Chapter 10 - Wheat Starch: Production, Properties, Modification and Uses

Abstract

Cultivation of wheat began in prehistoric times and it is theorized that starch was liberated by fermentation of noncarbohydrate components. Utilization of wheat can be divided into four categories: food, feed, seed, and industrial. Food is the major use for wheat, accounting for 67% of total consumption, while feed and seed utilization represent 20% and 7%, respectively. Industrial uses of wheat, which include wet processing into starch and gluten, consume about 6% of the production. Wheat starch and wheat gluten are important and valuable coproducts of the wet processing of wheat flour. These two products are entering a new development phase, mainly due to the preponderance of value-added (“green”) products that are currently being commercialized because of their sustainability. Starch comprises 54–72% of the dry weight of wheat kernels. Starch content is positively associated with grain yield, but inversely related to protein content. The starches differ in average granule size, apparent amylose content, gelatinization temperature, and enthalpy and pasting parameters. The properties and functionality of starches, in general, are discussed in a number of reviews and monographs. The five major starches of commerce (waxy maize, tapioca, potato, corn, and wheat) are commonly modified to improve rheological, processing, and storage performance, in food and nonfood systems. The changes in the properties of modified wheat starches resemble those of other botanical starches with similar modifications and levels of amylose.