

By using Pastazym Plus, pasta and noodle manufacturers can switch to cheaper sorts of wheat if necessary and thus keep their input costs down. Pastazym is a real all-rounder - this economical, high-grade solution lends itself to a wide range of applications and doughs using hard or soft wheat or blends of the two. By using Pastazym Plus it is possible, for example, to make soft wheat pasta that displays authentic “al dente” characteristics. Painstaking series of tests conducted by the applications experts from Ahrensburg revealed that when noodles with added Pastazym are cooked, they deliver a bite that is comparable to that of classic durum wheat pasta. It is also possible to increase the product’s tolerance of over-cooking. Added Pastazym also produces dried pasta with greater mechanical stability.

Because, in addition to requiring a firm bite, the consumer’s purchase decision is crucially affected by product appearance, its improved surface properties and brighter colour ensure that the pasta looks as good as it should. Many countries permit the addition of colourants to pasta products. For this purpose, special varieties are available which have been modified with vitamins that dye the pasta and/or colourants, to produce the rich yellow reminiscent of classic durum pasta. Enzymes and colour components can be worked into the dough via the feeder in one single operation, for appreciable savings in time and cost and fewer mistakes. Mühlenchemie can respond to customers’ individual wishes and adjust colours, concentration and final dosage accordingly.