Triticum algeriense Desf. ex Mert. & W.D.J.Koch nom. inval.
Triticum bauhinii Lag.
Triticum brachystachyum Lag. ex Schult. & Schult.f. nom. inval.
Triticum candissimum Bayle-Bar.
Triticum caucasicum Flaksb. nom. inval.
Triticum cevallos Lag.
Triticum cochleare Lag.
Triticum densiusculum Flaksb. nom. inval.
Triticum fastuosum Lag.
Triticum hordeiforme Host
Triticum laxiusculum Flaksb. nom. inval.
Triticum longisemineum Flaksb. nom. inval.
Triticum maurorum Sennen nom. inval.
Triticum molle Roem. & Schult. nom. inval.
Triticum orientale Flaksb. nom. inval.
Triticum platystachyum Lag.
Triticum pruinosum Hornem.
Triticum pyramidale Percival
Triticum rarum Flaksb. nom. inval.
Triticum rimpaui Mackey
Triticum siculum Roem. & Schult.
Triticum tanaiticum Flaksb. nom. inval.
Triticum tiflisiense Flaksb. nom. inval.
Triticum tomentosum Bayle-Bar.
Triticum transcaucasicum Flaksb. nom. inval.
Triticum trevisium Desv. nom. inval.
Triticum venulosum Ser.
Triticum villosum Host
Durum wheat[2] (/ˈdjʊərəm/), also called pasta wheat[3] or macaroni wheat (Triticum durum or Triticum turgidum subsp. durum),[4] is a
tetraploid species of
wheat.[5] It is the second most cultivated species of wheat after
common wheat, although it represents only 5% to 8% of global wheat production.[6] It was developed by
artificial selection of the domesticated
emmer wheat strains formerly grown in Central Europe and the
Near East around 7000 BC, which developed a naked,
free-threshing form.[7] Like emmer, durum wheat is
awned (with bristles). It is the predominant wheat that grows in the Middle East.
Durum in
Latin means "hard", and the species is the hardest of all wheats. This refers to the resistance of the grain to milling, in particular of the
starchyendosperm, causing
dough made from its
flour to be weak or "soft". This makes durum favorable for
semolina and
pasta and less practical for flour, which requires more work than with
hexaploid wheats like
common bread wheats. Despite its high
protein content, durum is not a strong wheat in the sense of giving strength to dough through the formation of a
gluten network. Durum contains 27% extractable wet gluten, about 3% higher than common wheat (T. aestivum L.).[8]
Taxonomy
Some authorities synonymize "durum" and Triticum turgidum.[9] Some reserve "durum" for Triticum turgidum subsp. durum.[10]
Durum – and indeed all
tetraploids – lack Fhb1alleles. The only exception is found by Buerstmayr et al., 2012 on the 3B chromosome.[14][15][16]
One of the predominant production areas of durum – Italy – has domesticated varieties with lower
genetic diversity than wild types, but ssp. turanicum, ssp. polonicum and ssp. carthlicum have a level of diversity intermediate between those groups.[17] There is evidence of an increase in the intensity of breeding after 1990.[17][18][19]
Uses
Commercially produced dry
pasta, or pasta secca, is made almost exclusively from durum
semolina.[20] Most home-made
fresh pastas also use durum wheat or a combination of soft and hard wheats.[citation needed]
The use of wheat to produce pasta was described as early as the 10th century by
Ibn Wahshīya of
Cairo. The North Africans called the product itrīya, from which Italian sources derived the term tria (or aletría in the case of Spanish sources) during the 15th century.[21]
Production
Durum wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum) is the 10th most cultivated cereal worldwide, with a total production of about 38 million tons.[23]
Most of the durum grown today is
amber 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 yellow
endosperm, which gives pasta its color. When durum is
milled, the endosperm is ground into a granular product called
semolina. Semolina made from durum is used for premium
pastas and
breads. 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 for
livestock feed.[citation needed]
The cultivation of durum generates greater yield than other wheats in areas of low precipitation. Good yields can be obtained by
irrigation, but this is rarely done. In the first half of the 20th century, the crop was widely grown in
Russia.[24] Durum is one of the most important food crops in
West Asia. Although the variety of the wheat there is diverse, it is not extensively grown there, and thus must be imported.[25] West amber durum produced in
Canada is used mostly as semolina/pasta, but some is also exported to
Italy for bread production.[26]
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.[27]
In India durum accounts for roughly 5% of total wheat production in the country, and is used to make products such as
rava and sooji.[28]
Processing and protein content
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 repetitive
grinding and
sieving. Proper purifying results in maximum semolina yield and the least amount of
bran powder.[29]
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 with
yeast and lukewarm water, heavily kneaded to form a gas-retaining gluten network, and then
fermented for hours, producing CO2 bubbles.[citation needed]
The quality of the bread produced depends on the
viscoelastic properties of gluten, the
protein content and protein composition.[8][27] Containing about 12% total protein in
defatted flour compared to 11% in common wheat, durum wheat yields 27% extractable, wet gluten compared to 24% in common wheat.[8]
^USDA, NRCS (n.d.).
"Triticum durum". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
Brown, AHD; Marshall, DR; Frankel, OH; Williams, JT; International Board for Plant Genetic Resources, eds. (1989), The Use of Plant Genetic Resources, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press,
ISBN0-521-34584-7
Bushuk, W; Rasper, Vladimir F (Aug 1994), Wheat: Production, Properties and Quality, Springer Science and Business Media LLC,
ISBN978-0-7514-0181-3
Donnelly, Brendan J; Ponte, Joseph G Jr (2000), "Pasta: raw materials & processing", in Kulp, Karel; Ponte, Joseph G Jr (eds.),
Handbook of Cereal Science and Technology, Food Science & Technology, vol. 99 (2nd, rev & exp ed.), New York: Marcel Dekker,
ISBN978-0-8247-8294-8
Watson, Andrew (October 2008) [1983], Agricultural innovation in the early Islamic world: The Diffusion of Crops and Farming Techniques, 700–1100, Studies in Islamic Civilization, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press,
ISBN978-0-521-06883-3
Wishart, David J (2004), Encyclopedia of the Great Plains, University of Nebraska Press