WHEAT

WHEAT

NEXT TO RICE, WHEAT IS THE SECOND LARGEST IMPORTANT FOOD GRAIN OF INDIA.NEARLY  1/10 OF CROPPED AREA IS DEVOTED TO WHEAT. THE COUNTRIES PRODUCING MORE WHEAT THAN INDIA ARE- USA AND CHINA OVER 83% OF THE COUNTRIES. TOTAL WHEAT OUTPUT COMES FROM UP, PUNJAB, BIHAR, MP, HARYANA AND RAJASTHAN. DURING 1890-91 IT IS OCCUPIED AN AREA OF 240 LAKH TONNES OF WHEAT GRAIN.

STRUCTURE OF WHEAT GRAIN:-

THE GRAIN OF WHEAT CONSIST OF AN OUTER COVERING THE PERICARP AND TESTA WHICH IS HARD AND INDIGESTIBLE, AN ALLEURONE LAYER, WHICH CONTAINS A HIGHER PROPORTION OF PROTEIN THAN FLOUR, AN EMBRYO ATTACKED TO A SMALL STRUCTURE, THE SCHUTELUM AT THE LAYER END OF GRAIN AND FINALLY THE ENDOSPERM COMPERISING OF 85% OF THE WHOLE GRAIN FROM WHICH THE FLOUR IS DERIVED.

IT IS IMPORATANT TO MENTION THAT THE MILLING OF WHEAT IS A PHYSICAL PROCESS. THE COMPOSITION OF BRAN, EMBRYO AND ENDOSPERM IN WHEAT IS GIVEN BELOW-

BRAN – 12%

GERM – 3%

ENDOSPERM – 85%

COMPOSITION OF WHEAT:-

MOISTURE – 10-13%

CARBOHYDRATE – 69%

PROTEIN – 8-13%

FAT – 2%

FIBRE – 3%

QUALITY TEST FOR WHEAT:-

1)- TEST WEIGHT:-

IT IS MOST WIDELY USED CRITERIA FOR FINDING WHEAT QUALITY FACTORS AFFECTING WEIGHT IN WHEAT.

SHAPE

SIZE

DENSITY

MOISTURE CONTENT

IN INDIA THE WEIGHT IS MEASURED IN TERMS OF KG/HECTO LITRE.

TEST WEIGHT= WEIGHT/UNIT VOLUME

VOLUME IS MEASURED IN TERMS OF WINCHESTER BUSHEL.

1 KG HECTO LITRE= 1 WINCHESTER BUSHEL * 1.287

2)- THOUSAND KERNEL WEIGHT:-

IT IS DEFINED AS THE WEIGHT OF 1000 KERNELS OF WHEAT. THE PROPERTY GIVEN AN IDEA ABOUT THE SOUNDNESS OF WHEAT.

PROCEDURE:-

RANDOMLY SELECT 1000 KERNELS FROM THE GIVEN SAMPLE WEIGH THEM AND WEIGHT BY 100. TAKE ATLEAST 5 READING AND THEN TAKE AVERAGE.

3)- GRAIN HARDNESS:-

HARDNESS CAN BE MEASURED BY GRAIN HARDNESS OR BY PEARLING INDEX. HARD THE WHEAT MEANS CONTAIN MORE PROTEIN CONTENT.

HARDNESS α PROTEIN CONTENT

WHEAT MILLING:-

THE WHEAT MILLING PROCESS CONSISTS OF 5 MAIN PRODUCTS.

1-       RECEPTION AND STORAGE OF WHEAT.

2-      CLEANING

3-      TEMPRING OR CONDITIONING

4-      MILLING OF WHEAT INTO FLOUR

5-      STORAGE OF FINISHED PRODUCTS.

1)-  RECEPTION AND STORAGE OF WHEAT:-

WHEAT SELECTION IS IMPORTANT TO THE FLOUR MILLER WITHOUT SOUND WHEAT (DRY UNSPOTTED AND FREE FROM CONTAMINATION) THE MILLER IS PRWERLESS TO PRODUCE ADEQUATE PRODUCED.

WHEAT IS STORED AT MILL IN LARGE CONCRETE. BEFORE STORAGE THE WHEAT IS UNDERGOES A PRELIMINARY CLEANING AND DRYING TO REMOVE THE GROSS IMPURITIES AND FOREIGN MATERIAL AND TO REMOVE MOISTURE IF NECESSARY SO THAT THE WHEAT CAN BE STORED WITHOUT HEATING.

WHEAT MUST BE KEPT DRY NORMALLY NOT HIGHER THAN 14.5% MOISTURE.

2)- CLEANING:-

SINCE THE GRAIN IMPURITIES HAVE ALREADY BEEN REMOVED AT THE STORAGE LINES THE TECHNIQUES USED IN THE CLEANING HOUSE IS MORE REFINED. HERE, THE WHEAT IS CLEANED BY REMOVING LOOSE FOREIGN MATERIAL AND DIRT, ADHERING TO SURFACE OF THE GRAIN. WHEAT IS WEGHED AS IT ENTERS THE CLEANING HOUSE AND THERE FORE GOES THROUGH A SEPARATOR, WHICH IS SET TO REMOVE FINE IMPURITIES AND DUST, SMALL PIECES OF STICKS, STONES, SAND AND DUST ARE SHIFTED AWAY AND LIGHT IMPURITIES SUCH AS WHEAT CHOFF ARE REMOVED BY AIR CURRENT. AFTER THIS WHEAT IPASSES OVER MAGNETIC SEPARATOR TO RAMOVE BITS OF ADVENTITIOUS METAL WHICH MAY HAVE FORMED THEIR WAY INTO THE WHEAT MIX. NEXT STEP OF DIRT FROM SURFACE OF WHEAT BY SCORING.

THE FINAL CLEANING STEP IS A WATERMARK. THE WATER DISSOLVES THE DIRT AND PERMITS STONES AND BITS OF MEATAL TO SINK.

3)- TEMPERING OR CONDITIONING:-

TEMPERING REFERS TO THE ADDITION OF WATER TO THE BRAN AND ENDOSPERM. THE BRAN BECOMES TOUGH AND RUBBERY WHILE THE ENDOSPERM BECOME LESS VITEROUS. THIS IMPROVES MILLING EFFICIENCY.

TEMPERING INVOLVES ADDING WATER TO VOICE THE MAOISTURE TO 15-18% FOR HARD WHEAT AND 14.5-17% FOR SOFT WHEAT AND ALLOWING WHEAT TO BE INTEMPERING BINS FOR PERIOD OF 18-72 HOURS. DURING THIS TIME THE WATER ENTERS THE BRAN AND DIFFUSE INWARDS CAUSING. THE BRAN TO LOOSE ITS VIABLE CHARACTERISTICS AND TO BECOME LEATHERY IN TEXTURE.

CONDITIONING IN CONTRAST TO TEMPERING ALWAYS INVOLVES THE USE OF WHEAT SINCE QUICK DIFFUSION OF WATER INTO ENDOSPERM AS WELL AS THE BRAN IS THE PURPOSE. WHEAT CONDITIONERS INVOLVE  FOR SECTIONS. THE FIRST SECTION HEATS THE WHEAT TO THE PROPER TEMPERATURE (AS HEAT AFFECTS QUALITY OF GLUTEN, SO NORMALLY TEMPERATURE OF 45⁰C CANNOT BE EXCEES).

THE SECOND SECTION ADDS MOISTURE AND HOLDS THE WHEAT FOR THE PROPER TEMPERATURE. THE THIRD SECTION COOLS THW WHEAT AT ROOM TEMPERATURE AND THE FINAL SECTION ROVIDES A HOLDING BIN WHERE THE MOISTURE IN WHEAT IS ALLOWED TO EQUILIBRATE BEFORE MILLING.

4)- WHEAT GRINDING:-

THE GRINDING OF WHEAT IS DONE BETWEEN PAIRS OF ROLLS SINCE THEY ARE MOVING IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS MOVING AT DIFFERENT RATE OF SPEED ONE FROM THE OTHER AND SET WITH AN APPRECIABLE GAP BETWEEN THEM, DO NOT GRIND THE WHEAT PRIMARILY BY CRUSHING THE REDUCTION OF WHEAT SIZE BY SHEARING FORCES WHICH BECAUSE OF THE SET OF THE ROLL RUNS ABOUT 25 TIMES FASTER THAN THE SLOWER ONE AND AT SPEEDS FROM 250-450 RPM.

HERE, THE ROLLER MILLING AREA IS DIVIDED INTO 2 SECTIONS, THE BREAK SECTION AND THE REDUCTION SECTION. IN THE FIRST SYSTEM, THE BRAN IS BROKEN OPEN AND THE ENDOSPERM IS MILLED AWAY. ROLLS IN SECOND SYSTEM ARE REDUCTION ROLLS WHICH ARE SIMILAR TO THE BREAK ROLLS EXCEPT THAT THEIR SURFACES IS NORMALLY SMOOTH RATHER THAN CORRUPTED. AFTER EACH REDUCTION OF ENDOSPERM THE FLOUR IS SHIFTED AWAY FROM THE UNDERGROUND ENDOSPERM CHANNELS WHICH ARE RETURN TO THE SECOND ROLL AND PROCESS IS REPEATED.

5)- STORAGE OF FINISHED PRODUCT:-

NOW ATLEAST FLOUR IS PACKAGED IN WELL MANNER ANS STORE IN STORE HOUSE.

PHYSIOCHEMICAL TEST OF WHEAT FLOUR:-

THE GENERAL TEST WHICH ARE CONDUCTED TO SPECIFY THE WHEAT FLOUR ARE-

1- MOISTURE CIONTENT

2- PROTEIN

3- FIBRE

4- COLOUR

5- GLUTEN CONTENT

6- AMYLOSE ACTIVITY

7- SEDIMENTATION VALUE

8- POLSHENKE VALUE

USE OF FLOUR:-

1- WHEAT FLOUR IS USED TO PREPARE VARIOUS WHEAT PRODUCTS SUCH AS BREAD, COOKIE, BISCUITS, CRUCKER, CAKES, PARTY ETC.

2- FOR MAKING READY TO EATEN EASY TO MAKE OR OTHER CONVENIENT FOODS.