Pasta dei Campi: quality at all levels

A constant quest for the best, from sowing to drying

Quality at all levels, from the sowing of the wheat to the drying of the pasta. This is the underlying theme of our production. We choose the highest quality raw materials and pay extra attention at each phase of production in order to obtain a pasta of elevated quality.

What determines the quality of the final product?

Everything starts with the durum wheat. At Pasta dei Campi we use only Italian durum wheat, harvested within a 250 kilometer radius of Gragnano, with a 14% minimum protein content, versus an average 10.5% in classic pastas. This type of wheat is very rare, and only corresponds to about 0.5-0.7% of all wheat production in Italy.

The harvest is carried out at the proper moment in the wheat’s growth and the storage immediately afterwards to guarantee a perfect conservation of the raw materials. The wheat is then milled delicately (at a low number of rotations) to maintain its original fragrance.

The preparation of the dough is almost a ‘study’ of the perfect equilibrium among many factors: the temperature of the water used, the grain of the semolina, the current weather conditions, etc. Our pasta makers consider these and many other factors each day to create the best possible product.

Another determining factor in the quality of the pasta is the bronze plates used. When used, this material allows the pasta to obtain a rough surface that helps the condiment adhere to the pasta. This roughness in Gragnano is called “arraggiatura” (arrabbiatura – anger), which suggests that a certain degree of tension is a good thing – otherwise the pasta would lack character, and if on the other hand the pasta is too rough or ‘angry’, it would misbehave within the dish.

Pasta dei Campi pasta is left to dry at lower temperatures in order to conserve all the wheat’s fragrance, leaving the excellent work done by the land, the farmers, and the millers before us unaltered.

Lastly, the pasta is packaged by hand in order to avoid damaging it, which would be evident upon cooking.

The result of the combination of these elements is a pasta of absolute quality.