Pasta is a typical food of the regional cuisine of our land, as well as a reason for Italian pride in the world. But what are the advantages of bronze drawing? Why choose it?
Spaghetti, linguine, penne, mezze penne, rigatoni, farfalle, fusilli and more: the passion for pasta unites those who love simple first courses, those who are more attached to tradition and those who mix different gastronomic cultures.
To tell the truth, beyond the type of format (short, long or special), not all types of pasta are equal and choosing the most known pasta is not always a guarantee of success of a dish.
Among the criteria to be taken into account when buying pasta there is definitely the drawing process: bronze drawn or teflon drawn? What do you mean, bronze-drawn pasta?
What is the drawing?
The pasta production cycle consists of seven phases: selection of ingredients, grinding, dough preparation, drawing, drying, cooling and packaging.
Each step plays an essential role, but the drawing is certainly one of the most delicate because it allows you to produce the various shapes of dough from a dough based on semolina and water.
Basically the dough passes by extrusion through a mold (called die or matrix) equipped with holes with different sizes and shapes.
As the dough passes through the matrix, then, the dough assumes the desired shape and is cut to the desired length by rotating knives. This is how every pasta format is born.
In addition to determining the shape and length, however, the moment of drawing is important because it defines the surface structure and the level of porosity of the paste.
What is the difference between bronze and teflon wire drawing?
The difference between bronze drawing and teflon drawing lies in the material of the die with which the paste is drawn. Why? Determines the surface structure and porosity of the paste.
On the one hand we have the pasta drawn in bronze matrices (generally by hand) in which a semolina of superior quality is used and a more careful and long process is carried out to produce the pasta.
On the other hand there is the Teflon extruded paste which, thanks to the characteristics of this non-deformable plastic material, proves to be faster and more convenient to produce. In essence, Teflon wire drawing is less demanding and more suitable for industrial production. It is not by chance that it covers the demand for pasta.
Why choose bronze extruded pasta?
The bronze extruded pasta is a superior quality paste compared to the Teflon extruded pasta because it is made with a quality semolina, the only one able to face this type of processing.
What are the advantages of bronze extruded pasta? To the less experienced eye, this pasta has a less intense and opaque color and a more wrinkled structure, but in reality it is ideal to “welcome” the seasoning better. The bronze extruded pasta is suitable for both elaborate condiments and simple condiments.
In addition, by drying more slowly and at low temperatures, the bronze drawn paste preserves the nutritional properties of the dough (fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals).
Bronze drawing is a more expensive process in terms of resources (the bronze drawing machine is more expensive) and processing time than processing with teflon matrices, but it returns a quality paste with a superior flavor.
The characteristics of the bronze drawn pasta support the idea of “healthy eating” because they are able to satisfy the taste buds (thanks to the pleasant taste) and satiate more (thanks to the richness of fiber and nutritional qualities). Basically you eat less but definitely better.