For the first time ever, a company has been able to produce Belgian pasta made from durum wheat actually grown in Belgium. This is the result of a pilot project that was started three years ago by Wim Heylen of investment company Heylen Group.
Durum wheat
Heylen started a pilot project in 2016, trying to cultivate durum wheat for the production of pasta in the Belgian region De Kempen, after a test showed that this region had the greatest potential for this, as its sandy soil retains heat for a long time and has a high water permeability.
The successful tests now led to pasta that under the Belcampi brand, a reference to the Kempen region, that will be available in various supermarkets from June onwards. The range currently includes spaghetti, penne, linguini and fusilli. “With this hard durum, pasta can now be produced in Belgium that can live up to the Mediterranean pastas in all respects and even surpass them in several respects”, the company says in a press release. It also calls the cultivation of durum wheat an opportunity for Belgian agriculture: “Farmers will be better off, as they will earn a lot more for this durum wheat than for traditional agricultural crops grown in Belgium”.
