F CASE STUDY
CASE STUDY
Measuring protein in semolina flour and durum wheat Near Infrared Spectroscopy measures protein, moisture, oil, starch and fibre in flour, grains and oil seeds.
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by Phillip Clancy, CEO, Next Instruments, Australia
asta is made using semolina, which is coarse starch granules are the semolina. Grinding the semolina produced from Durum wheat. Measuring further will result in fine durum flour. Semolina is yellow and is the protein and moisture in the durum very free flowing as compared with normal flour. Semolina has wheat, the protein, moisture and ash in approximately 73 percent carbohydrates of which four percent semolina and then the moisture and protein is fibre, 12.5 percent protein, one percent fat and 12-14 percent in the pasta is the trifecta of measurements moisture. for the pasta industry. Pasta is made as either fresh or dried. The group manufactures The issue has dried pasta in many factories around been that there the world. Pasta is made by mixing has not been a single NIR analyser water and semolina and then adding that is optimised for measuring egg, vegetable juice, herbs and materials in all these three parts of spices for flavour and colour. the process. Next Instruments has The dough is generally steam introduced the CropScan 3000F Flour sterilised and then rolled out into and Grain Analyser as a means of sheets for cutting or stamping, or the achieving this trifecta and providing dough is extruded through dies to pasta manufacturers with a total form the specific type of pasta. The measurement solution. dried pasta is then packaged. Fresh An international group of companies pasta is made either in a restaurant that specialise in pasta manufacture or at home. It is rolled out using a Figure 2a: Diffuse reflectance optics across the world have recently installed “pasta machine� and then cut into Figure 2b: Transflectance optics the CropScan 3000F into six factories strips to be then boiled and eaten in the USA and Canada. This article within hours of making the dough. describes the system and how this Pasta can be manufactured using group is using it. other forms of flour. Likewise semolina can be used to make other food products including couscous, Breaking it down: Semolina and cream of wheat porridge, as a desert pasta with milk, in savoury dishes etc. Semolina is the middlings produced The significance of the protein by separating the bran and germ from in semolina lies in the need for the the endosperm of durum wheat. By pasta to be flexible so that the dough sifting these middlings, the remaining 92 | December 2017 - Milling and Grain