On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 890

WheatPigmentsMostwheatvarietieshavea
reddish-brown bran layer that owes its color
to various phenolic compounds and to
browning enzymes (p. 269) that assemble
them into large colored aggregates. Less
commonarewhitewheats,whosebranlayeris
cream-coloredduetoamuchlowercontentof
phenolic compounds and browning enzymes.
Whitewheatshavealessastringenttasteand
discolor less when some of the bran is
included in the flour; they’re used to replace
ordinary wheats when an especially mild
flavororlightcolorisdesired.
Thecolorofdurumwheat,itscoarse
semolinaflour,anddrypastaisduemainlyto
thecarotenoidxanthophylllutein,whichcan
beoxidizedtoacolorlessformbyenzymesin
thegrainandoxygen.Thismaturationhas
traditionallybeendesiredinwheats
(rememberthatthenamecomesfroman
ancientrootmeaning“white”),butisnotin
durum.Someoftheminorwheatsarealso


richincarotenoidpigments.
ProteinContentandQualityofDifferent
WheatVarieties
Glutenqualitydeterminesthesuitabilityof
a given wheat for particular dishes. Both
bread and pasta benefit from a strong,
cohesive gluten. Elasticity improves the

gas-trapping ability and lightness of bread
doughs, but interferes with the rolling of
pastadoughintothinsheets.
Wheat
ProteinContent,%
Gluten
Variety
grainweight
Quality
Bread 10–15 Strongandelastic
Durum 15 Strong,notveryelastic
Einkorn 16 Weak,sticky
Emmer
Moderatelystrong,notvery
17
(farro)
elastic
Spelt,
Moderatelystrong,notvery
16