Poppa Passarelli’s Pasta Paradox: Ensuring Optimal Moisture Content using NIR Spectroscopy

Chapter 62
📂 Case overview: The detectives assist a pasta manufacturer facing problems with their latest batch. With numerous complaints jeopardizing the company’s reputation, can the detectives unravel the mystery of the ‘pasta paradox’?

In the sleepy town of Gragnano, Italy, home to Poppa Passarelli’s Pasta Emporium, the proprietor, Mr Passarelli, is pacing profusely and pondering a problem. Having previously produced penne pasta for a prolonged period, Poppa Passarelli ponders a pivot in his production. He plans to produce a pioneering pasta shape for World Pasta Day. He pines for a pristine pattern to portray the proficiency of his production, not your pedestrian Penne, Pappardelle, Paccheri, or Pansotti.

Having pondered profusely, Poppa Passarelli produces a perpendicular paraboloid profile like a patched-together pair of Pringles. He then promptly puts his premier pasta plan into practice. He produces a prototype mold and prepares a portion of pasta for professionals to probe. The next day, Chef Paolo Picante procures the pasta and prepares a plate for proficient palates. The professionals publicly proclaim, “The pasta is peerless!” Poppa Passarelli is positively pleased and plans to provide his pasta to the populace prior to presenting the pasta planetwide for World Pasta Day.

To propel production, Poppa Passarelli pursues a partnership. He provides his prototype for reproduction and passes on the molds to his pals: Lucciano Pastarotti, Plácido Domango, José Parmaleras, and Mirella Penne. With perseverance, the professionals produce plentiful portions of pasta, which are placed on parchment paper for drying purposes. Post-drying, some pasta pieces are passed on for precise moisture content probing, ensuring peak perfection prior to packaging processes.

The pasta parcels are posted to various provincial places. Everything proceeds as per the planned projection until a perplexing period post-release. Negative public pronouncements pertaining to the pasta proliferate at a prodigious pace: “The pasta is pathetic”, “It’s a putrid pasta”, “The pasta is powdery”, The pasta performs poorly”, “Only parts of the pasta perform predictably” “It’s a patchwork pasta, some parts are perfect, and some parts are poor”. Poppa Passarelli is puzzled, perplexed, and perturbed. Proactively, he petitions the assistance of the premier problem-solving private detectives!

How can a perfect batch of pasta cook poorly?

Meanwhile, back in the office, the detectives are chuckling at Cornlumbo, who has turned up in a pair of trousers with wet pockets that have soaked all his belongings. “I was in a rush this morning and grabbed the trousers straight off the washing line; the legs felt dry when I grabbed them,” says Cornlumbo as Shallot Holmes enters the office and tells the detectives of the case he received from Gragnano, Italy. Miss Mapple immediately asks if the case has anything to do with pasta. “Yes, it does, actually; how did you know?” asks Holmes. “Gragnano is famous for its pasta; even the layout of the town was designed with the express purpose of drying pasta. The main street captures the mountain breeze mixed with sea air, and pasta makers historically hung their spaghetti on drying rods,” explains Miss Mapple. “Fascinating!” says Holmes, who goes on to explain the details of the case.

Holmes tells the detectives about Poppa Passarelli’s plan to release a new shape of pasta globally for World Pasta Day. He explains that the first batch was successful, but a subsequent batch that was dried and distributed nationally received bad reviews. Many of the critics complained that the pasta would not cook evenly. Eggcule Poirot asks about the moisture content as he knows how important it is for pasta that is packaged and stored for longer periods. Holmes reassures Eggcule that the pasta was tested by a third party using NIR spectroscopy and that the moisture content was fine. “It truly is a pasta paradox, and I think it’s going to require a detective to go to Gragnano to investigate. As you appear to know the most about the area, Miss Mapple, how would you like to be the one to go and investigate?” asks Holmes. Miss Mapple is delighted and makes her way immediately.

With perseverance, the professionals produce plentiful portions of pasta, which are placed on parchment paper for drying purposes. Post-drying, some pasta pieces are passed on for precise moisture content probing, ensuring peak perfection prior to packaging processes

On arriving in Gragnano, Miss Mapple is greeted by Poppa Passarelli, who is passionate about preserving his prestigious profile and keen to propel his pasta production for a planetary premiere. Perceptive Miss Mapple is keen to understand the preparation process of the pasta pieces for NIR probing, particularly since such preparations played a pivotal part in her prior professional pursuits. Poppa Passarelli portrays the process: the pasta was pulverized perfectly, producing a pure, uniform particle pool, and then probed by NIR professionals. Miss Mapple perceives no pitfalls in the presented procedures, so she pivots to the public's pronouncements.

When presented with the public's perspectives, Miss Mapple is profoundly puzzled. Predominantly, the perceptions are poor, yet a proportion of the public praises the pasta profusely. While pondering this perplexing pasta paradox, Cornlumbo's pockets pop into her mind. The pockets persisted in their dampness due to their dense design. Perhaps parts of the pasta are plumper, producing the powdery problems people pointed out. Presenting her perspective to Poppa Passarelli immediately prompts panic; the idea his pasta might not be perfectly parallel is preposterous to him. "Prevalent pasta principles propose perfectly parallel pasta," proclaims Poppa Passarelli.

Will Miss Mapple and the powerful NIR save the prestigious World Pasta Day?

Persistently, Miss Mapple pushes to peek at some pieces of pasta and notices that a predominant portion presents a plumper profile. She ponders the parallel between the proportion of public praise and the amount of pasta with problems and presents her puzzling findings to Poppa Passarelli. He proclaims that his prototype mold was crafted with painstaking precision. Suddenly, a profound realization penetrates his thoughts: perhaps the molds he provided to his pals possessed problems!

Propelled by this possibility, Miss Mapple and Poppa Passarelli proceed to the place that produced the molds. Plunging into the particulars, a peculiar protrusion on the replicas perplexes them. Miss Mapple, with her practiced eye, perceives a purposeful perversion of the original mold.

Suddenly, a profound realization penetrates Poppa Passarelli’s thoughts: perhaps the molds he provided to his pals possessed problems!

Their combined premonitions point to a possible perpetrator: Signor Spaghetti, a pesky pasta producer notoriously envious of Poppa Passarelli's popularity. Probing further, they pick up papers implicating Signor Spaghetti in a plot, paying off personnel to sabotage Poppa's prized mold, hoping to prevent Poppa Passarelli's planetary pasta premiere.

Presenting this persuasive proof to the police, they pin down the pasta pretender, Signor Spaghetti, and with his plot prevented, the pasta molds are promptly perfected.

Poppa Passarelli, full of pride and propelled by the partnership of Miss Mapple, prepares for the World Pasta Day premiere. Their perseverance produces a perfect pasta product praised globally. Poppa Passarelli even provides Miss Mapple with a pasta prize to present to her people.

On arriving back at the office, the detectives anxiously await the arrival of Miss Mapple to hear whether she managed to solve the case. As soon as she arrives, the detectives all gather around and ask her for the details. Miss Mapple looks at the detectives and says, “I promptly proceeded to Poppa Passarelli’s Prestigious Pasta Emporium, where I perceived that a pesky pasta-producing peer had perpetrated a plot. He perverted Poppa Passarelli’s pasta prototype, producing patchy pasta pieces. This problematic pasta prompted a plethora of poor public pronouncements post-pasta presentation. The NIR probing was performed on pasta produced from the pristine prototype, perpetuating the perception of perfection, and thus, the plump pasta prevailed unnoticed. This perplexing predicament points to a primary principle: It is paramount for a prepared pasta portion to precisely portray the predominant properties of the entire production. I even procured a pasta prize that I’m pleased to present to my precious peers.” The confused detectives are particularly perplexed and look at Miss Mapple like her brains have turned to spaghetti!

Happy World Pasta Day!

And be sure to pamper your pals by planning and preparing a palatable pasta party