This is the pasta and sauce kit produced in Gragnano, Italy—the birthplace of dried pasta. Hailed as “the champion of dry pasta” by Forbes magazine, it is so deeply rooted to the region’s culture and history that it is often referred to as “Oro di Gragnano”—the gold of Gragnano. Sheltered in the Apennine Mountains, Gragnano provides the perfect location for producing pasta due to sea breezes from the coast and water from a natural spring. This pasta meets stringent EU criteria as a PGI product (“Protected Geographical Indication"), passing rigorous criteria to earn its designation. First, the pasta dough must be extruded through a bronze die which gives the pasta a rough texture that helps sauce cling to each individual piece. Pasta di Gragnano also has to be made using Durum wheat that helps the pasta maintain a perfect al dente and water from Gragnano which is very light in calcium and other minerals. Finally, to maintain the quality and flavors of the wheat, each individual piece of pasta must be dried at a low-temperature. The sampler comes with four pasta sauces (olive, basil, puttanesca, and Sicilian) and four pastas (rigatoni ca’ pont, fussiloni, candele ca’ pont, and tubetoni).  See Restriction tab.