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Cereal Chem 59:26 - 31.  |  VIEW ARTICLE
Comparison of Alpha-Amylase and Simple Sugar Levels in Sound and Germinated Durum Wheat During Pasta Processing and Spaghetti Cooking.

J. E. Kruger and R. R. Matsuo. Copyright 1982 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Sugar and alpha-amylase levels of ungerminated and germinated durum wheats were compared at various processing stages. Alpha-amylase levels in the wheat germinated for 72 and 120 hr increased 155-fold and 320-fold, respectively. Processing into semolina and spaghetti decreased alpha-amylase levels in both ungerminated and germinated samples. When spaghetti was cooked, alpha-amylase was present in the germinated sample for at least 6 min of boiling. The levels of glucose and sucrose increased approximately 50% on germination, whereas the maltose level doubled. Conversion to the respective semolinas decreased sugars, whereas processing into spaghetti increased maltose and glucose. Cooking of spaghetti did not increase the total amount of a particular sugar in the solid and the cooking water combined. Increased cooking time, however, released more sugars as well as residue into the cooking water and decreased the sugars in the solid. Part of the cooking water residue was comprised of high molecular weight dextrins. Because spaghetti made from germinated wheat had a higher initial concentration of free sugars, loss of such sugars into the cooking water was correspondingly greater.

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