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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fargo, North Dakota » Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center » Cereal Crops Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #147040
Title: SPAGHETTI COOKING QUALITY OF WAXY AND NON-WAXY DURUM WHEATS AND BLENDS

Author
item Grant, Linda
item Doehlert, Douglas
item MCMULLEN, MICHAEL - NDSU, FARGO, ND
item VIGNAUX, NATHALIE - NDSU, FARGO, ND

Submitted to: Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/29/2003
Publication Date: 2/10/2004
Citation: GRANT, L.A., DOEHLERT, D.C., MCMULLEN, M.S., VIGNAUX, N. SPAGHETTI COOKING QUALITY OF WAXY AND NON-WAXY DURUM WHEATS AND BLENDS. JOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE. 2004. VOL. 84:190-196.

Interpretive Summary: A comparison was conducted between normal durum wheat cultivars and newly developed waxy endosperm durum lines to ascertain if wheat kernel, semolina, and cooked spaghetti quality were equal. Most tests on the waxy durum wheat kernels were equal to or better than the normal durum grown in North Dakota during the 2000 crop year. The milled wheat (semolina) had distinct differences in extraction rate (yield), ash (mineral content), speck count, and protein quantity and quality (strength). Some characteristic differences of the waxy trait were; higher lipid content, greater damage to the starch granule during milling, and increased flour swelling (water absorption). These characteristics detrimentally affected the wheats millability and the quality of the cooked spaghetti produced from the semolina.

Technical Abstract: Quality attributes of waxy durum wheat, milled semolina and cooked spaghetti were examined and compared with two non-waxy durum cultivars. With the exception of kernel hardness, wheat quality characteristics were similar for both waxy and non-waxy durum. Compared to average values obtained for durum wheat grown in North Dakota (USA) during the 2000 crop year, the values obtained for the wheat used in this study were equal to or better than most parameters evaluated. Semolina extraction for all samples was lower than the 2000 average of 62.6%. The waxy lines had higher ash, lower speck count, similar protein quantity, lower wet gluten, and stronger mixograph curves than the non-waxy cultivars. Waxy durum semolina had higher lipid, starch damage, stirring number, and flour swelling values. Spaghetti made from waxy durum semolina had shorter cooking time, higher cooking loss, and lower firmness values, which would be unacceptable by most standards. Spaghetti made from blends containing from 20-80% waxy semolina were evaluated. Cooking time, cooking loss, and firmness decreased as the amount of waxy semolina increased. Acceptable spaghetti was obtained using 20-40% waxy semolina blends dependent on the quality of the non-waxy blending material.