World Grain - August 2022 - 22

FEATURE: PASTA IN NIGERIA
or the gas bottle is empty, or the charcoal is too damp.
And all these imponderables have a direct effect on the
quality of the sensitive pasta products.
If the heat is too low and the pasta is left in the cooking
water too long, it soon becomes mushy and loses its
structure. And keeping the prepared food hot may also
result in a sticky consistency.
Besides firmness, flavor, color and stickiness, good
cooking stability is one of the most important quality
parameters for Nigerian pasta.
Ban on imported pasta
The huge market is served by the big players of the
Nigerian milling industry. The milling sector benefits
from the ban on imported pasta imposed by the government
in 2004 and has invested systematically in hightech
production plants of its own.
The raw materials used are hard and soft wheat
(Triticum aestivum) and durum wheat (Triticum durum)
from North America, Canada and other exporting
countries. Generally speaking, durum wheat - with its
high protein and low starch content and its ideal gluten
properties - is the raw material of choice for making
perfect " Pasta Italiana. "
Amber Durum gives the pasta a firm bite, a brilliant
yellow color and high cooking tolerance.
Advice on raw materials
and production plant
Mühlenchemie is one of the world's best-known addresses
for the pasta industry where flour treatment is
concerned. This expertise recently has been extended
to include aspects of production technology and
consultation.
For its pasta team, Mühlenchemie has succeeded in
acquiring a highly qualified technologist from the plant
engineering industry with years of experience in the
commissioning of industrial pasta production lines.
This fund of knowledge is now available to Mühlenchemie's
customers. The senior pasta technologist is
the company's contact in matters of production technology
and will help customers mainly with any technical
problems arising from changes in raw materials, for example
a switch to different wheat varieties.
Besides giving assistance with any faults in products,
such as stress cracks resulting from drying, the
senior pasta technologist will provide support with
the upscaling of new formulations developed in the
Mühlenchemie laboratory and adjust these to conditions
at a particular location.
22
Traditionally, spaghetti and macaroni originally were
made solely from 100% durum wheat in Nigeria, too.
But for reasons of economy and availability, it is now
usual for manufacturers to combine a percentage of durum
with varying amounts of bread wheat.
Raw material bottleneck
In recent years, it already has been a major challenge to
the Nigerian mills to acquire wheat in sufficient quantities
and suitable quality for pasta production. The present
Ukraine conflict will aggravate this problem further.
Like many other importing countries, Nigeria will
have to adjust to changed availabilities and prices, and
in some cases resort to new varieties, countries of origin
and quality classes.
But reorganization of this kind must not be at the
expense of quality, since neither the trade nor consumers
would be willing to accept compromises in the end
products.
Flour improvement
If a high percentage of low-protein wheat lots is used,
the mills must compensate for possible deficiencies in
performance by ensuring optimal interaction between
the recipe and their production plant.
In this connection, enzyme-based flour treatment
plays a key role. Mühlenchemie, for many years, has
developed innovative enzyme compounds for standardizing
and optimizing pasta flours. This is achieved
with tailor-made enzyme systems permitting specific
adjustment of the structure of the pasta dough and the
texture of the dried goods.
For example, the complex active ingredients are selected
to produce a smoother, more homogeneous surface,
greater cooking tolerance or better firmness of the pasta.
With a combination of enzymes and colorants it is
also possible to influence the intensity of the color.
Mühlenchemie's range contains only high-quality, natural
colorants. These have excellent stability and neither
fade nor leach out into the cooking water.
But innovative flour treatment concepts optimize the
production process as well as the quality of the goods.
For example, enzymes can regulate water absorption
during preparation of the dough and noticeably improve
its machinability.
Moreover, the use of selected enzymes can be seen to
increase the mechanical strength of the pasta products.
This enables manufacturers to reduce the percentage of
rejects and ultimately cut their costs.
Problems and solutions
Which enzymes and additives are the best choice in a
particular case? Mühlenchemie answers this question
by conducting extensive analyses of raw materials and
August 2022 / World Grain / World-Grain.com
http://www.World-Grain.com
World Grain - August 2022

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