Editing Pasta (section)

===Molecular and physical composition===
Pasta exhibits a random molecular order rather than a crystalline structure.<ref name="Roos-2010">{{cite journal |doi=10.1146/annurev.food.102308.124139 |pmid=22129345 |title=Glass Transition Temperature and its Relevance in Food Processing |journal=Annual Review of Food Science and Technology |volume=1 |pages=469–496 |year=2010 |last1=Roos |first1=Yrjö H |s2cid=23621696 }}</ref> The moisture content of dried pasta is typically around 12%,<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1111/j.1745-4603.2006.00079.x |title=Dynamic Viscoelastic Properties of Pasta As a Function of Temperature and Water Content |journal=Journal of Texture Studies |volume=37 |issue=6 |pages=696–710 |year=2006 |last1=Takhar |first1=Pawan Singh |last2=Kulkarni |first2=Manish V |last3=Huber |first3=Kerry }}</ref> indicating that dried pasta will remain a brittle solid until it is cooked and becomes malleable. The cooked product is, as a result, softer, more flexible, and chewy.<ref name="Roos-2010" />

Semolina flour is the ground endosperm of durum wheat,<ref name=wg/> producing granules that absorb water during heating and an increase in viscosity due to semi-reordering of starch molecules.<ref name=wg/><ref name="Sissons-2008" />

Another major component of durum wheat is protein which plays a large role in pasta dough rheology.<ref name="shewry1">{{cite journal |doi=10.1098/rstb.2001.1024 |pmid=11911770 |pmc=1692935 |title=The structure and properties of gluten: An elastic protein from wheat grain |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |volume=357 |issue=1418 |pages=133–142 |year=2002 |last1=Shewry |first1=P. R |last2=Halford |first2=N. G |last3=Belton |first3=P. S |last4=Tatham |first4=A. S }}</ref> Gluten proteins, which include monomeric gliadins and polymeric glutenin, make up the major protein component of durum wheat (about 75&ndash;80%).<ref name=shewry1/> As more water is added and shear stress is applied, gluten proteins take on an elastic characteristic and begin to form strands and sheets.<ref name=shewry1/><ref name="Kill-2001">{{Cite journal|last1=Kill|first1=R. C.|last2=Turnbull|first2=K|year=2001|title=Pasta and semolina technology}}</ref> The gluten matrix that results during forming of the dough becomes irreversibly associated during drying as the moisture content is lowered to form the dried pasta product.<ref name="De Noni-2010">{{cite journal |doi=10.1080/10408390802437154 |pmid=20373190 |title=Cooking Properties and Heat Damage of Dried Pasta as Influenced by Raw Material Characteristics and Processing Conditions |journal=Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition |volume=50 |issue=5 |pages=465–472 |year=2010 |last1=De Noni |first1=Ivano |last2=Pagani |first2=Maria A |s2cid=12873153 }}</ref>