Process and device for stabilizing the shape of pasta.

The invention concerns a new process and device for stabilizing the shape of pasta. The invention is applicable to both long and short pasta. A small quantity of water, for instance 0.4-1.2 %, is applied in a water-applications unit (27) to the surface of the pasta, while they are still hot, at the end of the drying or conditioning zone (9), and the pasta then cooled in a cooling unit (29). The pasta are then stacked in the usual way to allow them to stabilize. Even when extreme drying atmospheres and short drying times are used, the invention ensures that cracks, which in prior art processes often appear for no evident reason, do not occur.