61 



MANUFACTURE OF THE MACARONI. 



In both tests the semolina used for the niaiuifacture of macaroni 

 included all the flour and middlings except the dark-colored l)reak 

 flour. The mixture was somewhat more finely ground and a little 

 darker in color than that used for the commercial grades of macaroni, 

 but it was the object to use as much of the wheat kernel as possible 

 without including the break flour and ofl'als rather than to prepare a 

 high-grade commercial article which would include only a part of the 

 middlings. 



The macaroni was made in the presence of the author, the process 

 of manufacture being as follows: The semolina was flrst mixed with 

 about 30 per cent of water and made into a stitt' dough by means of a 

 mixing machine such as is used for bread-making purposes in many 

 bakeries. The dough was then kneaded in a second machine provided 

 with heavy iron rollers and passed to a third machine, where it was 

 rolled into long thin sheets and finally made into rolls a foot or so in 

 diameter and about 3 feet long. These rolls were placed in cylindrical 

 presses provided with a perforated plate in the bottom with a wire sus- 

 pended in each opening, though not so as to completely close the per- 

 foration. The dough is pressed through these orifices, making long, 

 hollow tubes about one-eighth inch in diameter. The macaroni as it 

 comes from the machine is spread by hand on trays, is cut into the 

 desired lengths, and placed in racks to dry in the curing room at a tem- 

 perature of 70^ F. From seven to ten days are required for the 

 drying and curing of the macaroni and it is then packed and ready 

 for use. 



The water used in mixing the dough is practically all removed in 

 drying the macaroni, and, in this investigation, the analysis of the dry 

 macaroni showed that it contained about the same percentage of mois- 

 ture as the original flour or semolina. The conditions under which 

 the drying takes place would suggest that but little loss of dry matter 

 due to fermentation is possible. Indeed, mechanical losses appear 

 to be the main losses in the preparation of macaroni, and these are not 

 large. The conditions under which this macaroni was made did not 

 permit of careful weighing of the flour and the finished product with 

 a view to studying the losses and changes duritig manufacture. In 

 fact, a study of its nutritive value was the* object sought rather than 

 a technical chemical study of the preparation of macaroni. 



In the first test the composition of the mixed flour used for macaroni 

 making was recorded. As will be seen by referring to Talkie 43, this 

 flour (No. 495) and the uncooked macaroni made from it (No. 495A) 

 have practically the same composition. A microscopic examination 

 of the macaroni suggested that there was a slight change in the form 



