Durum wheat

Durum wheat(/ˈdjʊərəm/), also calledpasta wheatormacaroni wheat(Triticum durumorTriticum turgidumsubsp.durum),is atetraploidspecies ofwheat.It is the second most cultivated species of wheat aftercommon wheat, although it represents only 5% to 8% of global wheat production.It was developed byartificial selectionof the domesticatedemmerwheat strains formerly grown in Central Europe and theNear Eastaround 7000 BC, which developed a naked,free-threshingform.Like emmer, durum wheat isawned(with bristles). It is the predominant wheat that grows in the Middle East.
DuruminLatinmeans 'hard', and the species is the hardest of all wheats. This refers to the resistance of the grain to milling, in particular of thestarchyendosperm, causingdoughmade from itsflourto be weak or "soft". This makes durum favorable forsemolinaandpastaand less practical for flour, which requires more work than withhexaploidwheats such ascommon bread wheats. Despite its highproteincontent, durum is not a strong wheat in the sense of giving strength to dough through the formation of aglutennetwork. Durum contains 27% extractable wet gluten, about 3% higher than common wheat (T. aestivumL.).
Some authorities synonymize "durum" andTriticum turgidum.Some reserve "durum" forTriticum turgidumsubsp.durum.
Durum wheat is atetraploidwheat, having four sets ofchromosomesfor a total of 28, unlikehard red winterandhard red spring wheats, which arehexaploid(six sets of chromosomes) for a total of 42.
Durum wheat originated throughintergeneric hybridizationandpolyploidizationinvolving twodiploid(having two sets of chromosomes) grass species:T. urartu(2n=2x=14, AA genome)and a B-genome diploid related toAegilops speltoides(2n=2x=14, SS genome)and is thus anallotetraploid(having four sets of chromosomes, from unlike parents) species.
Durum—and indeed alltetraploids—lackFhb1alleles. The only exception is found by Buerstmayret al., 2012 on the3B chromosome.
One of the predominant production areas of durum—Italy—has domesticated varieties with lowergenetic diversitythan wild types, but ssp.turanicum, ssp.polonicumand ssp.carthlicumhave a level of diversity intermediate between those groups.There is evidence of an increase in the intensity of breeding after 1990.
Commercially produced drypasta, orpasta secca, is made almost exclusively from durumsemolina.Most home-madefresh pastasalso use durum wheat or a combination of soft and hard wheats.
Husked but unground, or coarsely ground, it is used to produce thesemolinain thecouscousof North Africa and theLevant. It is also used for Levantine dishes such astabbouleh,kashk,kibbeh,bitfunand thebulgurforpilafs. InNorth African cuisineandLevantine cuisine, it forms the basis of manysoups, gruels, stuffings,puddingsandpastries.When ground as fine as flour, it is used for makingbread. In theMiddle East, it is used forflat round breads, and in Europe and elsewhere, it can be used forpizzaortorte.
The use of wheat to produce pasta was described as early as the 10th century byIbn WahshīyaofCairo. The North Africans called the productitrīya, from which Italian sources derived the termtria(oraletríain the case of Spanish sources) during the 15th century.
Durum wheat(Triticum turgidumssp.durum) is the 10th most cultivated cereal worldwide, with a total production of about 38 million tons.
Most of the durum grown today isamber durum, the grains of which are amber-colored due to the extra carotenoid pigments and are larger than those of other types of wheat. Durum has a yellowendosperm, which gives pasta its color. When durum ismilled, the endosperm is ground into a granular product calledsemolina. Semolina made from durum is used for premiumpastasandbreads. Notably semolina is also one of the only flours that is purposely oxidized for flavor and color. There is also a red durum, used mostly forlivestock feed.
The cultivation of durum generates greater yield than other wheats in areas of low precipitation. Good yields can be obtained byirrigation, but this is rarely done. In the first half of the 20th century, the crop was widely grown inRussia.Durum is one of the most important food crops inWest Asia. Although the variety of the wheat there is diverse, it is not extensively grown there, and thus must be imported.West amber durum produced inCanadais used mostly as semolina/pasta, but some is also exported toItalyfor bread production.
In the Middle East and North Africa, local bread-making accounts for half the consumption of durum. Some flour is even imported. On the other hand, many countries in Europe produce durum in commercially significant quantities.
In India durum accounts for roughly 5% of total wheat production in the country, and is used to make products such asravaand sooji.
Durum wheat is subject to four processes: cleaning, tempering, milling and purifying. First, durum wheat is cleaned to remove foreign material and shrunken and broken kernels. Then it is tempered to a moisture content, toughening the seed coat for efficient separation of bran and endosperm. Durum milling is a complex procedure involving repetitivegrindingandsieving. Proper purifying results in maximum semolina yield and the least amount ofbran powder.
To produce bread, durum wheat is ground into flour. The flour is mixed with water to produce dough. The quantities mixed vary, depending on the acidity of the mixture. To produce fluffy bread, the dough is mixed withyeastand lukewarm water, heavily kneaded to form a gas-retaining gluten network, and thenfermentedfor hours, producing CO2bubbles.
The quality of the bread produced depends on theviscoelasticproperties of gluten, theproteincontent and protein composition.Containing about 12% total protein indefattedflour compared to 11% in common wheat, durum wheat yields 27% extractable, wet gluten compared to 24% in common wheat.
Because durum wheat containsgluten,it is unsuitable for people with gluten-related disorders such asceliac disease,non-celiac gluten sensitivityandwheat allergy.