Durum wheat
is the most used cereal in western countries where bread
is an important component in food habits. The endosperm
is the principal source of raw material in making bread,
pastry and pasta, even if the food
value of the germ and the bran have been discovered. These
two elements of Durum wheat grain are main components of our
flours.
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Different
Durum wheats for different uses
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Durum wheat can be
classified into four types :
Three
of these types (pastry wheat, bread wheat and 3M wheat)
constitute a range family called "tender wheats"
(do not muddle up with "soft wheat"). They
are called sometimes "froment".
Each of these "tender wheats" can adapt itself
to temperate areas on earth.
1.
Pastry Durum wheat : with a small amount of proteins
(from 8 to 10%) and some of gluten, these Durum wheats are
used to prepare pastry. It's especially a winter soft
Durum wheat with starched plump grains, also called Durum wheat
of autumn.
2.
Bread harsh Durum wheat : has a big content of proteins
(up to 12.4%), harsh grains and a lot of gluten. It's
especially a spring Durum wheat, grown in cold and dry climate,
as in the west of Canada. Such Durum wheats (like HRS Durum wheat
Hard Red Spring or CWRS Durum wheat Canadian Western
Red Spring) makes Canada famous worldwide.
3. Durum wheat,
which is also called amber-coloured Durum wheat, is a very harsh
Durum wheat of a very high quality, used for making pasta. It's
very different from tender Durum wheats. Because of a low rate
of gluten and a lot of starch, it's not used in bread
or pastry production. Durum wheat is adapted to semi-arid
areas, such as north of Africa or west of Canada.
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Factors
which determine the quality of Durum wheat
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Quality of cereals depends on many
factors such as the climate and the earth quality. Another
important factor is the grains humidity rate and conditions
of storage..
To preserve Durum wheat is very
hard. In order to avoid the rot of the harvest, and
mould during storage, grains must be dry and completely
ripe, what is not easily achieved in unstable and humid
climates. Good storage conditions must be ensured to
preserve harvest. Therefore, humidity rate should not
exceed 14 to 15% of grain weight.
