Durum Wheat: Definition, Uses, Health Benefits and More

Durum wheat is a tetraploid variety of wheat and is also known as pasta wheat or macaroni wheat. After common wheat, durum wheat is the second most grown variety of wheat, though it denotes only 5 percent to 8 percent of worldwide wheat output.

Durum wheat was created by unnatural and developed assortment of the domestically cultivated emmer wheat species that were grown in Central Europe and the Near East in the past (about 7000 BC). Today it is the prominent wheat that is cultivated in the Middle East.

“Drurum” is a Latin word which means “hard” and this variety is the hardest of all the of types wheats cultivated. This means that the grain is resistant to milling, specifically being starchy endosperm indicating that the dough made from its flour is frail and soft.

Because of this reason durum has become a popular grain for semolina and pasta and is not as much convenient to be used as flour, that needs more work as compared to hexaploid wheats such as regular bread wheats.

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Regardless of its being high on protein substance, durum is not a robust wheat that would have given strength to the dough due to the development of a gluten network. Durum includes 27 percent of wet gluten, around 3 percent greater than in generic wheat named T. aestivum L.

Durum is generally believed to be one of the most nutritious varieties of wheat with low gluten content and is normally obtained in pastas. It is also used to produce several types of cous cous, that is a dish made from grains which looks like tiny beads with a texture of pasta or rice.

Durum is largely a heavy wheat type in comparison to other wheat species, that makes it challenging for consumers to utilize it in breads and other baked products as those require simpler and airer quality of flours. However, it is commonly valued in the flatbreads and heavier loaves made in the Middle East and North Africa.

According to the researchers, durum was first cultivated in Eastern Europe and North Africa, and since then these regions have been the significantly crucial growing spots. Also, durum wheat is normally put to use for conventional Muslim cuisine.

Today this type of wheat, though develops in several distinct parts of the globe, it is primarily grown in the Middle East, parts of Eastern Europe and Central Asia as well as Northern Africa, specifically in Egypt. Although, most of the global commercial cultivation of durum wheat takes place in North Dakota in the United States.

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There are two major factors that give uniqueness to durum. The first factor being its colour – it appears to be in pale yellow colour, though generally similar whole-grain types come in tan or brown colour. Secondly, this species of wheat includes far greater amount of protein, fiber, and other vitamins and minerals as compared to other wheat types.

Durum wheat is generally believed to be a whole grain when it is utilised as a full food grain while in other instances the complete wheat berry is crushed while it is being processed.

Some of the other health benefits of durum wheat are that they are plentiful in vitamin B, Iron, copper, zinc, and antioxidants as well as comprises high level of nutritional fibers.