Pasta Manitoba – Pastariget

Pasta made from Manitoba flour

This natural delicacy pasta comes from Bornholm, Denmark; it is a natural pasta (unflavored), made primarily from Manitoba flour and some durum wheat. Handcrafted, it has received international recognition and awards.

When we tried this for the first time, we loved it and thought, “We want to sell this”—it’s something completely different from the usual pasta you find in grocery stores. We also like Pastariget’s history and the fact that it’s produced locally from start to finish—small-scale Scandinavian production. Read more about Pastariget below.

“PastaKingdom’s pasta is twice as filling and can compete with the best in the world. That’s because it has a higher protein content, which comes from plenty of fresh eggs and from local durum wheat, which has a very high protein content.” — Susanne Bloch (one of the founders of Pastariget).

Since 2009, Pastariget has been the only company in Denmark to produce gourmet pasta made from Bornholm durum wheat. Durum is a type of grain that is normally grown only south of Rome, but that can grow on the sunny island of Bornholm thanks to the many hours of sunshine and warm ocean currents. The spices used in the flavored pasta are also locally grown.

Bornholm Manitoba flour, Bornholm durum flour, 20% whole Danish eggs, salt.

Contents: 230 g. Servings per package: 4. Cooking time: 4 min.

About the company Pastariget

Pastariget is run by husband and wife Susanne Bloch and Finn Harild. Susanne, who moved to Bornholm, is the driving force behind the pasta production, and Finn, who has lived on the farm for nearly 40 years, is a farmer and runs the farm.

Frennegaard is actually the only place in Denmark where durum wheat is grown. This variety of wheat is normally grown only south of Rome. However, thanks to Bornholm’s many hours of sunshine and warm ocean currents, it can be grown at northern latitudes.

The fact that Susanne and Finn met at all is due to a series of coincidences. When Susanne’s father was on his deathbed in 2006, he said that life is short and that it’s important to make your dreams come true while you still can. Susanne’s dream had always been to move to Bornholm, and it turned out that her dream included not only a new place to live, but also a husband and a new job.

The miracle happened as soon as Susanne visited the island to look at houses. Her daughter had her horse in training at Frennegård, and Finn rode by on his bike. Susanne knew instinctively that he was her future husband, and that’s exactly how it turned out, even though it would be three months before their paths crossed again; not long after that, Susanne moved into Frennegård and began her new life as a farmer’s wife. The pasta factory was founded in 2009.

Susanne had never worked with food before, but she threw herself into the task. She researched the best pasta machines and built up a network of contacts who helped her with advice on how to make the very best pasta.

Both pasta masters from Italy and chef Boris Koppel, who had previously received an honorary diploma from the Gastronomic Academy for his fresh pasta, contributed to the launch. The Italians were responsible for getting the machines to work, and Boris Koppel was responsible for finding the right mixing ratio between durum wheat, eggs, and water.

Susanne explains: “Afterward, even the Italians realized they had never tasted better pasta. At first, we only made classic plain pasta, but over time we’ve added more flavors. These include basil, chili, and saffron; wild garlic and cocoa; and right now we have 17 different types of pasta, most with a matching pesto, but we also sell our own flour—all grown here at Frennegaard—honey from our own fields, and delicious freeze-dried spices, which are available in our online store and at our farm shop.”