Jan Padgett, age 13, of Helena, Mont., for her question:

HOW IS MACARONI MADE?

Macaroni is a food product that is made from wheat paste or dough in the form of short, slender tubes. It is made from hard, semitransparent varieties of wheat called macaroni or durum, which are rich in gluten and extensively cultivated in southern Europe and other warm regions.

Macaroni is a distinctive product of Italy constituting, together with other forms of the paste, an important staple in the Italian diet. The raising of durum wheat has also assumed considerable importance in the United States.

In the production of macaroni, the wheat is ground into a coarse meal from which the bran is removed. This product, called semolina, is sold commercially.

The semolina is worked into a paste or dough with hot water and then forced through a disk perforated in such a manner that the dough is extruded in long, hollow cords of the desired diameter.

The product, as a final production step, is then cut into suitable lengths and dried. When cooked, macaroni absorbs water and swells.