Pasta di Gragnano

Pasta di Gragnano is a dry pasta with an EU protected geographical indication (PGI, Italian IGP), made only in the town of Gragnano in the province of Naples, Campania. The name covers various traditional shapes: what is protected is the place and the method, not a single shape.

The dough has just two ingredients: durum wheat semolina and water from the local aquifer, with water making up no more than 30% of the mix. The semolina must contain at least 13% protein and no more than 0.86% ash in dry matter. The finished pasta is straw-yellow and vitreous in cross-section, with no more than 12.5% moisture.

All stages – mixing and kneading, extrusion through dies, drying, cooling and stabilisation – take place within the municipality. Gragnano pasta has always been drawn through bronze dies, which leave a rough surface that helps it absorb sauces. It must be packed in the area within 24 hours of production, in packs from 100 g to 5 kg.

Gragnano has been known for durum wheat pasta since the sixteenth century. In the mid-nineteenth century its streets and buildings were planned so that the wind would circulate and help dry the pasta, and water from the Lattari mountains turned the mills of the Valle dei Mulini.

On the pack look for 'Pasta di Gragnano' with 'Indicazione Geografica Protetta' or 'IGP', the producer's address, the designation logo and the EU symbol.