Made In Arizona: A taste of Italy in the middle of the Arizona desert

PHOENIX - It's the taste of Italy right in the Arizona desert, with Sonoran Pasta Company making pasta from scratch.

"We weigh out all our flour first," said Brent Kelly. He used to work in the restaurant business, and saw there was a market for heritage grain pastas. So, Kelly teamed up with his partner, Jasmine Brown, and they started making pastas, selling them at farmers markets and to restaurants.

They get most of their grains from Sossaman Farms near Willcox.

"They mill it all with a stone ground mill," said Kelly. "What's nice about that is you get a little higher vitamin content, protein content, and actually a lower gluten content. So it's a little healthier for you too."

Kelly says the difference between the store-bought stuff and Sonoran is in the smell.

"It's way more aromatic," said Kelly. "You're going to get an earthy flavor to it."

They come in seven different shapes and many different grains.

What pasta dish would be complete without the sauce? People can find those at Sonoran Pasta Company as well, and the sauces are made locally in Arizona.

"All we do is flour and water," said Kelly. "So as long as we're sourcing really good flour, which we do, we just have way more flavor than any other pasta out there, truthfully."

Catch Made In Arizona every Friday on FOX 10 News at 4. If you have an idea about a product made in Arizona, you can send an e-mail to madeinarizona@foxtv.com.