History of Modern Pasta Processing

Mechanization of pasta manufacturing began during the industrial revolution. The first mechanical devices for pasta processing were developed in the early 1700s.

Pasta making in Italy had become something of a Neapolitan specialty by the nineteenth century and it was in Naples that production began to be fully commercialized and industrialized.

Extrusion processes were used by then, hydraulic presses were designed in the mid-1800s, and late in the nineteenth century kneaders came into use.

It was also probably in the 1800s that the marriage of pasta with tomatoes in cooking occurred. Southern Italy is an ideal for growing of tomatoes. During this century pasta processing was a batch manufacturing process which by its nature was laborious and restricted productivity.

It was not until the early twentieth century that drying cabinets became available. Pasta processing remained a batch manufacturing process until the 1930s, when continuous extrusion using an extrusion auger revolutionized the process. The Buhler Brothers from Switzerland were the first to incorporate an extrusion worm into a continuous press.

Automatic dryers were the added to the continuous with Augusto Fava created with manufacturing and installing the first continuous pasta dryer. The first continuous automatic production line that processed semolina into pasta ready for packaging was designed in 1946.
History of Modern Pasta Processing