Frascarelli pasta is an artisanal pasta company based in New York City that makes organic, additive-free pastas using traditional Italian methods. Founded in 2000 by Mary Barlow and her husband Tony Frascarelli, the company started as a small pasta shop that created handmade pastas named after Tony’s grandfather’s nickname, Frusciante. Frascarelli uses high-quality Italian “00” flour milled from organic durum wheat semolina and organic free-range eggs from upstate New York farms. The pastas are made following traditional techniques like cold mixing ingredients to develop gluten slowly and extruding through bronze dies. Frascarelli initially supplied restaurants like Gramercy Tavern before expanding availability to grocery stores nationwide. The company’s simple ingredients list and commitment to preserving authentic pasta textures through traditional production methods drive the quality of Frascarelli pastas.
The Origin of Frascarelli Pasta
Frascarelli pasta traces its origins back to 2000 when it was founded by Mary Barlow and her husband Tony Frascarelli in New York City.
The couple started the company as a small artisanal pasta shop located in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan. Their goal was to create handmade pasta using traditional Italian methods but with high-quality organic ingredients that were difficult to find in the United States at the time.
Mary Barlow handled the business operations while Tony Frascarelli oversaw production, drawing on his Italian heritage and knowledge of pasta-making passed down from his grandfather and other relatives.
The couple initially named their pasta “Frusciante”, which was Tony’s grandfather’s nickname. They settled on a simple yet premium ingredients list consisting of organic “00” flour, organic free-range eggs, olive oil and salt.
Initially operating out of a small storefront, Frascarelli pasta gained attention from New York chefs and restaurants for its premium quality and authentic Italian flavors. The couple soon began supplying high-end restaurants like Gramercy Tavern, which helped raise the brand’s profile among food-savvy New Yorkers.
However, Frascarelli pasta stayed committed to its artisanal roots, scaling production slowly and prioritizing traditional production methods focused on pasta texture and taste over high-volume commercial output. This emphasis on quality and tradition would eventually propel the company’s expansion and success in the years to come.
The Creation of Frusciante Pasta
When Tony and Mary Frascarelli started their artisanal pasta company in 2000, they named their pasta “Frusciante” in honor of Tony’s grandfather. Frusciante was his grandfather’s nickname, passed down from his great-grandfather in Italy.
The Frascarellis wanted to create traditionally Italian pasta using premium organic ingredients that were difficult to find in the U.S. at that time. They chose high-quality Italian “00” flour milled from organic durum wheat semolina to make the pasta dough. This fine flour produces pasta with a smooth texture and light yellow color.
For eggs, the Frascarellis sourced free-range organic eggs from pasture-raised hens on small farms in upstate New York. These healthier eggs provide rich flavor and produce brightly colored pasta dough and noodles.
The simple Frasciante pasta ingredients list consists of just “00” flour, organic eggs, a dash of olive oil and sea salt. No added emulsifiers, food dyes or preservatives are used that could mask the pure flavors and textures of the high-quality organic ingredients.
Frusciante pasta is made using traditional Italian methods that date backs centuries. The ingredients are cold mixed for 10-15 minutes to slowly develop gluten, as compared to the standard fast mixing used for commercial pasta production.
The dough is extruded through traditional bronze dies to produce artisanal pasta shapes with ridged or ridged-grooved surfaces that better grip sauce. Bronze shaping dies impart a distinctive texture that cannot be precisely replicated by modern steel dies.
Finally, the pasta noodles are dried using lower temperatures for eight to ten hours to slowly evaporate moisture without cooking the dough. This gentle drying preserves the pasta’s desirable al dente texture upon cooking.
All of these traditional pasta-making techniques, combined with the simple yet premium organic ingredients, work together to imbue Frusciante pasta with its distinctive flavors and textures that set it apart from mass-produced commercial pasta options.
The Importance of Ingredients
Frascarelli pasta places tremendous emphasis on using only the finest and purest ingredients in making their artisanal pastas. Their ingredient philosophy lies at the heart of what distinguishes Frascarelli pastas and drives their quality.
The most essential ingredient is high-quality Italian “00” flour, commonly used for making fresh pasta in Italy. Frascarelli sources organic “00” flour milled from 100% organic durum wheat semolina grown in Sicily. The fine texture of “00” flour produces pastas with a rich yellow color and delicate flavor that more fully absorbs and showcases the other premium ingredients.
Organic free-range eggs from small upstate New York farms represent the second crucial ingredient. These eggs are rich in nutrients, flavor and aroma due to the hens’ natural diet of organic feed and ability to engage in natural behaviors. The thicker egg yolks impart a richer, more golden color and elastic texture to Frascarelli pastas.
Olive oil, preferably extra virgin, adds a subtle hint of vegetable flavor and acts as a lubricant to prevent the dough from sticking during shaping. Only a dash of high-quality organic olive oil is needed within the exceptionally balanced Frascarelli pasta ingredients.
The final ingredient of sea salt helps enhance and round out the flavors already inherent within the organic flour and eggs. Only a small amount of flakey sea salt is sufficient to bring out the natural wheat flavors while minimizing any salty aftertaste.
Taken together, these simple yet carefully selected ingredients – organic durum wheat flour, organic farm-fresh eggs, a dash of olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt – form an exemplary baseline for producing truly exceptional artisanal pasta. Rather than masking flavors with additives and preservatives, Frascarelli relies on these premium organic ingredients and traditional pasta-making techniques to imbue their pasta with fresh, pure and complex flavors.
The ingredients represent the foundation upon which Frascarelli builds their pasta, with every subsequent step in production aimed at preserving and optimizing the flavors inherent within the high-quality organic flour, eggs and other selections. This ingredients-first philosophy distinguishes Frascarelli pasta and forms the basis for its superior quality, taste and texture.
Traditional Pasta Methods
Frascarelli pasta employs a number of traditional Italian pasta-making techniques that date back centuries in order to optimize and bring out the best qualities of their premium organic ingredients.
The dough is always mixed by hand or with a low-speed mixer. The ingredients are cold-mixed for 10 to 15 minutes to slowly develop gluten networks within the flour, as compared to the fast commercial mixing used for mass-produced pasta. Slowly building gluten results in pasta that is more durable and better able to retain sauce.
Once the dough is properly developed, it is extruded through traditional bronze dies to create various artisanal pasta shapes. The textured ridges and channels within bronze dies impart a rougher surface that allows sauces to better adhere. Bronze shaping also imbues the noodles with a distinctive appearance and texture that cannot be precisely replicated using steel dies.
The extruded pasta noodles are then hung on tr STRINGe-dried at relatively low 125 to 140°F temperatures for eight to ten hours. Most commercial pasta is dried at higher temperatures over only a few hours. Frascarelli’s slower drying process evaporates moisture without “cooking” the dough, helping the pasta retain an optimal al dente texture once cooked.
The atmosphere during drying is also carefully controlled. Frascarelli ensures low humidity, slow air circulation and ventilation to prevent the pasta from drying too quickly and becoming brittle. This delicate balance produces pasta noodles that remain supple and retain their rigidity and bite once cooked.
Once properly dried, the pasta shapes are packed by hand to avoid breakage. No machines are used that could damage the artisanal pasta textures through excessive handling.
All of these traditional methods – from the way the dough is mixed and extruded to how it is dried and packed – come together to optimize the flavors inherent within Frascarelli’s premium organic ingredients.
- Cold mixing develops gluten that better traps sauce and nutrients
- Bronze extruding adds texture that cradles sauce and seasons each bite
- Low-temperature drying preserves an al dente firmness that brings out the complex flavors within the pasta upon chewing
By focusing on producing high-quality pasta textures through time-tested techniques instead of mass-production speeds, Frascarelli ensures their pasta noodles retain their distinctive toothsome bite, rich flavor and ability to properly grip and carry sauce.
Expansion & Availability
After launching in 2000 as a small pasta shop in New York City, Frascarelli began selectively expanding availability of their artisanal pastas several years later.
The first big move came when notable Manhattan restaurants like Gramercy Tavern and Craft began serving Frascarelli pasta on their menus. The positive reception from chefs and diners helped jumpstart demand from other high-end restaurants and specialty food stores.
As Frascarelli continued to scale production according to their principles of artisanal pasta-making, they expanded into new markets and retail channels while maintaining the same level of quality. Their pastas eventually became available nationwide at high-end groceries and specialty food stores.
Today, Frascarelli offers their products through several channels. In addition to supplying exclusive restaurants and gourmet food retailers across the U.S., Frascarelli also sells direct-to-consumer through their online shop.
The e-commerce store offers a variety of Frascarelli pastas including spaghetti, fusilli, linguine and others shapes. Various gift boxes containing multiple shapes and sauces are also available, making Frascarelli pasta a convenient and premium gift option.
The online shop has further enabled Frascarelli to introduce other programs like monthly pasta subscriptions. Subscribers receive a new selection of artisanal pasta and sauce pairings delivered directly to their doorstep each month.
All of Frascarelli’s sales channels consistently showcase and distribute the same premium products made using traditional methods and only the finest organic ingredients sourced from trusted artisanal producers. This unwavering commitment to quality has propelled Frascarelli’s steady expansion and growing availability nationwide.
Frascarelli pasta prioritizes using traditional Italian pasta-making techniques and high-quality organic ingredients to create their artisanal pasta. Their methodical scaling of production while preserving simplicity and quality has enabled the expansion of Frascarelli pasta’s availability nationally through restaurants, retailers and their own e-commerce store.
FAQs
- Who founded Frascarelli pasta? Mary Barlow and Tony Frascarelli founded the company in 2000.
- How is Frascarelli pasta made? Using traditional bronze dies and low-temperature drying to preserve the flavors from organic Italian “00” flour and free-range eggs.
- Where can I buy Frascarelli pasta? Frascarelli supplies exclusive restaurants, gourmet retailers and also sells through their online shop with pasta subscriptions.
- Are Frascarelli pastas expensive? Frascarelli pastas tend to cost more than conventional mass-produced pasta due to their organic ingredients, artisanal production and premium quality.
- Does Frascarelli pasta ship to Canada? At this time Frascarelli only ships within the United States.
