Paste products are the most ancient source of food consumed from wheat. Pasta has been produced in the Mediterranean region since antiquity. The Etruscans, who lived in Italy from the ninth to the fourth century B.C., are thought to have produced a lasagna-like product. Popularity of pasta increased with time. In the early Middle Ages, Palermo was a major center of pasta production. By the end of the Middle Ages, pasta makers were so numerous that their associations were regulated by strict rules. In the 1800s, Naples was the major center of pasta production. The first mechanical pasta press was invented in the 1800s. In 1933, the first continuous pasta press was invented. Today, pasta presses are capable of producing 3,500 kg h^-1 spaghetti and up to 8,000 kg h^-1 macaroni. Italians categorize pasta into four main groups: long goods (spaghetti, vermicelli, and linguine), short goods (elbow macaroni, rigatoni, and ziti), egg noodles (pasta made with eggs), and specialty items (lasagna, manicotti, jumbo shells, and stuffed pasta. Italian extruded food and Oriental noodles differ. Pasta noodles are made from durum or non-durum wheat with a minimum requirement of 5.5% egg solids. Oriental noodles are made from non-durum wheat flour.  

In the Western Hemisphere and Europe, macaroni products are usually referred to as alimentary pastes. Macaroni (hollow tubes), spaghetti (solid rods), noodles (strips, either flat or oval), and shapes (stamped in various forms from sheets of dough) are known as the macaroni products.  The Eastern world rarely consumes macaroni products.

Several reviews on pasta processing are available in the literature. Typically, semolina and other ingredients are mixed together in a premixer. The semolina mixture is conveyed to a mixer, which is under vacuum. Once in the mixer, the semolina mixture is hydrated to 28 to 32% with warm water .  Paddles in the mixer continuously agitate the wetted semolina mixture while moving the hydrated mixture toward the extrusion auger. The retention time in the mixer is adjusted to allow full hydration of the semolina before it enters the extrusion auger. Full hydration of the semolina particles is very important for the development of the protein (gluten) matrix during pasta extrusion. Development of the protein matrix does not occur during mixing, since the energy supplied by the mixer is insufficient to develop the protein matrix.

Dough develops as it moves along the extrusion auger, which kneads the hydrated semolina and exerts pressure on the dough as it progresses through the extrusion barrel toward the die. The back pressure in the extrusion barrel helps to produce a dense product where starch granules are deeply embedded within the protein matrix. The extrusion process occurs under vacuum. Extruding under vacuum is important in dried pasta, as air trapped in pasta will expand during drying particularly during high and ultrahigh temperature drying. These expanded air pockets are points of weakness and detract from the desired uniform, translucent, yellow color.  Removing air also reduces pigment loss catalyzed by the enzyme, lipoxygenase. Fresh or frozen pasta manufacturers generally do not use a vacuum system during the extrusion process. The air bubbles in the product do not seem to have any significant impact on the end product appearance or cooking quality.