Durum wheat

Durum is a very hard wheat.

It has a yellow inside. This gives pasta its color. It is used to make semolina. Semolina is a grainy product.

People use it for many foods. They make pasta with it. They also make couscous. Some people make flat breads.

It grows well in dry places. This wheat is very important in West Asia. Many lands grow it for food.

It is a special kind of grain. It is fun to cook with!

Durum is a very hard type of wheat. Its name means "hard" in Latin. This wheat is special because it is tough to grind. Most people use it to make dry pasta. They also use it to make semolina. Semolina is a coarse, grainy product. It comes from the yellow inside of the grain. This yellow color helps give pasta its bright look.

Many different foods use durum. In North Africa, people use it for couscous. They also make many soups and puddings. In the Middle East, it is used for flat breads. People also use it for dishes like tabbouleh. Even in India, it is used for puddings called rava.

Durum grows well in dry areas. It is a very important crop in West Asia. Most amber durum has large, yellow grains. Some people also grow a red type of durum. This red wheat is mostly used to feed animals. Growing durum helps provide food for many people around the world.

Durum wheat is a special kind of grain. Its name comes from a Latin word meaning "hard." This wheat is the second most grown wheat in the world. It makes up about 5 to 8 percent of all wheat production. People love it because it makes wonderful foods. It is most famous for making dry pasta.

Making food from durum takes several steps. First, the grain goes through a cleaning stage. Workers remove broken kernels and other tiny bits. Next, they use tempering to add the right amount of moisture. This makes the outer shell tougher so it can be separated easily. Then, the wheat goes through milling. This is a hard job because the grain is so tough. The milling process uses grinding and sieving to create semolina.

This wheat has a long and interesting history. It grew from older types of wheat called emmer. This happened in Central Europe and the Near East around 7000 BC. Scientists believe it came from two different types of grass plants. One was called T. urartu. The other was related to Aegilops speltoides. This mix created the durum we use today.

There are many different types of durum wheat. Most of it is called amber durum. These grains are large and have a beautiful amber color. They also have a yellow inside called an endosperm. This yellow part is what gives pasta its bright color. Some people even grow a red durum. That kind is mostly used to feed livestock.

Durum is used in many tasty dishes around the globe. In North Africa, it is used to make couscous. People in the Middle East use it for flat breads and tabbouleh. In India, it is used for puddings called rava or sooji. Even in Europe, it can be used for pizza or torte. It is a very important crop for many different cultures.

Durum wheat is a unique species of grain used widely in food production. It is known by the scientific names Triticum durum or Triticum turgidum subsp. durum. In Latin, the word durum means "hard." This name describes its physical resistance to being milled. It is the second-most cultivated wheat species on Earth. However, it represents only 5 to 8% of total global wheat production. It is a vital crop for many cultures, especially in the Middle East and North Africa.

The genetics of durum wheat are quite complex. It is a tetraploid species, which means it has four sets of chromosomes. This results in a total of 28 chromosomes. This differs from common bread wheats, which are hexaploid with 42 chromosomes. Scientists believe durum formed through intergeneric hybridization. This process involved two different diploid grass species. One was T. urartu, which has an AA genome. The other was a B-genome diploid related to Aegilops speltoides. This combination created an allotetraploid species with four sets of chromosomes from unlike parents.

Producing usable grain from durum requires four specific stages. First, the wheat undergoes cleaning to remove broken kernels and foreign material. Second, it goes through tempering. During tempering, moisture is added to the grain to reach a specific level. This toughens the seed coat, which helps separate the bran from the endosperm. Third, the wheat is milled through a complex process of repetitive grinding and sieving. Finally, the wheat is purified. Proper purification ensures a high semolina yield and minimal bran powder.

There are different varieties of durum wheat used for different purposes. Most modern production focuses on amber durum. These grains are larger than other wheat types. They contain extra carotenoid pigments that give them an amber color. The endosperm, or the starchy inside of the grain, is also yellow. This yellow color is what gives pasta its distinct hue. Another variety is red durum, which is grown mostly for livestock feed. Some subspecies, like T. d. turanicum, show more genetic diversity than domesticated varieties.

Durum is highly valued for its specific nutritional and physical properties. In defatted flour, durum contains about 12% total protein. This is slightly higher than the 11% found in common wheat. It also yields 27% extractable, wet gluten, compared to 24% in common wheat. When the endosperm is ground, it creates a granular product called semolina. Semolina is used for premium breads and pastas. Interestingly, semolina is one of the few flours that is purposely oxidized to improve its flavor and color.

This grain is the foundation for many famous international dishes. Commercially produced dry pasta is made almost exclusively from durum semolina. In North Africa and the Levant, coarsely ground durum is used for couscous. Many Levantine dishes rely on it, such as tabbouleh, kibbeh, and bulgur. In the Middle East, it is used for flat, round breads. In South Asia, it is used for products called rava or sooji. Even in Europe, it can be used for making pizza or torte.

The history of durum wheat stretches back thousands of years. It was developed from domesticated emmer wheat strains. These strains were grown in Central Europe and the Near East around 7000 BC. The use of wheat to produce pasta was recorded as early as the 10th century. A writer from Cairo named Ibn Wahshīya described this process. Later, in the 15th century, North Africans called the product itrīya. This term eventually led to the Italian word "tria."